Jared Loughner, let's talk about mental health and politics

In the hours following the shooting in a grocery store outside of Tucson of Arizona U.S. Representative Gabrielle Giffords, six people were announced as dead: U.S. District Judge John McCarthy Roll, 63; Christina-Taylor Greene, 9; Gabriel Zimmerman, 30; Dorwin Stoddard, 76; Dorthy Murray, 76; Phyllis Scheck, 79. Twelve additional people were wounded. (Source)

In the days following the shooting, we will hear many voices of concern. Sarah Palin's Facebook note still has a map of targeted districts with names; many have and will continue to blame this and other "vitriolic rhetoric" for the fatal shooting. Others will argue that the suspect (or suspects, if another is found) was mentally ill and a victim himself of lack of affordable health care. Right wingers will point to this as yet another blame game by liberals to defraud the second amendment. I myself have my own concerns, as I'm sure do you.

In the article of the suspect, Jared Lee Loughner, the New York Times reports that he had been suspended from college, to conditionally return after seeking a mental health evaluation. The article authors opine that Jared may have had schizophrenia, judging by the content of his Youtube videos (for example) and the testimony of former college classmates. It is unknown whether he saw any mental health professionals, but Jared dropped out of college last fall.

At this point, Jared may or may not confess to the shooting. He will likely undergo an overdue mental evaluation, and from there we may gain a better understanding of his motivation. Unless Jared himself admits he was inspired by talk of liberal "targets" or other right wing propaganda, it is unfair to make such claims for him. The Safeway where the killings took place was close to Jared's home; it's possible that he did not know of the event taking place at the time and had in mind a random act of violence. However, his videos suggest he was politically informed, and he had met Representative Giffords in person at a previous event.

Consider the possibility that Jared had opened fire in a grocery store on a normal crowded Saturday morning. National headlines, certainly. Political news? Only insofar as gun control is concerned. This tragedy has eclipsed other recent and concurrent tragedies, such as the Omaha school shooting and the brutal murder of a Portuguese gay activist, and not without reason. Deadly threats to politicians should be more concerning because these are people we deem important and clever enough to make decisions for the country on our behalf. But let's not forget the lives that are lost every day to the hands of those who had the opportunity to seek help and did not.

I doubt that lack of "affordable health care" was the main factor in spurring this act of violence. Pima Community College offers counseling for students and those enrolled within the past three years; it is unlikely that they would refuse Jared service due to his suspension. I've seen comments on this issue that attack the quality of mental health services in the U.S., though this claim is unfounded. We do not necessarily have the best care in the world, but it is world class.

What I see as a problem is the reluctance of Jared and his family to take interest in treating what may be a serious mental illness. This happens to so many people across the country. Articles on war veterans hurting themselves or their families because of untreated substance abuse and PTSD proliferate newspapers and cable news, but despite recent efforts to allay these actions (such as recent commercials for mental health services for military enrollees and veterans), many refuse to seek help. Many mental illness sufferers are diagnosed, receive therapy and/or medication, but do not stick with it and relapse.

So many times when an act of violence shakes the nation, we treat the perpetrator as heinous and evil, without thinking about what we as a society could have done to prevent them. Rather than extreme vilifying of individuals, especially those who we see as guilty by association, let us carefully critique societal pressures that prevent people from getting the help they need. Affordable health care is one step in the right direction, but so is destigmatizing mental illness. Jared, please get help.

Maybe this year will be better than the last.

So now it's 2011 and I'm still looking for work. I wonder if I screwed myself over by changing my mind about what I wanted to do because of my PC experience. I must have applied for over 70 jobs by now, but nothing's getting picked up.

I want to go into research. So I'm applying for research assistant positions of various sorts, mostly with think tanks and non-profits.

(There are a lot of "foundations" here in Marfa, inspired by the Judd Foundation and the Chinati Foundation. Others include the Pizza Foundation and the Foundation for Non-Prophets.)

When I was in college, I expected to apply for grad school and get a Master of Social Work as soon as I got out of the Peace Corps. Then I realized that it drains me too much to do that kind of work, and what I really enjoy is working with facts & numbers and figuring out how to improve things based on evaluations and sitting quietly and being right.

So with my degree in Sociology I decided to continue research in social science areas. I have several interests in it, including labor force, sexuality & gender issues, public health, education, and poverty reduction. My strongest interest is still in mental health. But the thing is, other than my senior thesis paper (45 pages long plus appendix and works cited) and the Barrier Analysis Volunteerism project I worked on in the Peace Corps (collaborated and initiated the 9ish page report), I don't have any works in the area.

Perhaps I can work on a project independently, though without affiliation to any institutions or even any decently sized public libraries around, it will be a challenge.

But I need to start working. Soon. Otherwise I'll have to renew my Texas drivers license with Marfa as my permanent residence.

End of Service

So I haven't made an entry in about 5 months. Choops.

And all of a sudden everything is over. I'm working half days now, to make sure I have time to take care of things like applying to jobs and closing accounts and packing and cleaning. I've gone through a lot of looking inward and outward in the past few months, deciding to do what I can without making stress for myself and getting stressed anyways.

I'll be leaving Saint Lucia in two weeks.

And there's still so much to do.

Let's see where this goes.

School Days

Last week I subbed for a Grade 1 class. I hate subbing, but thankfully it was just an hour and a half, and the teacher gave me two assignments for them out of workbooks most of the students had in their desks.

Dialect differences are fun to play with.

Kermarl: Miss, Jeanie kicking me.
Jervehn: Miss me too.
Me: Who?
Jervehn: Miss, Jeanie.
Me: Bring her here.
Jeanie: Yes, Miss?
Me: Jeanie, what kind of animal kicks?
Jeanie thinks for a bit, then says: A horse?
Me: Yes, horses kick, and so do jackasses. Are you a jackass?
Jeanie: No?
Me: Do you want to be a jackass?
Jeanie: No, Miss.
Me: Then do not kick. Little girls do not kick, jackasses kick. Tell Jervehn and Kermarl that you are sorry.

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Today at VF Primary I called in Joshua for a one-on-one session. Just as we were starting, he said he was hungry.

"I didn't have break, I lost my dollar."
"Do you have lunch?"
"No, Miss."
"Does anyone share their food with you?"
"No, Miss."
"So you didn't have break and you don't have lunch?"
"No, Miss, I lost my dollar."
"But you have gum, where did that come from?"
"Miss it's a plum.*"
"Someone shared it with you?"
"Yes, Miss."
*sigh* "Well let's look at these sounds."
"I'm hungry, Miss."
"Ok, Joshua, I have some bread with cheese and mustard. You'll come in when lunch starts and you can take it."
"Yes, Miss."

*A "plum" here is a very small fruit that has little more substance to it than a stick of gum, and it certainly doesn't last as long.

He did come in during lunch, when I was setting up a chessboard for a game with Zea. I took the bread with cheese and a banana. He was about to unwrap the sandwich, but I asked him to go outside with it. I don't let any children eat in the Resource Room. Instead, he stayed to learn to play chess. He played one game with Nabila, who helped him with moves, then I showed him pawn game.

He played black, and he beat me.

Pawn game lacks other pieces, and the goal is just to get to the other side of the board. White has the advantage, since that player makes the first move. Joshua had never played chess before.

Joshua is the academically weakest student I work with at that school. A few months ago he finally got the connection between sounds and the words they make. We have 11 sounds of the alphabet down solid, and we're working on 2 more now. He still has trouble with numbers between 11-50. I'm currently teaching him the difference between first, middle, and last. He is in Grade 5.

Joshua probably does not have a learning disability--just a severe disadvantage. He lives in Shanty-town, and often stays home from school because his mother doesn't have money for him to buy lunch. She might be illiterate herself, I don't remember. He says he has one book at home. He is the sweetest kid I work with, and even when he's hungry or tired or sick or all three, if he's in the room with me he tries his hardest.

(Names are definitely changed in this post.)

Long time

So I've been really busy the past few months.

VFASP is going pretty well. New kids that came consistently, and new rules and structure. It has helped. Last week I finally completed one of the seven goals I set for myself at Mid-Service Training: I compiled two binders for VFASP, one of daily maintenance things like attendance and one of resources and such.

I'm working more now with the Special Needs teachers at VF Infant and Primary, figuring out how to help them do their jobs as efficiently as possible. Sometimes it's a challenge, especially working with people that have extremely different expectations of a Special Needs teacher's role.

Catherding is going pretty well. The kindergarten students started typing their names. I really need to type up all the lessons for that computer skills for non-readers. That will be one more thing to cross of my list of MST goals.

On top of regular work, I have started getting my act together to look for jobs. Writing resumes, completing applications online, contacting references, etc. One week I did that almost non-stop at home. It was exhausting.

In addition to work and future work, I've been planning for Berney's parents to visit. They will be staying with me, so I've been cleaning plenty, and both Bern and I have been making and remaking plans to ensure they get a good taste of St. Lucia.

I have a lot of pictures, but Berney has stolen all of them. So I'll post them when I get a chance.

blugh

I'll update soon, I promise. Sorry for the long pause. I've been super busy lately.

Taking a couple VF Primary girls to a Chess Workshop in Castries