re: #337 Romantic Heretic

I do see a reason. It’s prejudice.

The huge majority of the mentally ill, including myself, are the most peaceable people. No wise person would accept a person’s colour or religion as a factor in such an event. They wouldn’t mention diabetes or cancer.

By hypothesizing about a person’s mental state before the facts are in is prejudice.

The original Tweet that started this discussion states there is no empirical link between PTSD and violent behaviour. Your response, so it seems to me, challenged that observation. You made it clear you do believe his mental state was a cause of his actions.

And I’m challenging you on this point. It’s false. Although his mental state might have influenced his behaviour it is not the cause of his actions.

If the guy was a White Supremacist, Oathkeeper or Tea Partier we’d have no problem discussing that as possible motivation. As long as the reporting and speculation is accurate and reasonable I have no issue with it. Special interest and identity politics advocates will always complain that certain things shouldn’t be reported or discussed, I don’t think that’s helpful in educating the public or forming informed opinions.