Ex-cop manhunt in LA; tragedy ensues

[stefan]

Originally Posted by shiney

As for the Godwinning of the thread earlier, come on man.

It's only "godwinning" if it's a deliberate attempt to torpedo discussion by bringing in nazis. I believe it to be an entirely legitimate comparison, and I dare you to claim otherwise if you look at the things the LAPD has done.

[Kim]

Originally Posted by rpgdemon

I would also like to know this.

"If you're racist, it must be because you're mentally ill."

reminds me of

"If someone steals something, they were probably black."

and

"If someone molests someone, they were probably gay."

in other words

"If someone does any bad thing they must belong to whatever marginalized group I can get away with grouping them into."

this is very old and tired and bigoted rhetoric

[Sifright]

Originally Posted by Kim

"If you're racist, it must be because you're mentally ill."

reminds me of

"If someone steals something, they were probably black."

and

"If someone molests someone, they were probably gay."

in other words

"If someone does any bad thing they must belong to whatever marginalized group I can get away with grouping them into."

this is very old and tired and bigoted rhetoric

I'm with Kim on this one.

Bigotry has nothing to do with mental illness.

[pochercoaster]

It's also worth noting that people with mental illnesses are a greater risk of being victims of violent crimes, not of committing them.

Being an asshole is not a mental illness.

[rpgdemon]

Originally Posted by Kim

"If you're racist, it must be because you're mentally ill."

reminds me of

"If someone steals something, they were probably black."

and

"If someone molests someone, they were probably gay."

in other words

"If someone does any bad thing they must belong to whatever marginalized group I can get away with grouping them into."

this is very old and tired and bigoted rhetoric

Except that it's nothing like that, because I'm talking about violence in regards to racism, as displayed by the cops in this situation. If someone is a violent racist, I am confident in saying that they are mentally ill, for the thought process that leads them to think that violence is a solution. I believe that anyone who truly believes that violence and murder will help with any problem needs to seek help. In the case of a violent racist: That person sees a "problem" that a minority is "stealing his jobs" or whatever, and decides to shoot up innocent members of that minority. Someone who believes these things is not healthy, and needs help. They're ALSO an asshole, but that is unrelated.

And nor am I saying that all mentally ill are violent, Pocheros. Saying that all squares are rectangles does not in any way imply all rectangles are squares.

[rpgdemon]

Like, if someone solves their problems with a shotgun, that is a sign that they need help.

If someone sees a certain race as a problem, and "solves" that "problem" with a shotgun, they are a violent racist.

Transitive Property: That person is in need of help, and is not mentally sound.

[pochercoaster]

Racism stems from ignorance and is counteracted with education.

Mental illness is a disease.

The help that racist people need is not the same help that mentally ill people need. Stop conflating the two.

[rpgdemon]

PLUS: Your analogy does not hold water, because while there is no correlation between skin color and crime, there -is- a direct correlation between mental health, and how you act. That is the definition of mental health.

There are plenty of people who are mentally ill who are not violent. That does not change the fact that people who solve problems with violence are mentally unbalanced.

Mental illness is a touchy topic for everyone, because it is such a vast swathe. A guy who was traumatized by a shooting is labeled as mentally ill, just the same as the guy who DID the shooting. That does not mean that the traumatized person is violent at all, but the fact that there exists someone who is not violent who is mentally ill does not change the fact that people who go out to inflict violence on others for their own pleasure or gain are mentally ill.

[Kim]

Originally Posted by RPG

"If you're violent, you must be mentally ill."

Welcome to "Furthering the Stereotypes of Mental Illness That Plague Our Society and Contribute to Oppression" Corner. Here's your host, RPG.

Up next, "Just because I think all criminals are black doesn't mean I think all black people are criminals!"

[rpgdemon]

Originally Posted by pocheros

Racism stems from ignorance and is counteracted with education.

Mental illness is a disease.

The help that racist people need is not the same help that mentally ill people need. Stop conflating the two.

I can see that point. To solve racism, you can educate a person. And racism is not a mental illness, and I even explicitly said that. You can have a mentally sound racist, who talks all about how them minorities took his jobs. He's an asshole, and racist, but he is mentally sound, just uneducated.

But someone who sees violence as the solution is in need of help. And the people who act on their racism to murder someone are in need of help. If they didn't have a minority to attack, it would be someone else, because ultimately their violence stems from within themselves, not within their racism.