The treatment of astronaut Lisa Nowak by the media, especially the major news networks who are in theory unbiased, is a slap in the face to all those who suffer from a mental illness. Here we have a highly accomplished woman, a decorated navel officer, a mother and now an "Astro-nut"
She obviously had some type of severe mental event. Something that may be akin to a psychiatric stroke or siezure. If the news was that she had had a siezure would Jay Leno be laying on the stage twitching?
It easier to make a joke and laugh about it then face the reality, both historically and present day, of how we treat the mentally ill. And the very difficult choices of where we go from here. Do we owe any type of reporation to the mentally ill of today for past autricities? The witches or possessed of our past? How about those lost in our prison system? Do we send in an army of graduate students to begin to filter out the truely mental ill? Or do we just write them off?
Will we ever face up to these issues? Don't make me laugh.
She obviously had some type of severe mental event. Something that may be akin to a psychiatric stroke or siezure. If the news was that she had had a siezure would Jay Leno be laying on the stage twitching?
It easier to make a joke and laugh about it then face the reality, both historically and present day, of how we treat the mentally ill. And the very difficult choices of where we go from here. Do we owe any type of reporation to the mentally ill of today for past autricities? The witches or possessed of our past? How about those lost in our prison system? Do we send in an army of graduate students to begin to filter out the truely mental ill? Or do we just write them off?
Will we ever face up to these issues? Don't make me laugh.
