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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…
1. Crazy was published in 2006, almost over a decade and a half ago. Based on Earley's observations on the limitations of mental health care and the involvement of the criminal justice system, would you consider this to still be a problem today?
2. There are an inordinate amount of people in need of mental health care that are pushed into prisons. Why do you think, even in today's world, the mentally ill tend to be likened to, say, the “criminally insane”? Why is this a stigma that is so hard for our society to overcome, especially since mental disorders are more and more common in everyday life?
Submitted by Lyndsey Clark. I pledge…