Terror in NYC

[Sociopathicsteelerfan]

(11-07-2017, 12:01 PM)BmorePat87 Wrote: The label "epidemic" is debatable. Is it widespread relative to previous years? Yea. Some would argue it is infectious and spreads from one mentally ill person to another as these occur more and more often.

Is it the most prevalent crime? No. It is the most common way to die? No. Should we not take it seriously as an issue because it happens less than some accidents? No. 

 

I'm not suggesting doing nothing.  I think Matt really nails it below though.

(11-07-2017, 12:03 PM)Belsnickel Wrote: We need to stop trying to tie attempts at firearm policy to events. That's step one, for me. Reactionary policy is almost always bad policy.

Apart from that, we have a whole thread devoted to the conversation on what to do about firearm violence. I'm not going to bother rehashing it all here. I will just say we need a holistic approach to this, because it isn't just about firearm access, it is about a large number of socioeconomic, health, and other factors.

Agreed, mental health being paramount among them.  The homeless population in LA has exploded of late, many, if not the majority, of them are mentally ill.  Friends how live in San Francisco inform me that the city is one step away from lawlessness with the homeless population becoming even more aggressive than in previous years, which is saying something.

(11-07-2017, 12:06 PM)Benton Wrote: This is the same society where a large part of the population probably can't explain the ending of Donnie Darko (the original, not the sequel). It's probably too much to expect that many people to understand why an otherwise healthy, middle class person with no trauma in their history might have depression or anxiety or bipolar disorder or any one of a dozen conditions. 

We had psychology as an elective in high school, but probably half the class was about methodology and people who developed the science. I doubt most of the class came out with a clear understanding of what exactly a schizophrenic is.

I took several psych classes in college as electives, almost ending up minoring in it.  Understanding human psychology is a must for any LEO in my opinion.  Just knowing the basics really helps anyone in the interactions with difficult/hostile people.  We need to start taking this problem more seriously than not at all.