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this post was submitted on 06 Jan 2024
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"Having a bad day" is likely a confabulation to explain away irrational behavior resulting from deficient impulse control, not an actual rational answer to a complex decision making process that led to the conclusion of "I know, I should attack the judge - that will fix my problems."
Imagine if you had the misfortune to have a brain where every one of your intrusive thoughts ended up resulting in acting upon them.
I suspect most of this guy's life was not by choice.
As a veteran with PTSD, DPDR, that has spent a lot of work, time, and money to not have a bad day. If I cannot prevent myself from committing acts of violence please just put me down.
There is no reason my existence, for whatever reason caused it to be fucked up should cause harm to others. As a survivor of abuse at the hands of Catholic Church, nothing justifies harming children. As a TBI traumatic Brian injury survivor of war, my continued existence and freedom for self determination doesn't justify continuing to abuse others or commit unsanctioned acts of violence against others.
If I am incapable of controlling myself or not causing harm to others I should not be allowed to cause harm to others simply because I am a faulty individual that has been harmed or suffered. My suffering does not justify causing others to suffer. Get out of here with that bull shit. If the person refuses medications, therapy, work then the only alternative is involuntary treatment.
I mean, this person should be in prison, but prison doesn't have to be the horrifying fate it is in America.
It is possible to separate someone from general society, and do so with compassion. We just don't here.
Where did I say it justifies or makes it acceptable?
It's possible to take precautionary measures towards keeping people unable to avoid harming others separated from said others while simultaneously having empathy for what was likely a shit set of circumstances that led to that inability.
By all means, if you are going to harm others I think you should be locked up. And given I generally believe in as much self-determination as socially acceptable, I'd even want you to have access to ending your life if you didn't want to be locked up but couldn't prevent yourself from harming others.
What I wouldn't want though, is for you to be punitively harmed yourself beyond forcible separation from potential victims. I don't think you should be denied access to stimulating media, or put in dangerous situations for yourself, or made to be in barely livable conditions, or have your friends and family extorted with price gouging to connect with you, or to deny you quality medical treatment, etc.
The more punitive we make the conditions, the more it dissuades people who are afraid they can't help harming others and don't want to harm others from seeking aid in preventing harming others.
So yeah, of course this guy shouldn't be walking the streets and assaulting people. I never said otherwise.
But it's possible to hold that opinion in parallel with empathy for the circumstances he's in and the life he's forced to live as a result.