Florida man had sex with pit bull as neighbors begged him to stop

[HereSince1628]

116. Unfortunately, discrimination and stigma are largely based on verbal misrepresentations

Declaring something to simply be a matter of semantics is a common way to dismiss an idea as some sort of wordplay. That misrepresents semantics per se, and the concern I express.

Semantics as part of linguistics is about improving communication between people about their ideas, environment and each other through critical (sensu: accurate, careful, precise, intentional, etc.) use of words and other symbols.

Misrepresentation often justifies stigma and discrimination. People who incorrectly believe that all mental illnesses can't be successfully treated and that the mentally ill are much more dangerous than ordinary people (both outcomes of the poll mentioned upstream), are justified within the logic of their faulty understanding to commit discriminatory acts against the mentally ill as a form of self-defense, defense of their families, workplaces, communities etc.

Misunderstanding can only be corrected via communication which largely relies upon words. Semantics in this respect is absolutely relevant to reducing stigma and discrimination against the mentally ill.

A cause that I suspect both of us believe in.



How commitment of an adult proceeds does vary between jurisdictions. The process you present may be correct for your location or your experience, but it isn't for mine. I am not at all sure a crime is required "in most states". Please share a link on that if you have one.

Generally, the involuntary commitment process is divided into distinct stages: intervention, detention, and commitment. The actions at each step may be the source of some confusion about the commitment process, so here is my understanding of it:

In response to citizen alerts (possibly family, coworkers, neighbors) of calls that a person is a danger to self, others or property the police respond. They may also engage a person based on observations during routine policing--which could be a response to a disturbance or crime. The first step in this intervention is to ensure safety of all involved; then an initial assessment is made of the person of concern. The person being assessed may not have committed any crime, but if the responding officers consider the person may be dangerous to self or others, they may at their discretion place the person under arrest and enter them to involuntary detention. This action is discretionary, so it isn't perfect.

Usually very precursory initial screening of the detainee is done to find concurrence with the initial assessment of the police. If the screening social worker/psychologist agrees, then the person is held for observation and assessment. This is detention, not incarceration, even though the person is locked in. Such semantics are an important legal difference. In most jurisdictions there is a well defined limit on the time a person can remain in involuntary detention...3 days is typical. In some jurisdictions, the detainee is billed as the cost of a hospital stay.

If the psychiatric judgment based on observation and interviews during detention is that the detainee should be involuntarily committed, a petition for commitment must be presented to a psychiatric panel or judge. This process is called adjudication, and the process may determine that sufficient risk that the detainee is a risk to self or others exists and that the detainee must be compelled to commitment as an in-patient. Involuntary commitment isn't considered a criminal sentence, and a person needn't have committed a
crime to be involuntarily detained.

The panel or magistrate may also find that the person should be released. A person who has been detained but not committed generally retains all their prior status, which vary from place to place but may include such things as permits to own guns, and may extend to things such as licenses for day care or teaching.