As I always do when I am trying to figure out a problem, I have been researching and reading. In this case, I have been reading articles and posts on mental illness, in an effort to get a handle on what happened this past Friday in Newtown.
I guess I want to know how someone thinks, or what it is about the way someone thinks that drives them to madness and causes them to do unspeakable things. The shooting was just one recent event that has stayed with me, that my mind won't let go. When the nanny in NYC stabbed the children in her care to death, I didn't sleep, even though I didn't know the family or the nanny. A story about a mother who killed her children recently affected me the same way. And so many others.
I had come to the conclusion that these people were probably on some sort of drug that didn't work, that made things worse (I will admit I am not a fan of treating mental illness with drugs because I don't trust them, but understand why they might be used.)
But something I read today made me consider something more. I read the post I Am Adam Lanza's Psychiatrist.The post was interesting enough, and spoke volumes about the current state of mental health in this country, and why so much needs to be done on the federal, state, and even personal level. But what stayed with me the most was a comment at the bottom about how we, as a society, are getting nastier in how we deal with each other, and how hard that may be for some people to cope with.
Unfortunately, it's true. People exhibit rage issues when driving. Groups carry signs and scream horribly thoughtless comments at other human beings. Children taunt and bully bus monitors. Internet "trolls" make unspeakably cruel comments online.
I know it seems trite, but I really wish we could seriously consider the words of the late Rodney King after the LA riots: "Can't we just please get along?"
Just trying to be kind may not end all the killings. But it would make life so much easier for all, particularly for those whose fragile states of mind make them feel they can no longer stay in this world.
Really, spark the snark, people. Let's just try to get along.
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