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Genuinely curious about what other people think about this, but why do people think it's an acceptable excuse for formerly mentally healthy people making insane

Genuinely curious about what other people think about this, but why do people think it's an acceptable excuse for formerly mentally healthy people making insanely offensive comments after they start suffering from a mental health issue? I truly feel compassion for those going through mental health issues, but is it possible that the people who become offensive after becoming mentally ill always thought these things but just had a filter? Should we accept that?

platinumrad 8y ago
He's obviously been deteriorating mentally for a long time. What do you think the proper response is, shaming him? He needed professional help—lots of it—and unfortunately, in the United States and many other places around the world, there are a lot of barriers that prevent people from getting that help so he ended up homeless and (possibly) dead.
wk_end 8y ago
This probably isn't the time or place to discuss it. But FWIW, if someone thinks racist things but never speaks nor acts upon them, I'm not sure what it means to "accept" that or not; and I'm not sure how we could possibly know if they only came out because of schizophrenia or if schizophrenia triggered them in the first place. It all just seems to be kind of moot.
RIMR 8y ago
"I know the guy just died, but let's talk about how shitty he was." Read that, and try to understand why it is tasteless.
notjones 8y ago
his outburts of overt racism coincided with defining his life around being a technological prophet of god/being actively pursued by the CIA; if you're to believe that he held racist thoughts all along and that his illness only removed the filter, are you to believe that he also espoused those other two beliefs and they were only being kept in check?
tomhoward 8y ago
Your comment assumes a clear demarcation line between mental health and mental illness. It also assumes a clear demarcation line between people "like us" who only think nice thoughts, and people who think evil thoughts. Human nature is just not that simple. That should be the thing to contemplate here.
danmg 8y ago
No you're not. You just want to feel good about shunning him while he was alive. We'll he's dead now. You don't have to worry about hell banning him anymore so you can feel good about yourself.
DanBC 8y ago
> but why do people think it's an acceptable excuse for formerly mentally healthy people making insanely offensive comments after they start suffering from a mental health issue? People don't think it's acceptable, which is why he was constantly being banned from online forums. People think it's understandable because it's a function of illness, not a core part of his personality. Please don't lump all mental health "issues" together as you have here. Schizophrenia is quite different to something like depression. Psychosis does not "remove the filter" or "reveal the true identity". Terry was an ill person who was failed by society -- he didn't get the treatment he needed. We don't need to add to that by blaming him for things caused by his illness.

platinumrad 8y ago

He's obviously been deteriorating mentally for a long time. What do you think the proper response is, shaming him? He needed professional help—lots of it—and unfortunately, in the United States and many other places around the world, there are a lot of barriers that prevent people from getting that help so he ended up homeless and (possibly) dead.

wk_end 8y ago

This probably isn't the time or place to discuss it. But FWIW, if someone thinks racist things but never speaks nor acts upon them, I'm not sure what it means to "accept" that or not; and I'm not sure how we could possibly know if they only came out because of schizophrenia or if schizophrenia triggered them in the first place. It all just seems to be kind of moot.

RIMR 8y ago

"I know the guy just died, but let's talk about how shitty he was." Read that, and try to understand why it is tasteless.

notjones 8y ago

his outburts of overt racism coincided with defining his life around being a technological prophet of god/being actively pursued by the CIA; if you're to believe that he held racist thoughts all along and that his illness only removed the filter, are you to believe that he also espoused those other two beliefs and they were only being kept in check?

tomhoward 8y ago

Your comment assumes a clear demarcation line between mental health and mental illness. It also assumes a clear demarcation line between people "like us" who only think nice thoughts, and people who think evil thoughts. Human nature is just not that simple. That should be the thing to contemplate here.

danmg 8y ago

No you're not. You just want to feel good about shunning him while he was alive. We'll he's dead now. You don't have to worry about hell banning him anymore so you can feel good about yourself.

DanBC 8y ago

> but why do people think it's an acceptable excuse for formerly mentally healthy people making insanely offensive comments after they start suffering from a mental health issue? People don't think it's acceptable, which is why he was constantly being banned from online forums. People think it's understandable because it's a function of illness, not a core part of his personality. Please don't lump all mental health "issues" together as you have here. Schizophrenia is quite different to something like depression. Psychosis does not "remove the filter" or "reveal the true identity". Terry was an ill person who was failed by society -- he didn't get the treatment he needed. We don't need to add to that by blaming him for things caused by his illness.