Sunday's editorial in the StarTribune about mental
illness and the lack of any program in the city, state
etc to deal with the walking wounded that populate our
city, especially but not restricted to the downtown
area was a welcome call to civic morality, something
often lacking these days of budget cutting and public
spending on projects of dubious value.
What's that saying.. what profiteth a man if he sell
his soul... or some such thing? I mean what pride can
we take in our physical city if more and more it is
populated by the tragic souls the paper mentions? What
pride can we take in a city that allows the mentally
ill to be shot by police?
If anyone is interested there will be a public hearing
in a state senate committee this Thursday relating
specifically to making committment of the mentally ill
easier for families and I presume the state. This is a
tricky issue fraught with all possibilities for abuse
of civil rights and deserves serious deliberation. At
the same time there is an urgency to do something.
How we have left those with mental illness to fend for
themselves under the wonderful rubric "mainstreaming"
is scandalous and smacks of the mean spirited and
penurious Reagan years.
This is not a matter of getting "those people" out of
sight to avoid personal discomfort as it is a matter
of getting them help and in the case of Rocco
d'Andrea, saving their lives. You'll remember Rocco as
the man muttering to himself and wielding a plastic
gun shot by police near the Metrodome in Dec '99.
That was also, if I'm not mistaken, the first time our
proactive professional police chief first mentioned
the idea of providing special training for officers
to deal with the mentally ill. The second time he
mentioned that idea was in the aftermath of Barbara
Schneider's shooting when he said to a Strib reporter
that he had been thinking of such a program even at
the time of Barbara's death. The next time he made
mention of the idea was in the aftermath of the
shooting of Alfred "Abuka" Sanders.
In the case of Alfred Sanders specifically his family
would have been helped by legislation championed by
Rep. Mindy Greiling in the legislature.
The chief was correct when he pointed to this being an
issue facing the greater society not just the police.
He is incorrect to snivel, whine, blame and ultimately
procrastinate in doing anything about that problem
while he had ample time to scare the bejesus out of
the downtown council types regarding the ISAG
conference.
Jump shift:
Monday's editorial in the Strib titled "LRT Bridge
Blunder" was most notable for the tidbit that "City
officials also knew of the change but failed to share
the news with neighbors". Based upon the misfeasance
of city officials, the Strib contends the city ought
to pony up for part of the cost of remedying the
situation to the reasonable concerns of neighborhood
residents not to mention all citizens of the city who
should have a stake in everything transpiring
throughout the city.
I would like to know whom among city officials was
affair of these changes. I believe citizens deserve a
right to know who screws up and deserve to know that
politicians and appointed officials will be held
accountable. Years ago The Strib included in the paper
an editorial to that very effect written by William
Safire.
Now that I'm done with a rare paean to the Strib I'll
sign off.
Tim Connolly
Ward 7
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