I would like to see some evidence to support Kevin's claim that there is growing support for the notion that mental illness is an excuse for anti-social behavior. I don't think I have seen that. There is one segment of the mentally ill population that is excused for anti-social behavior - those who have been found to be insane (that is precisely what insanity means - a judgement of non-responsibility due to mental illness). Most mentally ill people are not insane.
ESPN and wikipedia report that Lange spent 8 months in a psychiatric inpatient unit. If you have reason to question those reports I will bow to your superior knowledge - my Artie Lange file is pretty thin. Assuming for now the reports are true, I think it is fair to describe him as having mental health problems - how is that "throwing around mental illness brickbats"? But again, my point has never been that his comments are excused because of his mental health problems - I don't think they are. I know lots and lots of people with mental health problems, and my rough estimate is that the proportion of assholes is about the same as it is in the "normal" population. Lange is clearly an asshole, whatever his mental health status, and assuming he was not in an active psychotic state (which I suppose is possible) I hold him responsible for his reprehensible twitter comments. I just don't think demanding an apology from someone like that is #1 on the priority list. And, for what its worth, if Artie Lange or anyone else made comments about a woman in my family like he did about Champion, his next hospitalization would be for a kicked ass. On Fri, Nov 7, 2014 at 9:01 AM, Steve Timko <[email protected]> wrote: > Artie Lange attempted suicide a couple of times, so obviously his mental > health is not pristine. But where do these diagnoses of mental illness come > from? Anyone who has listened to the Howard Stern show will recognize the > humor. It's a clear attempt at being politically incorrect. > I think people need to demonstrate move evidence of mental illness before > throwing around the mental illness brickbats. Listening to several hours of > Howard Stern discussion could also be enlightening. > > On Fri, Nov 7, 2014 at 2:52 AM, Kevin M. <[email protected]> wrote: > >> >> >> On Thu, Nov 6, 2014 at 11:09 PM, PGage <[email protected]> wrote: >> >>> This is a fairly serious question. Let me start by clarifying that when >>> I said that in Lange's case an apology was not the most important thing >>> because he is mentally ill, I did not mean that he should not be held >>> responsible for his actions, just that there were probably more important >>> things to worry about than a formal apology. >>> >> >> There is an ever-growing segment of the populace for whom mental illness >> is now considered a viable excuse for anti-social behavior. I find the >> concept to be a potential slippery-slope to a literal get-out-of-jail-free >> card. That Twitter has not suspended Lange for posting supposed fantasies >> about enslaving and whipping a specific African American woman is yet >> another vile example of how desperate Twitter is to keep its number of >> active users. To me it isn't about free speech. Speech that targets another >> isn't protected under the first amendment, and even if it is, it doesn't >> need to exist on supposedly social media. >> >> Slate has been accused (and I think rightly) of targeting and attempting >> to smear the reputations of certain celebrities through erroneous and even >> non-factual headlines and Twitter posts, to what end I wouldn't speculate >> beyond a sadistic attempt to lure more people to its website. TMZ and >> Drudge are notorious for posting first and verifying later. And I'm not >> even delving into the political sites and feeds because I'm so sick of all >> things political (and because the focus was on people with mental issues >> abusing social media). But there really is no regulation by Twitter or >> Facebook or any of the major players. The lengths it takes to get an >> account suspended are insane, and even if it occurs, a new account can be >> created by the same person in minutes. I know of one person who has openly >> threatened rape, assault, and murder of multiple people on Twitter who has >> had accounts suspended more than 80 times in the past 18 months. There's a >> police file on him in his hometown, but neither the law nor Twitter does >> anything to stop him. He clearly shouldn't be allowed on the street, let >> alone have access to the internet, but he continues and will continue until >> he works up the nerve to carry out one of his many threats. >> >> I've been exploring alternative networks the last few weeks. Ello, Tsu, >> and Line, to name a few. I'm hoping for a place for more civil discourse >> can exist, where individuals can actually be social. I'll let you know if >> one of them works out. >> >> -- >> Kevin M. (RPCV) >> >> -- >> -- >> TV or Not TV .... 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