More than "facts"

A recent article from the Associated Press did a major disservice to persons with mental illness. Assembling a packet of "facts" into a piece that was clearly designed as a scare tactic, the article basically villified people with mental illness as being uncontrolably violent.

It reminds me of something I heard a long time ago: "Even the Devil can quote the scriptures." The point, of course, is that anyone can string together various facts that are unrelated, create a false relationship, and force whatever point they are already convinced is true.

The truth is that people with mental illness are more often the VICTIMS of violence than they are the perpetrators, and that when variables are adjusted, violent acts against others are most often the result of drug and alcohol use/abuse....a fact that was conveniently left out of the AP piece.

The only thing the article does show (and, unfortunately, it was picked up by internet provider Yahoo and printed in local papers too) was how hungry society is for a scapegoat, and that, once again, those without a voice are the easiest target.