Theory and Reality – PORAC Ponders

Edmund Kemper, while a juvenile he killed his grandmother and grandfather. Released from the juvenile system he went on to kill 8 others. On the day he had his final interview with the psychologist to end his juvenile sentence, he had the heads of his latest victims in a bowling ball bag strapped to his motorcycle.

As a patrol officer, I had the occasion to transport subjects committed for a 72-hour mental health commitment to the Austin State Hospital. That meant that a local judge, usually a JP had made a determination that the individual was a danger to himself or others. It was up to the doctors at the state hospital to confirm or deny the judge’s decision. Typically these individuals were drifters with no ties to the community and likely no idea where they were. The first trip I made the wacko was already outside and standing by the patrol car. His “evaluation” took less time that it took me to get the paperwork signed. The same thing happened the second time, with one difference. I left the wacko behind, seemed to me he would fit in a whole better in Austin than 40 miles down the road. Oh, well.

Alex Plitsas a combat veteran and former Pentagon official writing for the Daily Caller thinks he has hit on the ideal solution for a gun violence reduction act. As Johnny Carson used to say, “Wrong Hoppes #9 gun oil breath!” His proposal is doomed by history and will never work. The ultimate irony is that it will be undermined by the people who are screaming the loudest for gun control. Here-is-what-a-gun-violence-reduction-act-should-look-like-from-a-second-amendment-supporter.

Mr. Plitsas calls for increased emphasis on mental health screening. A person with mental health problems that poses a danger to self or others could have his ability to purchase and possess a firearm suspended via any one of three ways. (1)A mental health professional psychiatrist or psychologist could make an independent report to the Federal database. (2) Police could order an evaluation for the same reasons. (3) a refusal to cooperate with the process would result in a denial. All denials are appealable. His language:

4. Deny guns to people with mental health problems. The common factor that all of the murderers who have committed mass shootings share is mental or behavioral health issues. Upon diagnosis, a licensed psychiatrist or psychologist, who is authorized to diagnose mental or behavioral health disorders or diseases, should report the diagnosis to a federal list which would trigger a rejection if the patient attempts to purchase a firearm. Law enforcement should also be able to order a psychiatric evaluation for suspects, such as the man who just committed the mass murder in Florida, demonstrating erratic behavior. A refusal to submit to an evaluation should also lead to a denial when attempting to purchase a firearm — much as a refusal to take a breathalyzer test leads to a suspension of your driving privileges. The definition of what types of diseases, disorders, or symptoms should prevent an individual from purchasing a firearm must be clearly defined. As is the case with other watch lists, the individual in question should have the right to appeal through due process.

Since it’s inception the American Psychiatric Association (APA) had held that homosexuality was a mental disorder. With the advent of the Stonewall Riots in 1969 and the sexual revolution of the sixties and seventies the APA stance was increasingly unpopular. The behavior, motivations, and morals of homosexuals hadn’t changed, just the climate. When Hugh Hefner, the guy in the Playboy Mansion who was surrounded by more pussy than a big city gynecological practice admitted to occasional bouts with the one-eyed monster both catching and pitching, the APA caved. In 1973 in the DSM III the APA decided that having another man’s balls resting on your chin was perfectly normal. An aberration at the beginning of the conference had turned into a right, according to the APA by the end.Homosexuality DSM III 1973 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4695779/

In the late nineties, early two thousand states began to adopt civil commitment procedures. According to the APA, pedophiles were incapable of being rehabilitated and given the opportunity would re-offend again. Upon completion of their criminal sentence, states were then obtaining civil commitments based on future danger due to mental disease or defect. They were then confined to mental institutions for life. The APA was horrified. They had a solution.

The APA redrafted the DSM and came out with the DSM V in 2014. Will wonders never cease! According to the APA, pedophilia is no longer a mental disease, it is now a lifestyle choice. It may be distasteful, it could be illegal, but it was no longer a compulsion that calls for a civil commitment. Peodophila is sexual orientation.

The APA did the same thing with “gender identity” what was a serious mental illness with the ultimate manifestation the surgical removal of healthy body parts became minor aberration akin to a nervous tic.

Mr. Plitsas had better be careful, doing the same thing, the same way, and expecting a different result is some people’s definition of crazy. Psychiatrists, Psychologists, and the APA have a long history of avoiding responsibility for their actions. It is just as likely that if Mr. Plitsas’ model were to be followed violent mental illness would cease to exist by APA standards. If that happened then the whole APA membership would be reduced to chasing fat girls wanting to be skinny, skinny girls who think they are too fat, and ugly chicks that want to hear a pair of imaginary balls clang when they walk.

Get rid of the psychobabble and reframe the evaluation process within the confines of sanity/insanity standards and that would be a start. For those that tend to use terms interchangeably; “fucking nuts” is a psychological term. Insanity is a legal term unrelated to any particular mental condition and is used to describe an individual who by reason of mental disease or defect is unable to distinguish right from wrong.

If you ask the APA the only mental illness exhibited here is contained within my opinions because it puts their so-called science in the same boat with faith healers, snake oils salesmen and assorted other con artists who share the common aspiration to drive a Mercedez.