93 lines
4.3 KiB
Plaintext
93 lines
4.3 KiB
Plaintext
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Conspiracy Nation -- Vol. 12 Num. 11
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=======================================
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("Quid coniuratio est?")
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SHIP OF FOOLS
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In medieval times, "irksome madmen" would gradually accumulate in
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a town. So, periodically, they would be rounded up, put on a
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boat, and sent downriver to someplace -- anyplace -- else. Such
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a boat filled with "madmen" was known as a "ship of fools."
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In 1955, in the USA, the population in state hospitals stood at
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559,000. By 1984, the number of patients had dwindled to
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119,000. This was in part due to Reagan-era budget cuts. Many
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of the deinstitutionalized became part of the skyrocketing group
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of homeless persons, estimated to number as high as 3 million.
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Nowadays, admission to state hospitals is based more on
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availability of beds than on need. So, for example, someone
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"merely" contemplating suicide is denied admittance. It is even
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common for those who have actually attempted suicide to be
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refused admittance. In better times, the state hospitals
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provided sanctuary: you could be allowed in for a month and
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thereby gain some time to "cool down." Unfortunately, now, with
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the percentage of "mentally ill" greatly increased, it has become
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increasingly difficult for them to get care.
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We have all sorts of political talk about "getting tough on
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crime," so that murderers are "well taken care of"; there's no
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"shortage" of money for dealing with =them=. Yet each year in
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the United States many more are killed at their own hand than by
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homicide. (Why aren't the politicians screaming about =that=?)
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"Somehow," there "is" a shortage of money to help divert those
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bent on self-destruction away from their horrendous act.
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So where's the conspiracy? The conspiracy is this: if the
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"economy is good" and times are truly "wonderful," then why has
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the suicide rate skyrocketed in the past 25 or so years? And all
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the while "there are many steps that might help reduce the
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suicide rate... tackling such social ills as unemployment,
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divorce, homelessness, unwanted children, neglect of the elderly,
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inadequate medical and social services, violence, loss of
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spiritual values, and the threat of nuclear war. In short, one
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might reduce the suicide rate by giving people more reasons to
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stay alive." [1]
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As shown by Emile Durkheim, suicides do not occur in a vacuum.
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Suicides, says Durkheim, are explicable only by the state of the
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society in which they occur. And since suicide rates in
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"modern," western, industrialized nations are far higher than in
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"backward," third-world countries, the question is: Are things
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really so "wonderful" as "they" keep telling us? [2]
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In medieval times, the "irksome madmen" were put aboard a "ship
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of fools." In our "modern" USA, the "irksome madmen" are given
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"Greyhound Therapy": a ticket is purchased and they are put on a
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bus, bound for a distant city. There, they arrive -- homeless,
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friendless, and alone.
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---------------------------<< Notes >>---------------------------
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[1] *The Enigma of Suicide* by George Howe Colt.
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[2] *Le Suicide* by Emile Durkheim.
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+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
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For related stories, visit:
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http://www.shout.net/~bigred/cn.html
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http://www.netcom.com/~feustel
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Views expressed do not necessarily reflect those
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of Conspiracy Nation, nor of its Editor in Chief.
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I encourage distribution of "Conspiracy Nation."
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New mailing list: leave message in the old hollow tree stump.
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Want to know more about Whitewater, Oklahoma City bombing, etc?
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(1) telnet prairienet.org (2) logon as "visitor" (3) go citcom
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Aperi os tuum muto, et causis omnium filiorum qui pertranseunt.
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Aperi os tuum, decerne quod justum est, et judica inopem et
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pauperem. -- Liber Proverbiorum XXXI: 8-9
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