It's confirmed, he was a he. At least all of these incidents are opening up some debate, though it's unfortunate that we seem to be unable to get beyond a black and white view of mental health and illness.
http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2007/05/22/ap3748606.html
22 May 2007
The end of May
Spring in Portland is a funny time, rain one day, bright sun and blue sky the next. We residents ache so much for summer that Spring is really just a tease. But, the roses are coming out and that means that summer can't be too far away.
We tend to associate Spring as a "happy" time, flowers and the like. But it is also a volatile time, a teasing time, and, for some, an instigator of a rise in mental anguish. Here in Oregon, because of a constant decrease in the funding of mental health services, people suffering from chronic mental illness are treated when they become a danger, on an emergency basis. We have lost our way, no longer seeking health, and instead just treating disease.
Below my office window, I can hear a lumbering bus emit fumes that are killing our environment, and commuters honk at one another in the rush to get home. Yet above them silently dance the fresh green leaves of Spring. The interplay of these two realities is the dance of being human. We can't forget, amidst the message that we are inundated with everyday, that we always have the potential to take the higher road and get a better view.
We tend to associate Spring as a "happy" time, flowers and the like. But it is also a volatile time, a teasing time, and, for some, an instigator of a rise in mental anguish. Here in Oregon, because of a constant decrease in the funding of mental health services, people suffering from chronic mental illness are treated when they become a danger, on an emergency basis. We have lost our way, no longer seeking health, and instead just treating disease.
Below my office window, I can hear a lumbering bus emit fumes that are killing our environment, and commuters honk at one another in the rush to get home. Yet above them silently dance the fresh green leaves of Spring. The interplay of these two realities is the dance of being human. We can't forget, amidst the message that we are inundated with everyday, that we always have the potential to take the higher road and get a better view.
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