Tuesday, December 05, 2017

JOHN CHUCKMAN COMMENT: THE ROLE OF MENTAL DISORDERS IN KILLINGS



COMMENT POSTED TO A COLUMN BY MARY O’HARA IN THE GUARDIAN


"Why is mental illness so often blamed for US mass shootings? It perpetuates ugly stereotypes and distracts us..."

All murderers have some kind of mental disorder, stretching over a spectrum from the temporary insanity of extreme rage to the extreme case of enjoying killing we find in psychopaths.

The word "stereotype" has no place here.

People however use the completely wrong words, often. Language usage here is very important.

Indeed, I don't think the term "mental illness" is really suitable since that includes many conditions which do not make people prone to violence at all.

One comment here uses "insanity" but that is an extreme and not well-defined term.