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OP, don't be surprised if most of the people here disagree with/antagonize you. Your opinion on this subject means on some level you recognize an unpleasant truth we generally would rather not think about: Prison is more of a place to put people when you don't want to deal with them... than a place for rehabilitation
They already live in the streets of California, usually sent there from other states. Essentially California is taking care of the nation's homeless problem.
It's whose fault that California has the most appeal to those with serious mental illness? They find they fit in best there.
I went to San Franciso on business once and it was amazing how the mentally ill homeless types were. I only assumed they were homeless but they might have had nice apartments really for all I knew. There were some big huge guys twirling and dancing around and acting really looney, they wouldn't fit in with the homeless where I live, they'd feel out of place here, but I think that kind of thing is almost normal in California.
So many of the street people in California looked like they had probably been drug using hippies at one time. They looked to be over a certain age that would make that likely.
And think back to how it was -- someone with Alzheimers back then would be hauled off to the funny farm to live out their days -- and that had to be terrifying. Who decides who is too eccentric or talks to himself too much and needs to be locked away?
One immediate side-effect would be a lot less chemtrail threads on CD, that would suck.
Not sure if I would described hospitalization "locked up". If that was the case, most people I know have been locked up. Almost all pregnant women have been locked up
Locked up would mean the mental institutions of the past. It's what some people mean when they suggest bringing back the mental institutions. When the men in white jackets came to take you away, you were not going to be given some open door policy that allowed you to leave any time you liked.
Today if you are a harmless non-violent schizophrenic, you might be found walking around among "normal" people and some people don't want to have to see you. There are people who will continue to sit on a sidewalk asking for money no matter how many drugs they're given and some of them might not be crazy at all, they just want money for beer or whisky and that's a good way to get it.
The problem with the mentally ill is that there really isn't some magic drug or treatment plan that will cure them all. They might decide they don't like some side effect of the drugs they were given and stop taking them. Or they might decide they like some of the street drugs better or in addition and make themselves worse. Many may have had Section 8 but for various reasons got tossed out and are now on the streets, many might have reasons of their own that they don't want to stay in some homeless shelter -- maybe they hate having rules.
Prisons have become the housing for the mentally ill. There is a correlation between the amount of money spent on treatment facilities for the mentally ill and the number of mentally ill in prison. NOrth Dakota in 2010 was the best with an even distribution. Arizona and Nevada were the worst with 10 times as many mentally ill people in prison than in hospitals.
This is very troubling. Not only is inhumane, but it does not seem very cost effective. I guess in politics it is more politically desirable to spend more money on prisons than hospitals for the mentally ill.
this goes back to the 1980's when liberals pulled the mentally ill out of institutions because it was inhuman.
there was was a REDEFINING in the 80's
prior to 1985 most kids with autism ended up being classified as juvenile schitzipherenia(forgive my spelling) and retarded
the percent of kids with (using an oold outdated term) retardation/mental incompacity/autism has stayed mostly level...the difference is that instead of having 3 JS, 1 AUT, 6 retards (10 kids) out of 1000....now its just 10 autism/asperger out of 1000 (1 in 100)
the same with in the 80's when the liberals have many of the institutions closed because it was 'inhuman' to lock these people up....now they are the growing population of HOMELESS (85% of homeless at mentally ill)
OP, don't be surprised if most of the people here disagree with/antagonize you. Your opinion on this subject means on some level you recognize an unpleasant truth we generally would rather not think about: Prison is more of a place to put people when you don't want to deal with them... than a place for rehabilitation
You are right of course. When I was younger, I worked in a state hospital. There were people there for long term treatment and short term treatment. it was a State hospital and the people there were treated with dignity, and it was necessary. The State has stopped funding for the hospital and I wonder where all of the long term patients have gone. They are probably either homeless or in prison. There is no where else for them to go as they cannot function in society.
I also wonder where the people went who needed short term care. There were many who were suffering major depression, but did not need long term care. Where did they go? What if they did not have insurance? This is not something you can get fixed at the emergency room.
You are right of course. When I was younger, I worked in a state hospital. There were people there for long term treatment and short term treatment. it was a State hospital and the people there were treated with dignity, and it was necessary. The State has stopped funding for the hospital and I wonder where all of the long term patients have gone. They are probably either homeless or in prison. There is no where else for them to go as they cannot function in society.
I also wonder where the people went who needed short term care. There were many who were suffering major depression, but did not need long term care. Where did they go? What if they did not have insurance? This is not something you can get fixed at the emergency room.
One of them went into the cubicle next to me at work I think.
I suggest that if you are mentally you obey the law. Problem solved.
Yes and if you are an axe murderer, I don't think it matters if you are sane or insane, you belong locked up in prison forever. You do not need some long term or short term treatment and then be released back into society.
Treatment should be about those who have not committed some horrendous crime. If you are a serial rapist that likes to kill your victims before or after, you need to stay locked up, it's too late for treatment plans.
Well, since we seem to be doing all the innovating, I suppose there's something to be said for being a nut job - sure beats raping cows in Kansas, at least.
Yes, we've noticed that California people are the top innovators in cities declaring bankruptcy, wasting money and worshiping flowers, just the right place for the mentally ill...
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