To understand why violence/ crimes, happen you need to first take a nice long look at the 'Pickles

It's never been about guns or video games, most of us live out our entire lives surrounded with these things and most of us, even young children, instinctively know the differences between make-believe and real life, fact verses fiction. That it's fundamentally wrong to harm another!

Most of us that is--- Some few have a problem separating fantasy and reality.

and that brings us to the Pickle.

My dear friend Kirsten has a little girl called Pickles, and Pickles is very sick. Her diagnoses include schizoaffective disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, oppositional/defiant disorder, and attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder. She has spent the better part of the past two years in two residential treatment centers, one in Denver and one here in Albuquerque, plus six in pediatric psychiatric hospitals. There has been a frustrating cycle of days or weeks of improvement followed by a crash and increased psychosis.

Pickles is a real person with very real problems without help she has the potential to become a violent offender.

Pickles was, at that time, seven years old. She is now 8 and is psychotic most of the time, in spite of large doses of anti-psychotic medicines, mood stabilizers, and anti-anxiety drugs. In recent weeks, she has tried to stab herself with a fork, gouged her face with a ballpoint pen, and required emergency restraint multiple times. She is not able to go on outings with her group and she has not had an overnight pass with her mom, all because she is at risk of hurting herself or someone else.

and what help was there for her?

There are no aftercare provisions in place.

No psychiatrist.

No psychologist.

No respite care.

The education specialist at the RTC told Kirsten that Pickles won’t get a specialized classroom placement until she “fails” in a regular classroom setting.

Would you believe that for a while there it looked like Pickles would be kicked out of her treatment center? her insurance company gave her until Thursday, December 27, 2012 then she had to get out! it was only threw pray and media attention that NM Governor Susana Martinez intervened and Pickles is getting the care she needs.

for now.

But what about all the other "Pickles" in the world? What about the Pickles who's problems are not so obvious? Yes it's a damn good idea to keep guns and sharp objects away from people like that, but gun control is not the answer!

The Pickles of the world need proper Mental Health care... something that modern managed health care has killed or so servilely limited that today's mental health care system in in crisis!

Not all mental health patients need to be locked away. some will lead perfectly normal lives with medication, therapy, a friend to remind when their inappropriate.What would happen to the school system if all bullies were made to just take a simple anger management sessions? No, it wouldn't stop it all - but the numbers would go down.

Our problem is not gun control or violent video games. it's the failure of our current mental health care system and until we fix that problem there will only be more movie theaters and school shooting! Until we fix the problem more people will slip threw the cracks and as their numbers grow, so do our proplems with violent offenders!

Yes sir, you can learn a lot from a Pickle. but if we dont learn to deal with them with the proper respect humanity and everything we can offer to help! then who's fault is it when things go wrong?

And that's why we find ourselves where we are today. A pretty Pickle aint it?


Click here to learn more about the real Pickles

S+F to you! You hit the nail on the head. However as I have posted a few times already in other threads, the USA seems to be worshipping total individuality in contrast of cohesive unity and communiality. Take to this in account the sheer endless numbers of religions that are given "Freedom" but are in most other western countries considered "Sects". So with what guideleines is someone to judge, diagnose, assist, help, reform, educate, etc a case like this? It is not just the poor kid that is in danger. How confused are the parents? On the recent thread on schools in America, it was pointed out that schools are assigned to you depending on where you live, not a chosen as you find it best for your child. How can one help in a confused social infrastucture? A fragmented healthcare system. A school system that doesn't work. A parents who are the product of this school system etc... It's like being a contracotr and facing a 3rd world slum and been given the task to renovate it without moving the people while you doing it. Where do you start?

reply to post by Guenter


Where do we start?

Anywhere---we can use the old system as the perfect model as for not what to do. then look at other places Japan Finland and lots who other places where they seem to be doing it right?

My oldest daughter is the same age as this 'Pickles'

what's the phrase? There but for the grace of god go I.

Alone you and I might not have the answers but there some 311,591,917 in the US together we can solve anything, if we can only manage to try.

reply to post by MajorMayhem

Yes sure. I am not American. However I see in many debates on any problem one key issue. That we as people have tendency to focus on tiny little issues and forget to focus on the overall picture. An unlike other coutnries and people, this nit-picking on small issues and not see the overall picture is a rather predominant trait of Americans. Mostly due to this never ceasing propaganda of individuality.
Individuality is vital for our evolution. The original nomadic tripes of gahterers and hunters could not have made it to the modern age without COOPERATION and the tying together all these individual traits into one common goal. The best stoneage hunter could not have stood a chance against a mammoth IF the toolmaker giving him the spearpoints would have given him shoody work. In oru modern world with so much compartmentalisation this overall picture is absent in our minds. Much more so among Americans than any other nations and people. What i suggest is that a true national debate is to be opend on a simple question: WHO ARE WE? What is the GOAL of america. What is the nation we want has to look like? And forget the personal convictions of religion or aprty lines, race and more and just focus on this. After all, we still remain the naked Ape even if we wasl around in space suites.
Back to the basics.

S&F for addressing one of the "REAL" problems!

reply to post by abeverage


Well violen ce, crime and other social ills are the result of somethign gone wrong. Under ideal conditions they should not exist, So we have to ask what are the NON-Ideal conditions that cause it?