at 5:40 AM Mountain Time. That's a real sign of my commitment to this cause. I fancy that I actually sounded intelligent, which would seem almost impossible at such an hour.
My PR firm has so far arranged a total of four radio interviews, two of them only ten minutes. I fear that the publishers who said that Americans really don't care about mental illness, homelessness, and mass murder, were right.
I don't think it's a case of people not caring about the issue. It's that the average person has so much on their plate these days, it's very hard to get them worked up about a given issue unless it affects their lives personally. The mentally ill are a minority, the families of the mentally ill are a minority, and the victims of mentally ill killers are also a minority. As such, the potential for Mr. and Mrs. Joe Average to go through an experience with any of the above classes, and just get their attention? Not that good, I'm afraid. The rate of mental illness and the rate of mentally ill spree killings would have to go up an exponential level or so before you'll find the typical person becoming interested in the issue.
ReplyDeleteThough, to paraphrase Trotsky, "Young man, you may not be interested in mental illness, but rest assured, it is interested in you...".
I've read your book, and I think it's a very good overview on the issue, and should be required reading for policy makers. But, as I said... The numbers just don't make it an issue for most folks. Plus, there's the stigma attached to the whole thing.