re: Some thoughts on the mentally ill, violence and mass shootings.

quote:

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People don't fully understand how little mental illness has to do with acts of violence, gun or otherwise.

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The premise of this statement is that we (society) all agree on the definition of "Mental Illness". Sure there are obvious cases, but there will never be consensus on who is and isn't mentally ill.

EDIT
To add, even if there were a consensus, the goal posts move over time. An example would be transgenders. As recent as twenty years ago, a person wishing to mutilate his/her body in the name of self defining their gender wouldve been considered a mental illness. Hell the thought of self defining ones gender in itself wouldve had someone diagnosed as mentally ill.