Demonizing the Mentally Ill

The horror on the Virginia Tech campus has once again brought about the best in people. We have seen countless stories and images of sympathy, love and strength in the face of unimaginable suffering and pain. Once again though, we are faced with questions of why and how. The anger and pain have been channeled against what some see as a slow response by the police and university officials. Some question the gun laws of this nation and Virginia, all rightfully so. There is much to talk about, to learn from this, to help make sure that his never happens again. We now find ourselves in another familiar place, what to do with the person who perpetrated the shooting.

In many places we have seen an outpouring of pure anger, hate and rage towards Cho Seung-Hui. Many times, he is called evil, not his actions, but him, the person. This however, simplifies what happened, and paints over it in black and white. We are talking about a very mentally ill individual, one for whom societal norms do not apply. In this state, your own reality traps you, and pushes out all else. You live in this altered reality, responding to the outside as you and only you perceive it. If someone in this state truly saw their actions, they would stop, but unfortunately they are many times not afforded that ability. We expect complete logical reasoning from the mentally ill, and call it evil or crazy when they aren't able.

Would a sane person rant about people forcing him to do it? Would a sane person line up and kill people? No, of course not. We see all the signs of a disturbed individual who desperately needed mental health treatment. Letters, actions and overall attitude all tipped off many. There was an attempt at help, but the system failed. It shows once again the lack of a viable mental health system, one that can help the lives of those with the illness, and those they affect. It is desperately needed, and can help prevent tragedy after tragedy, both large and small.

Evil is not the cause here, and nor is Cho Seung-Hui evil. His actions were those of a mentally ill person, one who can not be judged as a normal member of society. Many who would call him evil, or say it was evil behind the actions have no grasp of mental illness. It is a disservice to all afflicted to boil it down to such simplistic answers. If those today who are treated had remained suffering as this young man had, who knows what would have happened. He is not the problem, the system that failed us all is the problem. Evil cannot be blamed, or be a solution of why. Instead we owe it to all who have suffered from mental illness to work to solve the problems it presents, and save lives. We cannot fall into the trap of condemning and demonizing the ill, dismissing them as evil. In assigning evil to someone, we set them apart from us, making it easier to deal with such actions. If we feel we and those like us are not able to do such things, we can accept it much easier. Unfortunately, finding the mentally ill is difficult, as they appear everywhere. It is not as easy to have an us vs. them, there is too much grey for black and white. Instead, let us accept that mental illness is a real and serious problem, and results in tragedy for many. Then we can make sure that the many who died and suffered over the years at the hands of this horrid illness, did not do so in vain.