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Letters to the Editor
Column reflects out-of-date attitude
I would like to respond to the guest column "Police have a right to protection" that appeared in the Opinion page of the Nov. 17, 2003 issue. I work with a large number of students with a variety of disabilities and I was very disappointed to see anyone described in such a cruel and misinformed way. I would never expect such a letter to appear in a modern university publication where the readers are expected to be a bit more educated and enlightened than the average person. I would maybe expect such a column in a newspaper from a small town in the late 1800s.
We have about 70 students at SCSU that are served by Student Disability Services who can be classified as having a mental illness. Many students with a mental illness attend class and go about their daily routine with no problems, indistinguishable from any other student. I know that a few of them have even missed a day or two of medication without becoming a risk to themselves or anyone else.
Police do in fact have the right to defend themselves. Many police are trained to recognize signs of mental illness and how to work with people when they see these signs. Even after an incident such as described in the column I would hope most police officers would not make such a cruel and misinformed statement as "and the next day you would find..."
Owen Zimpel
Director
Student Disability Services
Disabled people CAN function in society
I am writing in response to the article written by Sandra Johnson, and to those who were fortunate enough not to have read the article, I guess this is what we call freedom of speech. It is what I call TOTALLY disrespecting people with disabilities!
The paragraph states, "Let's be frank here kids, mentally ill people are basically defective human beings. They cannot function in normal society. This man should have been committed to a hospital the minute he was diagnosed. It only takes one time for a mentally ill patient to forget his or her medication, and the next day you find your neighbor's head in a mailbox."
I ask that everyone who reads this please go to the Web site www.injusticeunveiled.com and read the real story. The boy's name is Justin, and he made 911 calls on 2/6/02, 4/3/02 and finally on 4/10/02 only to NEVER receive any help. Then, on May 3, Justin was in need of hospitalization so the parents called 911. This time when the officer arrived he talked to Justin's dad and halfway through the sentence he stated, "Justin would be going to jail and there he would get his first taste of reality!" When Officer Stellmach opened the door and told Justin he was going to jail, Justin struck out at him. The pointed weapon turned out to be a ballpoint pen. Officer Stellmach pulled his pistol and within a distance of approximately three feet he aimed at Justin's chest and almost shot him AFTER Justin had dropped the pen on the street and had his hands in the air.
Sandra, get your facts straight because Justin was crying out for help and more than once he called because he needed help, but the system let him down! I am the mother of a severely autistic son, who has mental issues and he wouldn't hurt anyone, and neither would Justin if he got the needed help. Get your facts straight before you criticize such wonderful human beings. It's your attitude that people should fear, not Justin's. The head and the mailbox? That was Sandra's idea, not Justin's.
Darla Robertson
Junior
Special Education
Comments reflect misconceptions
In response to Sandra Johnson's Nov. 17 column regarding an incident involving the St. Cloud police department and a family whose son has been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia, we would like to express deep concern with the article's attitude toward those who cope with mental illness. While her contention regarding police response may or may not be valid, she lost all credibility when she reduced her argument to unfounded stereotypes and discriminatory assertions.
We would be very interested in hearing Ms. Johnson's sources behind such comments as "They (people with mental illness) cannot function in normal society," and "mentally ill people are basically defective human beings." According to the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill, "The best treatments for serious mental illnesses today are highly effective; between 70 and 90 percent of individuals have significant reduction of symptoms and improved quality of life with a combination of pharmacological and psychosocial treatments and supports." We have personal experiences with people diagnosed with schizophrenia and have witnessed how they live "normal" and productive lives.
Unfortunately, Ms. Johnson's comments reflect a wider societal misconception regarding persons suffering from mental illness. These attitudes materialize in our society in the form of fear, intolerance and hatred toward people with disabilities. We can only hope that Ms. Johnson spoke out of ignorance rather than malicious intent. We invite all interested parties to research the topic of mental illness, contact Community Education, WACOSA or Social Services about volunteer opportunities, and personally reflect on oppressive behavior and language. What we say and do affects everyone around us. It is our responsibility as people to make sure that every person is respected and given fair opportunities.
Emily Maeckelbergh
Rebecca Nies
Brandon Nyberg
Kristin Kersten
Graduate Assistants in Special Education
Mental illness not synonymous with violence
Mental illness is a biological brain disorder. It is a condition like any other medical condition. To state that simply because someone has a mental illness he or she should be put into a hospital and away from society is an inhumane and ignorant remark. People with mental illness do recover and successfully live, study and work in our communities. People like Abraham Lincoln, Lionel Aldridge, Virginia Wolf, Patty Duke, Vincent Van Gogh, John Nash, Mike Wallace to name just a few. With one in five people affected by mental illness sometime during their life, it is fairly easy to see that most people with mental illness are not violent prone individuals - on or off their medication. It is letters such as Ms. Johnson's that underscores the incredible work that remains to address the stigma surrounding mental illness.
Sue Abderholden
Executive Director
National Alliance for the Mentally Ill of Minnesota
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