| [ Politics ] in KIDS 글 쓴 이(By): 구르미 (구르미) 날 짜 (Date): 2007년 4월 21일 토요일 오후 01시 46분 52초 제 목(Title): Re: 책임 These short postings reveal one of the core problems of our society. They say that "CHO" is "complete nuts", "whackjob". Such references reflects the significant level of ignorance towards mentally ill people. At this moment, It is very difficult to discern whether this was an act of "crazy" person or a crime committed by a person with criminal mind. Experts are and will be arguing on both sides. We as a society care about people who are injured, physically ill, or disabled and try to help every one of them lead as normal a life as possible. However, for people who are mentally ill, we have tremendous prejudice against them. They are not different from other ill people whose body part is not functioning well. People with mental disorder happen to have a brain as a body part that does not function well. We go to the hospital because our brain detects the problems of other body parts. When this detector malfunctions, we do not recognize our problem, i.e., we don't feel sick. This is one of the inherent problems of mental disorder. But problems are exponentially amplified by the public having strong stereotypes of dangerousness of insane (which is a legal term for people with mental disorder) people. The rights of insane people are protected by the law. They can lead a normal life. They may not get a gun permit, but they can work, drive and participate in many activities. After the well-known ordeal, John Nash is leading a normal life nowadays. There are many hurdles for them to lead a nornal life. First thing they have to do is acknowleding their own problem. Most insane people live like others except that they have take medications on a regular basis as people with diebetics or heart disease do. However, in addition to the detector malfunctioning, they are too ashamed to admit that they have mental probem. They should not be ashamed of anything. How come they can live with self-dignity if their family members and friends feel ashamed? As I already said, caring for people with mental disorder requires systematic efforts from all fronts, from the family members and mental health care professionals to the local community, state government, and federal government. Health care system in this country has been deteriorating everyday for the last 25 years. What can we do about this? We can educate ourselves! Everything starts from there. --- 유학생들과 교포들을 상대를 쓴 글입니다만.... |