Cops Kill ANOTHER Veteran Suffering From PTSD

[Kild the Radio Star]

Thank Gawwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwd we're a free country, huh? Not like those stupid Commie Brits and Canadians and Australians and French, who actually seem to believe that when a government sends its people in harm's way, said government pays 100% of their needs (physical and psychological) when, ya know, they actually suffer harm!

[ballyhoo]

1. We are nowhere near a free country. The

9-11 exercise worked beyond Cheney's wildest imagination.

[zebonaut]

2. Just some delayed George W bush collateral damage

[The River]

3. Somewhat Misleading Headline

It would have been more accurate to say:
" Cops Kill Another Gun Toting Drunk (who coincidentally, is a Vet suffering from PTSD)".
The real problem here was alcohol and guns. I have no doubt that his PTSD played a role but it wasn't the primary cause. The last thing a person with PTSD needs is alcohol. In my 64 years I've seen and read about this type of event way too often. More often than not it's just some citizen who drinks too much and is prone to violence while under the influence. Most are/were "responsible" gun owners, at least when sober.

It's unfair to imply that the government or VA isn't doing the best they can given the amount of obstructionist politics in DC.

I am a VN Vet who has lived with PTSD for over 42 years now and I am appalled at amount of incomplete, and misleading information surrounding the subject. In my case, I wasn't diagnosed until just 4 years ago. Once I was diagnosed, the VA did everything they could to help. There is no shortage of help being offered. The most important thing is this: You Have To Ask For IT!

[Kild the Radio Star]

4. I used the actual title of the Video

Isn't that the rule?

[uppityperson]

6. That is the rule, but people can say they think the video was titled inaccurately by the

person who posted the youtube vid in youtube.

[MrMickeysMom]

8. Why did it take you until 4 years ago to seek help?

Just wondering...

[The River]

11. PTSD Was Not Recognized / Named Until 1982

That was 11 years after I got out. I did not think I had it even then.
That's what so devious about it. It was hard to spot. Even then, you
don't believe it. It was seen as a moral problem, when in fact, it's an actual change of brain structure, an injury caused by constant excessive stress. Once you learn the various symptoms and how they apply to your behavior, it's fairly easy to see. Then you can mitigate your responses.

I made my own way and never needed the VA (or any ones help) until Bush's
mismanagement caused a loss of my job in May 2009. I met a VA counselor
quite by accident and he got me enrolled soon after. The VA brought me through 2 Agent Orange cancers and one heart attack since then. I risked my life from '68 to 71 and they've saved it several times since. They have fulfilled their obligation to me and then some.

[MrMickeysMom]

12. They were there for you, thank goodness...

You and so many others deserve support.

[HereSince1628]

13. Likely stigma about such things as appearance of weakness, flawed character and mental illness...

years of social conditioning about what it is to be a man and "a warrior" aren't erased very easily, and that conditioning still provides a perspective on self that is reinforced by society. That leads to denial and avoidance of the assistance that is available.

As a society pushing jingoism we endorse images of ARMY STRONG, ARMY OF ONE, and WARRIOR that project how soldiers and vets should be--Invincible. When vets can't meet such expectations, their self-image and sense of personal dignity are eroded. To avoid the shame, they deny and hide their problems, and too often turn to self-medicating. All of this greatly exacerbates their problems.

Both the military and society have and to some extent still do, treat behavioral expressions of PTSD as disciplinary problems and subject victims to the consequences of criminal justice, rather than treatment. Sometimes that 'justice' means a discharge from the military that denies them access to V.A. care.

Nontheless, the V.A. does devote serious resources to PTSD and other psychological issues, including drug and alcohol abuse and addiction.

But the vet must get to the help. V.A. help for PTSD can be found using this locator:
http://www2.va.gov/directory/guide/ptsd_flsh.asp

[iandhr]

5. Is this due to cops lack training on how to deal with mentally ill people?

Last edited Sun Mar 23, 2014, 10:08 PM - Edit history (1)

[sulphurdunn]

10. I think, this time, the cops had to deal

with a belligerent and menacing man armed with a weapon he knew how to use before they could have worried about how to deal with him as a mentally ill person. It is a shame.

[geretogo]

7. cheaper

The Fascist Rethuglicans that send them to war would prefer they don't return alive .
They cost too much to repair , after all they are only a commodity in the free market system .
The more that are shot by Cops the less taxes are taken from the Corporatists .

[Mr_Jefferson_24]

9. K&R.