“There is relatively no easy, inexpensive or long term care for many people who suffer from such illnesses such as paranoid schizophrenia or severe bipolar disorder.”
I would be willing to pay higher taxes IF said taxes were to be used to build prisons that contain murderous paranoid schizophrenics. They have no business being allowed to walk the streets.
Agree with you about the necessity to confine seriously mentally ill people but the chances of that happening IMO are Zero and none!
Kantian,
Your opinion that all paranoid schizophrenics should be locked up with “no exception” is very extreme and is based on an irrational fear of people with schizophrenia which is no doubt the result of letting a handful of news reports you have read influence you in stereotyping a group that composes 1% of America and is for the most part, non violent. Violent impulses are not a symptom of schizophrenia and most schizophrenics are certainly not dangerous or “rabid dogs” roaming the neighborhood waiting to murder children. Your arguments are sensational and you are terribly misinformed.
While it is true that there is slightly higher chance of a schizophrenic committing a violent act as opposed to a normal person, that is mainly the case with the small percentage of schizophrenics who have a history of drug abuse or violent crime that predates the emergence of their disorder. Of course there are exceptions but studies have shown that the chance of most schizophrenics committing a violent act is around 8% as opposed to 5% with the general population. And since schizophrenics make up only 1% of the world population, a small number of which are institutionalized or in medical care, there is a significantly higher risk of you being harmed by a “normal” person and not a schizophrenic- and that is a fact.
As for your claim that paranoid schizophrenics are incapable of getting better- you should know that of all the different types of schizophrenia, paranoid schizophrenics are more likely to become functional. Many schizophrenics lead very normal lives. I have paranoid schzophrenia and I have a very good job and can take care of myself. I am a fiercely loyal friend, a caring person and have a very clearly defined sense of ethics and morality, even when I suffer from symptoms. I am no “rabid dog” that is for sure- and I most certainly do not need to be locked up because some ignorant and prejudiced idiot on the Internet (read: you) thinks it’s a good idea to classify all people like me as a threat when the facts clearly show otherwise.
Frankly, I think you are just being paranoid.