Would you agree with this: When Reagan shut down the mental institutions

[Denver Donkeys]

a lot of the crazy people have become Republicans and literally took over the Republicans from 50 years ago...

Am I right?

[Brickbat]

1. I really hate the "Republican=crazy!" meme. It does a grave disservice to people who have real

problems. So no, you're wrong.

[RZM]

11. I've never thought of it that way, but you're right

I don't like it because it's a cheap cop out. Rather than accept Republicans and their policies for what they are, the 'crazy' meme attempts to dismiss them as irrelevant. And they aren't irrelevant. They need to be faced and argued against with facts in a persuasive manner. Saying 'they're just crazy' fails to do that and ultimately helps them, because it's not a substantive challenge to their arguments.

[mulsh]

15. you weren't living in California in the mid 60'2 were you

I was. that's when Ronnie was our Gov. Closing down the state run institutions and switching to community mental health services was one of the few "liberal" programs Ronnie pushed.

[EFerrari]

25. It wasn't a liberal program, really, because the communty centers were never funded.

It was a shell game.

[Zalatix]

32. Um, it can be a case of mass insanity. It's not like we haven't seen it before, back in 1939

[GreenPartyVoter]

2. If they were ill enough to be institutionalized, how is it that they were well

enough after being kicked out to join and rise within the ranks of political parties?

Not saying it's completely impossible, whether I'm slightly manic or mildly depressed I can look relatively functional, but I'm thinking anyone ill enough to be in a hospital might not be able to function.

[WingDinger]

10. The real movers and seizurers, are sociopaths. Jeffrey Daumer did well in Rethug politics.

[RZM]

12. How is that?

I've never heard anybody praise Jeffrey Dahmer, nor have I heard him make political statements. He became a born again Christian in prison, but that's not unusual for the convicted.

Actually, I was curious and looked into his death on Wikipedia the other day. His death actually taps into a couple important issues, mental health and racism. His killer, Christopher Scarver, is a diagnosed schizophrenic and apparently has a history of hostility toward white people. It's suspected he killed Dahmer and another prisoner because they were white and had committed crimes that negatively impacted blacks (Dahmer had black victims and the other guy had killed his wife and told the cops that black men had done it).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeffrey_Dahmer
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesse_Anderson
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_Scarver

[MineralMan]

3. No, I wouldn't agree with that.

What happened was that people with mental illnesses didn't get the treatment they needed, because most jurisdictions didn't implement proper community mental health programs. Reagan's trickle down nonsense just got people wet and homeless.

[GreenPartyVoter]

5. Exactly!

[Auggie]

4. The absurdity of this post floors me

[Tsiyu]

6. I won't insult the mentally ill that way

Republicans aren't crazy so much as certifiably sociopathic, greedy and self-serving. Add cruel to the list.

I worked in hospitals during the Reagan years. I remember treating the patients he "set free."

Let me tell you about treating one "newly free" woman they found in some woods next to the road. I can still remember her matted hair, her emaciated form, the mud caked on her body and the bone sticking out of a hole in her shin where it had been broken. Weeks before.

No, she probably never became a Republican.

[DCKit]

7. No. Where I lived, they died in the streets.

But only after being sexually and financially exploited.

Great post!

[former9thward]

8. The deinstitutiional movement began long before Reagan.

It started in 1965 under Johnson and peaked in the 1970s. Reagan took over in 1981.

"Beginning in the 1960s, state and federal cutbacks for local mental health services forced large numbers of mentally ill people onto the streets and into the revolving door of endless encounters with the criminal justice system. The result is a population that remains vulnerable."

Read more: What Is Deinstitutionalization in Relation to Homelessness? | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/about_4674876_what-deinstitutionalization-relation-homelessness.html#ixzz1n1zUWLL5

[Major Nikon]

30. Perhaps, but Carter tried to fix it and Raygun torpedoed the effort

There's also a lot more to the story. The institutions prior to the 60's were dirty shitholes. Rather than any meaningful treatment they were designed to be places for the mentally ill to go and be treated like animals. JFK actually got the ball rolling on the reform effort.

[RevStPatrick]

9. No, Denver Donkeys, you are not right.

You probably don't want to play that game here.
It will not go over well...

[yellowcanine]

13. I object to the use of the term "crazy people" for the mentally ill.

It is no longer acceptable to refer to mentally ill people as "crazy."

[YellowRubberDuckie]

14. A lack of self education when it comes to the bible is responsible for these idiots.

They listen to their hateful, idiotic pastors every Sunday and fail to actually read the bible for themselves. Their views get twisted and angry because instead of looking for themselves, because they just don't have time, they are relying on people who essentially steal from them and have agendas longer than my height. I don't trust clergy who do not take a vow of poverty and stick to it. If you go to the church and your pastor is doing better than you are financially, there's something wrong.
Duckie

[raouldukelives]

16. They worship the golden calf of Wall St

All other things are secondary and in most cases only there to be used as shields. They love to cling to the covers of religion or patriotism while secretly (or even not so secretly) working in direct violation of the very things they claim to cherish.
No servant can serve two masters as they say.

[zbdent]

17. well, it does explain a lot of today's "conservative" types ...

but let me apologize to the mentally ill for associating them with Republicans/Freeptards/Teahadists/Conservatives ...

[Odin2005]

18. Bigoted horseshit.

[dixiegrrrrl]

19. You need to seriously re-consider your post.

It is insulting to the mentally ill AND to their families to be called "crazy".
No self respecting Dem would be caught publicly using that term.

[TBF]

20. Not only is it bigoted to refer to the mentally ill as "crazy",

but I take offense with your statement about taking over from the "republicans from 50 years ago". As someone who votes for the democratic party I take issue with that. Were republicans correct 50 years ago when they supported limited government, fought affirmative action, and tried to keep women out of the workplace?

The only good thing I can think of was Eisenhower expanding Social Security and warning us of the military industrial complex - other than that I would not be waxing poetic about republicans.

[rrneck]

21. Just so you know

You just offended a lot of liberals who suffer from mental illness. If you want to call Republicans crazy, that's cool. Make sure to be more specific regarding the nature and cause if their craziness.

Try and remember that a lot of mentally ill people have suffered from the poor social safety net in this country, and that's a much more important issue to discuss.

Scattergun snark never turns out well.

[Ganja Ninja]

22. No, the mentally ill during those years where thrown out into the streets ...

and ended up dead or in jail. The non-institutionalized crazies were the people that voted Reagen into office.

[Starboard Tack]

23. No, you're wrong on all counts.

Cheap shot. Bigoted, insulting post. Go back to the start, do not pass Go, do not collect $200.

[fishwax]

24. No, that theory is wrong. On many levels.

[A-Schwarzenegger]

26. No, you're PPR'd.

[mrmpa]

27. What I would agree with is that

when Reagan shut down the mental institutions, the patients of these institutions were to receive treatment in underfunded and undermanned community care centers. This led to an overabundance of mentally becoming homeless.

Also, as California goes, so goes most of the nations. The states followed Reagan's lead and also closes down mental institutions and sent the patients to underfunded and undermanned community care centers. This led to, you guessed it, homelessness among the mentally ill.

[Dragonbreathp9d]

28. - he got shot

[Blue Owl]

29. Rick Sanitarium

Say no more

[Incitatus]

31. It works as a joke, but in all seriousness no. nt

[zenaedmundson]

33. He was wrong. I want Santorium committed!

NT

[dixiegrrrrl]

34. Poster has been MIRT-ed.

[BeHereNow]

35. Santorum should have a psychiatric evaluation, at the very least.

His statements strongly suggest Delusional Disorder,
The same is true of the goof ball in Indiana who believes the Girl Scouts
are a subversive organization promoting abortions and homosexuality.

Seriously, these are signs of mental illness.

Yet somehow, while ordinary citizens would be diagnosed as mentally ill
if they were to go about making such claims, these public figures
are somehow allowed to be seen as normal.

The last thing we need in America is people who suffer
from delusional disorder making decisions that impact our country and the rest
of the world.


Rather, they should be treated by medical professionals, not endorsed
for public office.

There is something gone terribly wrong when these people are
accepted as viable public servants.

I intend no disrespect towards any person suffering from mental illness;
As I have a family member who struggles with it every day.

BHN