jsteele wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
That may be true, but the level of sympathy for this person, in the absence of a single statement or real evidence of hardship in his life, is striking. I think that sympathy would largely evaporate if he was a muslim. But much like with the Huguely case, many posters are looking to causes other than "evil". And I think much of the reason is that he looks like one of our kids.

If he were Muslim we would be discussing terrorism and debating the need to attack Iran. If he were black, the entire black community would be held responsible. It is possible to acknowledge those realities (and fight against them) and still believe that Holmes is affected by serious mental health issues.

It is patently false to suggest that there was anything close to a consensus on DCUM that Trayvon was a thug. That was by far a minority opinion. Those trying to turn this into a racial issue are as guilty of racial generalizations as those who thought Trayvon was a thug.

I am the person you are responding to, and I did not make that statement about a consensus about Trayvon. That said, I do believe that Zimmerman would have been booked if Trayvon was whilte. And therefore it is a racial issue in that sense.

I also do think that Holmes might be mentally ill. But I also think that sometimes we call them crazy in order to dissociate from them. It is uncomfortable to imagine that people like us can do evil. But it seems to me that a lot of the evil in human history is perpetrated by ordinary people,. And if we don't recognize that potential, we run the risk of going down a bad path. Maybe not a path of machine-gunning an entire movie theater, but a bad path nonetheless.

Amnesty International says that anyone has the potential to become a human rights abuser. The Stanford Prison experiment scientifically verifies it. And I do believe in Hannah Arendt's concept of the banality of evil.

So of course the court needs to be fair about Holmes and may find him insane. But when I see this guy, I also think that he was a geeky science student with potential, just like me and dozens of people I went to school with. And I wonder what else besides a haywire gene or a bad life event might have led him to this point.

Anonymous wrote:

22:02 - Einstein, that is not what is being said. Nice spin, though. Nowhere was it said that every perp is mentally ill.

I would rather he not have an insanity defense, for obvious reasons.

So, you insult when you have no answer. Gotcha. How smart of you.

22:02 - Einstein, that is not what is being said. Nice spin, though. Nowhere was it said that every perp is mentally ill.

I would rather he not have an insanity defense, for obvious reasons.

Sorry to break it to you, but "normal" people commit horrible acts every day. Mental illness is not always to blame. Those Columbine boys plotted revenge, plain and simple.

There is plenty of "lack of sympathy" in the violent acts committed in the DC area. Does your compassion for mentally ill perps extend that far?

PP is right in that there are different levels of crazy. Lack of sympathy/empathy is one. Not everyone is an off the deep end schizophrenic. Anyone who acts out against others habitually, extremely, and/or for sport has clear issues that need to be addressed by a medical professional who is capable of detaining them or at least prescribing psych meds. NP here.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think mass murder automatically defines you as crazy

I agree- but rather than try to rehab him he had premeditated this and was quite competent in society- he basically should not get off on mental illness. IMO

not guilty by reason of insanity could get him put into an institution for the rest of his life.

And to answer another question, yes - the Columbine guys were cuckoo for cocoa puffs. It may have been more sociopath crazy, but they most definitely were insane.

The Columbine guys were not crazy. They were jerks who weren't popular and were pissed they they were always getting picked on. They were cruel and wanted to go out with a "bang". Can't believe what I'm reading here. Is denial also a mental illness?

I can't believe that anyone believes a sane person plans and carries out such horrific acts. NORMAL people don't act out their insane fantasies. Something was not right in their heads. Like I said, sociopath is a psychological illness. They had delusions of grandeur. They weren't completely detached from reality crazy, but unable to care about their victims crazy. Thinking they were sociopaths also doesn't mean I don't think they were crazy sick little bastards, either.

Anonymous wrote:

This white on white violence has got to stop.


There PP you happy now?

This isn't about me. I am able to view crimes objectively, without assigning that crime to the entire white race. Too bad others can't do the same.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think mass murder automatically defines you as crazy

I agree- but rather than try to rehab him he had premeditated this and was quite competent in society- he basically should not get off on mental illness. IMO

not guilty by reason of insanity could get him put into an institution for the rest of his life.

And to answer another question, yes - the Columbine guys were cuckoo for cocoa puffs. It may have been more sociopath crazy, but they most definitely were insane.

The Columbine guys were not crazy. They were jerks who weren't popular and were pissed they they were always getting picked on. They were cruel and wanted to go out with a "bang". Can't believe what I'm reading here. Is denial also a mental illness?

Anonymous wrote:I have that book next to my bed right now. I'm terrified to read it

You can always watch the movie instead. It's a little different from the book but not anything major is mising, unlike The Help.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think mass murder automatically defines you as crazy

I agree- but rather than try to rehab him he had premeditated this and was quite competent in society- he basically should not get off on mental illness. IMO

not guilty by reason of insanity could get him put into an institution for the rest of his life.

And to answer another question, yes - the Columbine guys were cuckoo for cocoa puffs. It may have been more sociopath crazy, but they most definitely were insane.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:FYI, this is a NEUROSCIENCE student FAKING insanity.

Agreed. I do not believe this asshole is crazy.

Why else would he do it? For fun???

Do what, fake it or shoot? If you are asking about faking it, he is trying to avoid death row. If you are asking about shooting, he did it because he is a violent thug.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Of course he is mentally ill...sane people don't think hey are a cartoon character and kill people. Plus, the media has reported that his parents knew something was wrong with him. Sad.

I haven't seen this reported anywhere, and I've read coverage from NY Times, Washington Post, Denver Post, CNN, and various TV news outlets. Where have you seen this?

ABC reported this, as well as the allegation that he was affiliated with the tea party. Both have turned out to be false. When are people going to stop believing what they hear from (and read in) in the press?

Are you privy to privately obtained information about this murder case?

I have that book next to my bed right now. I'm terrified to read it

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Assuming Holmes is mentally ill.

This is a man who is 24 years old and lives half a country away from his parents. He could have been suffering from mental illness his entire life or it could have manifested after he got his undergrad. I wouldn't blame his parents at this point. Those with mental illness can often hide it well or parents don't know that the behaviours they are seeing are a result of mental illness. They could just think their kid is quirky or just a little different. Even if they did know his was mentally ill there isn't much they could do about it because of his age.

I have a mentally ill kid that's been in therapy since he was 3. DH has never been around children and didn't realize there was something off with our own son. It took our boy being committed at the age of six to realize there was something really wrong with him and it wasn't my imagination. Our only plan is to get DS all the therapy we can fit it while he's in our care. We want to make sure that he is aware of the signs and symptoms of his illness so he can tell that he's going of the rails.

I'm so sorry PP- how did you know at age 3?

It was a sudden change in his behaviour. He went from being a loving sweet child to becoming extremely violent. He would say that it was as if something was taking him over and he couldn't control it.
We didn't have a diagnosis for a couple of years. I had an idea of what it was and when I brought him into a psychiatrist vs the psychologist he was seeing, I told her what I thought DS was suffering from. He was five at the time and she said she had never seen a bipolar child his age. Thankfully during that first visit she saw the switch flip and he went from playing quietly with Lego's to suddenly biting and hitting me. She wasn't believing me until she saw it for herself.

Years after his diagnosis I was given the same one. Looking back on my life I could see it so clearly and saw that like my son I am a rapid cycler. I was just not violent like he can be.

I have friends that love me dearly but they worry about my child being alone with theirs. I can totally understand that even though we have now found the right meds for him. It took tons of meds to find the right one and the right dosage.

I told DH once that I am putting so much time and effort into our son to ensure he doesn't do the same thing. Reading "We Need to Talk About Kevin" enforced that.

Anonymous wrote:I think mass murder automatically defines you as crazy

I agree- but rather than try to rehab him he had premeditated this and was quite competent in society- he basically should not get off on mental illness. IMO