[Vision2020] Mental health

[Carl Westberg]

Along with the civility issue, another major theme of the President's speech was the issue of mental health.  I was discussing this with a couple of friends this morning.  The path that led the shooter to the events in Tucson was, by all accounts, littered with red flags.  A classmate spoke of sitting by the door during class for fear of this man, a math professor expressed similar concerns.  There were about a dozen incidents involving the police with this guy.  Apparently all the warning signs, if not warning sirens, pointed to the possibility or even probability of something like this happening.  I saw an interview with one of his friends who said that upon hearing of he shootings, he had an immediate sense of who may have done it.  How should society in this country deal with such situations?  When does intervention such as involuntary hospitalization due to such ominous signals become appropriate without infringing upon personal liberty?  How do we determine when a line has been crossed and interventionary action is called for?  The country is obsessed with pointing rhetorical blame, but what of the subject of the mentally ill, the vast majority of whom pose no threat of harm, except possibly to themselves?  Can the "safety net" be improved?  
 		 	   		  
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