CNN has a discussion going on right now about mental illness

[malaise]

today not guns - their words.
They're looking at mass killers but they won't touch the guns.

[Peacetrain]

1. Well malaise.. its mental illness if you are white.

if you are any other color of the rainbow..it is terrorism.. (I wish I had that original thought.. but I had heard it from a friend who saw a person being interviewed who made the statement..and it is so blasted true)

I no longer have expanded cable so I miss all these discussions..but whether you want to call it mental illness, terrorism, craziness.. an individual can be any and all of these things.. but only with high capacity weapons can he or she then kill multiples of individuals.. and not touching that subject in its entirety.. well CNN is wasting time and space..

Guns kill masses of people.

[malaise]

2. Amazing indeed

Poor CNN needs a new topic because they can't discuss Tuesday's election resuts

[karadax]

3. How much more can be said about guns ?

The mental illness angle on the other hand got a vague mention by the media during the last few incidents. It deserves as much discussion as how many bullets a magazine can hold. I wish they'd go a bit further and talk about medications and their relationship with the whole thing.

[upaloopa]

7. If someone is walking around with a serious

mental illness there is nothing you can do about it.
We do not have rights to force people to seek mental health services.
At the moment you can't stop them from shooting people either.
Talking about mental illness in the gun debate is obfuscation.

[Capt. Obvious]

4. Is that a good thing or a bad thing?

[malaise]

6. It's not a bad thing to discuss mental illness

but it would be better to push for mental health care and there is no getting away from access to guns.

[IcyPeas]

8. I see what you did there Capt. Obvious /eom

[Capt. Obvious]

9. Thank you

Sometimes I may be the only one laughing at my jokes.

[eqfan592]

5. Good!!!

Ineffective gun control measures have had far too much time in the spotlight. Time to start addressing the real issues at the heart of the problem.

[HereSince1628]

10. Oh, so what -are- the REAL ISSUES?

Is there a particular mental illness you have in mind?

Is this about mental illness or the lack of databases on the mentally ill that inhibit the security system from identifying the freaky thinkers and feelers because 80% of people with mental illness NEVER seek treatment and so don't have records?

Is it the inability to predict with any certainty which of 13 individuals among the 70 million Americans with a mental illness will become mass murderers each year? Is it a mental illness problem or a profiling problem?

Is it a social landscape full of forces driving psychological development, like child abuse and bullying, that lead susceptible persons into development of irrational fears and anxiety?

Is it awful and unpredictable negative side-effects from non-traditional antidepressents?

You are right, no one can FIX this problem unless the REAL ISSUES are identified. But, on inspection 'real issues' is actually a vacuous nominative phrase that specifies nothing.

Head wagging agreement because attention turns from guns to blaming the mentally ill seems like an expression of relief from scrutiny, and with little thought encourages bigotry and discrimination against 'those monsters among us', thank-you Mr LaPierre.