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I read earlier that he had been diagnosed as autistic, possibly suffering from Asperger syndrome. Many people like this are difficult socially, but they’re not homicidal maniacs; however, it’s probably harder to tell when they’re about to go off the rails.

I also read, in one of the first reports, that Rodgers actually was living in a sort of sheltered living situation, and that the apartment was rented by a mental health group of some kind. He lived there with three roommates (the men he stabbed to death), and I would assume the reason that their names did not appear in the press was that it would have been a violation of confidentiality.

He was supposedly under the “care” of therapists at the time of the killings. Fat lot of good it did. And regardless of his parents’ parenting skills, there probably wasn’t much they could do other than try to get treatment for him, as they did. No matter how much money you have, it seems to be impossible to get treatment for a child or dependent with mental problems. There’s always the implication that it’s the fault of the parents (it’s not, except in cases of truly horrible abuse) and therefore they should just deal with it. But how do you deal with a crazy person whose whole view of the world is completely at variance with reality, and who is completely locked into his mental illness in such a way that reality cannot penetrate?

Somebody like that needs residential treatment in a situation where he really isn’t free to come and go, and certainly not free to go out and buy guns, as he did. The apartment, if it was in fact a sheltered living situation, clearly wasn’t a high enough level of confinement or treatment, and furthermore the fact that it probably wasn’t a commitment per se meant that there would be no record of his problem and no way for the gun dealer to check his eligibility for purchasing the guns.

So the problem really goes back to our inability to deal with mental illness.

As I read the threads here, there is a undercurrent that we need to pass a law to solve this problem. And I am surprised that some politician has not presented legislation already but I know it is in the works.

The reality is that we will always have mental illness, just like we have the poor. Now if a politician said that we wouldn’t elect him would we?

So where do we turn?

“and I would assume the reason that their names did not appear in the press was that it would have been a violation of confidentiality.”

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Their names were on-line last night.

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