General Politics Discussion (V) [ARCHIVED] • Page 5

If you’re wondering why some of the ideas that the Parkland kids are offering up is dangerous, look no further:

“Family members told the Chronicle that Thomas had suffered from depression. His two young children, they said, had died in 2016 after allegedly being drowned by their mother, who has been charged with murder and is awaiting trial.”

Texas Officer Fatally Shoots Unarmed Man Walking With Pants Down

 

You folks really need to drop the word "perfect". Only the privileged seem to be able to criticize us by using that word, or something related to it - "purity test" for example. Especially in regards to addressing the ableism and policing ideas. like really? It's getting offensive at this point. Politics is a matter of everyday life, and for some moreso than others, so forgive us for getting tired of seeing stuff that only makes things worse.

 

Alt right shit is popping up on my instagram feed and I'm not fucking having it

 

Oh look another blonde headed girl that if you squint, kinda looks like his daughter

 

He certainly has a type

 

But...the ideas they're talking about won't "only make things worse". It will make a bunch of things tangibly better.

 

Are you even reading lol. It's not better for cops to have a list of people with mental illness or for there to be more guns in schools

 

But it is better to expand background checks, ban certain types of guns and ammo, banning bump stocks, database of gun sales, allow the CDC to make recconemdnations on gun regulations, etc.

Are YOU even reading?

 

Some of what they’re saying is good, some of what they’re saying is very, very bad. It shouldn’t be controversial to want to educate them on why certain parts of their platform are bad so that they can cut that shit out and focus on the things that are good. It’s also totally fair to say that a lot of them might not realize why what they’re advocating for is bad, but we should take the chance to educate them on why without attacking them. They seem like reasonable kids, I’m sure they’ll listen.

I can’t believe people are accusing people offering constructive criticism as being as bad as the NRA/Fox News.

Wait. It’s the internet. Of course I can believe it.

 

I can't believe you think what's being said to/about these kids here and elsewhere on the internet is qualifying as "constructive criticism" heh.

 

I mean if the manifesto was something we'd vote on I would definitely not vote for it.

 

I haven’t dove deep into what exactly is being said, but yeah I’m sure there’s a ton of mocking and attacking going on too. It’s to be expected I guess.

 

I think that what people are saying is, a lot of their manifesto sucks and puts people actively in danger. See the story above. So, we should be critical of it.

 

But it’s not. It’s a platform. Platforms change. They need to know why things like a police database of mentally ill people is bad, so they can change it. If my 17-year-old self put out a manifesto I’m sure there would have been tons of questionable shit in there, but I’ve been educated since then and matured. They need the chance to do the same.

 

Seems to me that there are two or three things that suck while the rest of it (aka most of it) is pretty decent.

 

I get that, what I'm saying is that's a platform, as it is right now, that I cannot be behind.

 

Me neither, not taken as a whole without alteration. I agree. My support of, whatever, like 70% of it doesn’t negate the strong reservations I have about the other 30%. Still lots of work to do.

 

Just went and read it again....I don't see anything about a database of mentally ill for the police. The only thing I see that comes close to that is allowing mental health professionals to communicate with the police when they feel they need to about certain individuals.

AFAIK, HIPPA laws would make that type of communication more difficult at the moment.

 

I expect teenagers to have dumb ideas, especially when they're echoing policy of adults, but losing doctor patient confidentiality would be disastrous

 

Seems to be saying that the laws need to be altered to allow doctors to report dangerous individuals, not eliminating confidentiality.

But it would never happen because that would open up doctors to liability of one of their patients went on a mass shooting spree. The medical lobby will fight that until the end of time I would think.

 

Aren't doctors/mental healthcare providers already not bound by confidentiality if they have reason to believe the patient is a threat to themselves or others? Or am I making that up?

 

right now, therapists are not only able but legally required as mandated reporters to report people who express intent to commit a crime. I don't see the value of expanding this to allow anyone who might maybe someday do a crime besides putting them on a list

 

It has to be an imminent threat. I suppose they want to make it so that doctors can report anyone they themselves believe seem “dangerous,” which is where the problem lies. That’s broad as hell and places a lot of power to ruin someone’s life in the hands of individual doctors.

 

I don't see the value of labeling that idea as a "database of the mentally ill for the police" and then using that strawman to attack potential future allies in the gun control debate when they're already being attacked from the right with strawmen.

 

Yeah I really don't like scapegoating the mentally ill in any conversation or platform. It's harmful to the movement and of course, the already vulnerable mentally ill.