Among the many regulations that the Trump (#notmypresident) administration is busy rolling back is one that effectively banned persons with MAJOR MENTAL ILLNESSES from BUYING GUNS. Apparently this is thought to be a good idea by the NRA (no surprise there), the ACLU (and I am a card-carrying member), NAMI, and, of course, Republicans everywhere. I respectfully and wholeheartedly disagree. First of all let me reiterate my position that I do not think that ANYONE outside of the military or perhaps some few members of the police force should have access to guns, period. But even should you disagree with with that, and most do, what reason would you give for making weapons available to people suffering from mental illnesses that make them irrational, delusional, enraged, depressed, and/or suicidal? We’re not talking about people who need a few bouts of counseling because of a bad break-up or who have a bit of grief after their favorite cat died. No, this are people who have mental illnesses that are debilitating and severe: schizophenia; bi-polar disorder; severe depression; post-traumatic stress disorder; multiple personality disorder, among others. These types of illness can cause changes in mood and can cause the sufferer to completely lose touch with the objective world. With proper medication, therapy, and support, however, they can be managed…as long as the person STAYS WITH THE PROGRAM (takes the meds, sees the therapist, does whatever he/she/whatever needs to do to maintain). That “staying with the program” is key. I’ve known some wonderful people who had major mental illnesses. A few are still my friends and doing well….because they stay with their respective programs. A few aren’t my friends anymore, either because they are dead, or because they have trashed their lives so thoroughly I wouldn’t remain in the hit-zone. Would I give these people guns? Either group? HELL NO!!! I’ve seen the demons with which they struggle, heard them talk to the voices, seen the pictures they’ve painted of the world they see. I do not want to give any of them a weapon to use. I know how hard they struggle daily just to survive. Life is dangerous enough without handing them a loaded gun.
Tag: mental illness
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Imagine Me Gone-A Review
Finally, a book review! I wish I were still reading Imagine Me Gone by Adam Haslett. The book was so rich in the different ways in which it engaged the reader that I’m measuring its effects on me afterwards. I wasn’t sure I was going to like the book at first. In the beginning chapters, the novel deals with the father and his story. But then the burden shifts to the children, in particular the eldest son, and the darkly comedic life of the book truly begins. The riffs on music-disco, house, synth, dub, and techno-are a constant refrain running throughout and worthy of special mention. The novel is worth reading just for them, but the manner in which they are made an integral part of the book is remarkable. Even if the book doesn’t inspire you to put on a soundtrack while reading it as it did me, you’ll read with music in your ears. And this is one of the best portrayals of someone with a mental illness I’ve come across lately in fiction, precisely because it’s NOT written as a description of someone living with a mental illness. Michael is shown living his life in all its complexity, not as a patient with a diagnosis. True, he does deal with anxiety, and I’m not going to spoil the novel by giving many details here, but this is a novel about a life, not an illness. Race and class privilege are prevailing topics for Michael, and homosexuality is an issue that both he and a sibling deal with. This is not an easy read, as it sometimes gets pedagogical, and the issues that the characters grapple with are fundamental and stark. But it IS most rewarding and will leave you enlightened, more learned, and with a new playlist!