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1. Earley’s book outlines the fate of Mr. Boreman, a severely mentally ill person who the police tried to help by arresting for trespassing. While incarcerated Boreman punched a police officer. Dr. Poitier is quoted as saying, “The police officer who arrested him thought he was doing him a favor, now he’s facing a very serious felony charge. He’s a perfect example of why the mentally ill should not be put in jail. He needs help for his mental illness, and he won’t get it here.” (50) Thoughts on this?
2. In Chapter 4 Earley explains how Thorazine was called a “wonder drug” and made mental health professionals rethink the necessity of institutionalization. “With Thorazine now available, did the nation really need costly state mental hospitals?” (69) It seems that the mentally ill are viewed as a “drain” on society’s economic resources. Does this kind of thinking contribute to the stigmatization of mental illness?
3. Earley goes on to explain how deinstitutionalization turned out to be an “unplanned social disaster.” He tells us, “President Kennedy’s promise of $3 billion to create a safety net turned out to be a cruel lie. Congress turned its attention to other problems, primarily the Vietnam War and Watergate. In the coming years, mental health ended up going hungry when the federal pie was gobbled up.” (71) The result of this tragedy was that: “By the late 1980s, the mentally ill had started arriving in jails and prisons.” (71) It is my belief that we are still struggling with the aftermath of these unfortunate events. What do you think?
Submitted by Bonnie Akkerman I pledge…