Hey, what about a permanent solution?

Let's put people who are mentally deranged by substance abuse or developmentally retarded and can't take care of themselves in places especially designed for their needs and let's have all kinds of professionals on hand to help them cope with things and make sure they take their meds, etc.

You know, places very like those closed down by the compassionates during the Carter days and undo the deinstitutionalization foisted on these most unfortunate of our fellow citizens.

erp~

You don't mean institutions like the one Castro runs in Cuba for these folks, do you? For shame! (sarcasm off)

Think about how that would work in reality, Mrs. Erp. The Republicans would build the system. People would of course have to be hired to run it. The Democrats, coming into power, close down the system, because it would be cruel where they could see it. The new employees would not be fired, other jobs would be found for them. The Republicans, coming into power, rebuild the system to deal with the holy innocents freezing to death. People will be hired to run it. Let's not prime that pump.....

We can't let those who are unable to take of themselves live on the streets just so lefties can point to them as proof of an uncaring world just as the uncaring world allowed Moslem nations to use "Palestinians" for half a century and more.

Rbt. I think that this time round, the propaganda machines wouldn't be as successful in portraying the institutions in quite as bad a light as they did 40 years ago. For one thing, there are medications that can control many of the worst symptoms of the mentally ill and there's the blogosphere to control the excesses of the Geraldo-style sensationalist "journalism."

Whatever and however, they may not be holy innocents, but they are hurting and it's our responsibility and obligation to provide them with the care they need.

Mrs. Erp, I was not there, but from my reading, the propaganda machines did not paint the institutions in a bad light, they said the institutions were no longer needed, because of the medicatons you speak of. There are many people who are fine in controlled conditions, forced to take their medicine, who melt down when given their freedom. How do you take care of these people without the Democrats accusing you of being a Slaver?

How do you take care of these people without the Democrats accusing you of being a Slaver?

Put them in power with lifetime tenure. It works for Castro...

D'oh. "Them" being the Democrats, not the mentally incompetent, although sometimes it does seem hard to tell the difference, doesn't it?

Having witnessed the abuse, and more importantly the attempted abuse of mental health procedures in family and estate matters, I cannot be of one mind in evaluating mental health involuntary committment procedures.

Most importantly, I have seen abuses thwarted by the legal protections against stripping individuals of civil personhood just because they are a little different and someone finds them either an inconvenience or a taget for spoilation.

Yes, Mr. Gots, It's a fine line, one best left out of the hands of the state.

Slaver? In my long life I've been called a lot of names, but have paid absolutely no attention to them.

I was there during the time of de-institutionalization and it was the graphic "inside" stories of horror in the asylums that opened the doors. The meds were secondary.

One of our neighbors was the director of a very well run facility for the retarded. It was a campus like setting in the country and somewhat self-sustaining. Residents worked on the farm and in the kitchen and laundry. They were even contracted out to do repetitive tasks in local businesses.

In came the gestapo and closed the place down. Only the most severely retarded residents could remain, the rest were supposed to relocate to small group homes, but they all closed after a year or two and then who knows what happened to residents.

If someone has a better idea than putting people in facilities where they can be helped, I'm all for it, but letting them live in the streets is an abomination and can't be tolerated.

Slaver? In my long life I've been called a lot of names, but have paid absolutely no attention to them.

I was there during the time of de-institutionalization and it was the graphic "inside" stories of horror in the asylums that opened the doors. The meds were secondary.

One of our neighbors was the director of a very well run facility for the retarded. It was a campus like setting in the country and somewhat self-sustaining. Residents worked on the farm and in the kitchen and laundry. They were even contracted out to do repetitive tasks in local businesses.

In came the gestapo and closed the place down. Only the most severely retarded residents could remain, the rest were supposed to relocate to small group homes, but they all closed after a year or two and then who knows what happened to residents.

If someone has a better idea than putting people in facilities where they can be helped, I'm all for it, but letting them live in the streets is an abomination and can't be tolerated.

It was our grandfather who, tragically, closed them down:

query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?sec=health&res=9D07E4DD1538F936A15756C0A967948260

Didn't Bratton go out to LA?

Save us from good intentions.