I have been following the events and aftermath of the Arizona shooting this last weekend. I have been particularly dismayed by folks critical of the suspect's parents, stating that they should have seen it coming and done something about it. First, I'm sure they did know that there was something amiss with their son, though how much detail they knew, such as from a medical diagnosis, has not been made public. However, from what I have been able to glean from the news, he had never been violent before this, and had not even talked about being violent until very recently. For an adult (he was 22) family member, it is very, very hard for family members to find anything that can be "done" is such situations. I have had some small experiences in this area. Unless you can demonstrate that the person is a danger to himself or others in some convincing way, there is generally nothing at all that his parents could have done, no matter how bizzare the young man was acting, or how alarmed his parents might have been. There is no law against being bizzare or irrational, and an adult cannot be compelled into psychiatric treatment in most circumstances.
My heart goes out to all victims and their families, including the suspect's friends and family.
No comments:
Post a Comment