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The Spectacle Blog
A harrowing story about raising a son with mental illness. Thought provoking, and very much worth a read. (Hat tip: Gawker.)
I live with a son who is mentally ill. I love my son. But he terrifies me.
A few weeks ago, Michael pulled a knife and threatened to kill me and then himself after I asked him to return his overdue library books. His 7 and 9 year old siblings knew the safety plan—they ran to the car and locked the doors before I even asked them to. I managed to get the knife from Michael, then methodically collected all the sharp objects in the house into a single Tupperware container that now travels with me. Through it all, he continued to scream insults at me and threaten to kill or hurt me. […]
I am sharing this story because I am Adam Lanza’s mother. I am Dylan Klebold’s and Eric Harris’s mother. I am James Holmes’s mother. I am Jared Loughner’s mother. I am Seung-Hui Cho’s mother. And these boys—and their mothers—need help. In the wake of another horrific national tragedy, it’s easy to talk about guns. But it’s time to talk about mental illness.
View all comments (5) | Leave a comment
More Blog Posts by Kyle Peterson
http://spectator.org/blog/2012/12/17/i-am-adam-lanzas-mother
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C. Vernon Crisler | 12.18.12 @ 12:25AM
Well, the first thing to do is not have guns lying around the house when you know a family member is unstable.
JmsA| 12.18.12 @ 3:32AM
All the best to you, your son, and your family, Mr. Peterson.
spike59| 12.18.12 @ 5:38AM
"But it’s time to talk about mental illness."
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good luck with that, given the state of our media; right now, discussions of the role mental illness plays in these mass killings (Sandy Hook, Aurora, Tucson, etc) don't fit into the 'two track progressive narrative'...on the one track, scaring the audience draws ratings; therefore 'guns are eeeeeeeevillll and must be done away with, the NRA wants you DEAD, especially if you're a minority' will be repeated until the entire populace is wetting their collective beds...and on the other track, making people weep gives talking heads a warm fuzzy feeling and the opportunity to pat themselves on the back, so we'll be hearing the touching piano solos and endlessly repeated footage of reporters and politicians hugging people, camera angled just so in order to catch the dignified tear running down the face of the hugger, and the sound tweaked just enough to record the catch in the voice and a rehearsed whisper of comfort...but to discuss the issues of mental illness in the context of these killings? sorry, you're just not going to sell much lundry detergent with THAT stuff
Oldefarte| 12.18.12 @ 2:01PM
Amen to all of the above comments here! Recalling the old cliche that IT'S NOT THE GUNS THAT KILL, BUT IT'S THE PEOPLE WHO POSSESS THEM THAT DO SO, yes mental illness is a huge problem today that is aided and abbetted by drugs [illegal and legal], dysfunctional families and the increasing pressures of life. Combined with the radical liberalism that has now exploded on our environment since 11/4/08 and you have the recipe for these type scenerios 24-7 going forward. Solutions: bomb Hollywood, incarcerate university professors and labor union leaders, make homosexual marriage illegal and promote hetersexual marriage, immediately begin attendance of religious services of your choice, capture by parents of public school boards and corriculums/textbooks, etc as a start!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Oldefarte| 12.18.12 @ 2:04PM
PS: Legislate legal authority for local police to be able to SHOOT TO KILL if necessary and tell lawyers to STICK IT WHERE THE SUN DON'T SHINE!!!!!!!!!