Bondi Junction massacre

[nicnacs_4u]

Approx 4.30pm a lone male went and stabbed 6 people to death at Bondi Junction shopping mall yesterday:-(

Another day to remember but for all the wrong reasons. What would make someone do this?

[sandypebbles]

Yes, I know and understand it is real

But, every single time anyone attacks someone or goes on a criminal spree,  it is always put down to 'mental illness' 

Always

I do not believe for a second that mental illness is behind every single violent crime 

Some people are just scum pure and simple

Of course, we can't say that, so they 'easy' thing to do is put the mentally ill label on their actions 

[sandypebbles]

The other thing on the news, they kept saying the attack was not terror related

That is exactly what 'it' was (he is not worthy of being called a 'man')

A terrorist

Just because he was not part of an organised terrorist group does not mean he was not a terrorist  

[springyzone]

Oh, I agree, mental illness is the new get out of jail free card.

Evil exists and you don't have to be mentally ill to be evil.

I also get very tired of the excuse of oh but he was on drugs at the time. Well, that's just another offence as far as I am concerned & should make the charges more serious. Not less.

Schizophrenia and drug taking is a big no-no. It makes people worse. That man would have known that. What's the bet though that he was also a drug taker?

I could lose the bet but I am suspicious.

[sandypebbles]

Could not agree any more with everything you said

Got it exactly, spot on, 200% 

And so many people who are in genuine need due to mental illness are denied real help because the focus is square on using too may resources to excuse criminals playing the card

[chameleon54]

" Apparently in some states and with some offenders, the offender has to go to a police station and take their prescribed drugs for the day in front of officers, because with appropriate medication, a lot of these people can lead better lives. "

Would these be the same police stations where they may have been bashed a few months ago ? Would the Police officers be the same ones who regularly stop them while they are walking to the bus or who defected their car ( which they live in  ) last week ?

Yes many police officers are very understanding and respectful, but there is a significant proportion ( maybe 30% ) who are nearly as unstable as the people they are dealing with. They go into the force because they are bullies and want to dominate others. Who better to express these urges on than vulnerable mentally ill people who have no avenue of recourse. The normal person in the street never see's this side of our police force but it is there.

" because with appropriate medication, a lot of these people can lead better lives. "

As already mentioned psychiatric conditions and medications are not considered in the same way as breast cancer treatment or common conditions affecting many people in the community.

There is less government funding allocated to these conditions ( worldwide ) and so less research and development of appropriate medications. We are still regularly using medications such as Lithium which was released in the 1940's to treat common psychiatric conditions.

Most psychiatric medications have major side effects, often leaving recipients feeling like zombies and unable to function at even basic levels. This leads to people refusing to take them. 

What are the police going to do ? Go out and search the streets for them, because they didnt turn up at the station to take their pill ? A much better solution which is sometimes used is to provide quality public housing for these people and have a specialist nurse attend their home each day to ensure medication is taken.........But it costs money and takes a bit of effort and there are no votes in it.

[springyzone]

Justice is a bit like a see saw. Maybe in the past, a lot of things were unfair but sometimes I think we have swung too far the other way these days and literally let some people get away with murder by letting them make excuses.

[chameleon54]

"So you're right, this man should not have been free to wander, or at least he may have needed to be under closer supervision. "

According to the media, the man had no history of violence, no criminal convictions of any sort, no history of domestic violence and no restraining orders ever placed against him. On what grounds should he have been forcibly detained in an institution and what institution should that be ?

We closed all of the " Mental Asylums " fourty years ago due to human rights concerns.

And how do you " closely supervise " someone who is homeless, transient and disconnected from all support services ? ( as experienced by the man with a knife ) 

It is worth reminding ourselves that as a society we have failed to provide anywhere near enough public / social housing and have restricted building practices with red tape to the extent that we have priced ourselves out of building new homes.

Invariably when housing agencies are confronted with a young woman with children or a senior aged homeless woman and a young, strong twenty something man with extreme mental illness, they will give the home to one of the woman every time. ( is one life more valuable than another ? )

This is one of the challenges people with mental illness face every day. They automatically go to the bottom of the queue for any services that are available and without family support, invariably end up homeless or in prison for taking ( illegal ) actions in order to survive.

[chameleon54]

" Schizophrenia and drug taking is a big no-no. It makes people worse. That man would have known that. What's the bet though that he was also a drug taker?

I could lose the bet but I am suspicious. "

" What's the bet though that he was also a drug taker? "

As mentioned before, one of the issues is that we as a society have not invested in medical research for the treatment of psychiatric illness, pouring our money into more fashionable illnesses such as breast cancer instead. ( of which my wife is very thankful ). There are no votes or Kudos in research into medications for psychiatric illness. We are still using very old, crude and often ineffective drugs with major side effects which often dont work or people simply refuse to take.

They use illegal sedatives such as Marijuana and Ketamine instead. These can at times be laced with other drugs such as amphetamines which along with social isolation leads to escalation in drug use and addiction to other hard core drugs.

The truth is that as a society we have failed people with psychiatric illnesses. We ostracise them, discriminate against them, fail to provide them with even basic medical support or provisions such as safe housing and then wonder why it all goes awfully wrong. And then when a predictable tragedy does occur, social media is filled with simplistic, angry, vile comments from people with no human compassion or understanding of the challenges faced by the individuals and families of those suffering mental illness.

This tragedy is a sad reflection on the failures of all of us as a society.

[domino-710]

So good to see in all your comments - your sincere empathy for those who lost their lives - and - those affected by that loss.

[chameleon54]

Careful where you go Dom. - 

I have a lot more skin in the game and compassion for all concerned than you will ever know.

If you want to go there ....... I have been in a similar position to the shoppers in the mall. I had to tackle and restrain a young woman who was armed with a large kitchen knife and was charging towards another person intent on killing them. Only difference was there wasnt any armed police around to help.

She was having a mental health episode and Ambulance officers where trying to section her. They evacuated the building when she pulled the knife and I was left to either stop her by myself or watch some-one else be stabbed. 

Lets just say it left a few mental scars that are only now starting to heal.