Patrick Kennedy Rebuffs Sarah Palin

6 thoughts on “Patrick Kennedy Rebuffs Sarah Palin”

1. If Dems had done the same under Bush there would have been far worse consequences for some one in Palin’s position.

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2. more than our physical brains, are so intricately “us” that we all instinctively react strongly to any assertion that we are not “normal”. It is another defining characteristic of human consciousness I believe. We also react strongly negatively to those we perceive as “abnormal” among us. It gets into a deep fear of losing our identity.

   I have a history of mental illness in my family (no snark please) and have personally dealt with these issues throughout my life. I’ve lost several siblings to depression and drug addiction and have stark memories of visiting older brothers in prisons and mental hospitals as a child. I still have no idea exactly what one older brother was being treated for until his untimely death at 39. Another died of a drug overdose at 40 after many years living homeless on the streets of Eureka California among other places. (He was a real old-time hobo, riding the rails between Texas and California running from his demons).

   It is a stigma for the rest of my family. In fact, I’ve never said any of this publicly before. Many of my surviving siblings still refuse to acknowledge the devastation it has caused our family and choose to live their lives with their blinders on. One brother is filled with anger and hate for those weaker brothers.

   And I watch maybe too closely for signs in my children. I worry about them too much and in that worry I think I affect them too.

   But as a society, we really don’t like to deal with this. It hits too close to home for our frail egos to handle. It is different than cancer. Nobody really blames the cancer victim the way they do the mentally ill. They are not excoriated for getting lung cancer from their smoking the way the mentally ill are for their inability to control their behaviors. And we’ve depopulated all the old asylums and now our streets are littered with the addicts and the mentally ill, and we just call them homeless. It is a national tragedy.

   Thanks for sharing this CW.
   

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   1. I have mental illness in my family too – depression, bipolar disorder and anxiety disorders.  

      I think your cancer analogy is apt.  My grandparents’ generation referred to cancer as something like a curse. I remember hearing them whisper the word, like they were afraid to say it out loud.  What changed that was research into the disease, the development of effective treatments and diagnostics that identify the illness sooner.  I hope we’re on the same trajectory with mental illness.

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3. The comments, too, are touching in their sincerity and openness. I think almost all families have behavioral problems, to whatever degree, with which to deal. Many try to deny it. They are the ones to worry about. I am not sure I know anyone who is “normal”. I’m not sure I would want to. I don’t think I am.

   But, when I use the word “bi-polar”, it  seems to evoke some pretty stong reactions.

   I have a family member who was diagnosed as such, and my wife had a sibling that was also diagnosed as “bi-polar”. We are pretty much convinced that medications were a major contributor to the early death of her sibling. But, we love them both. They love us. They are no different than you or me, except, for reasons I think remain unclear, they cannot stabilize their emotions.

   For various reasons, my life has had numerous occasions to learn from experience, as well as school, about the world of the developmentally disabled and the mentally ill. The single most profound observation I have made is the massive ignorance of the general public on the subject.

   There were tribes among the American native populations, who, in their fear and ignorance, were afraid that mental infirmity was contagious, and they gave a wide birth to anyone they considered afflicted. Unfortunately, the white mans’ attitude is not much better.

   But, to the point of this rambling prose.

   Depression, Bi-Polar Disorder, Attention Deficit Disorder, are among a rapidly multiplying number of real and “designer” afflictions have become a profit center for industry. While very effective in some cases, the overuse of medications to control “behaviors” has grown to epic proportions. And they are killing people.

   Knowledge is the key…and that knowledge cannot be had when you look away, and leave it to others. And I do know this…if you really care for your children, you will stop, this minute, feeding them industrially crafted, simulated food products. It isn’t good for their brains.

   Thank you, sincerely, for posting your diary, wahine.

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   1. thank you.

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4. and for the beautiful and compassionate responses.

   Peace

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