Often times when there is a mass shooting someone will say that a mentally ill person is responsible for the crime. I guess they don’t consider that many people they know may be mentally ill. After all, mental illness doesn’t come only in its most sever forms like one might imaging something like schizophrenia to be. Many times it manifests as depression or anxiety or some other “common” disorder. The following list is an extremely abbreviated list of mental disorders.

• Alcohol/Substance Abuse
• Alcohol/Substance Dependence
• Anxiety Disorders
• Adult Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD/ADD)
• Bipolar Disorder
• Depression
• Eating Disorders
• Generalized Anxiety Disorder
• Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
• Panic Disorder
• Postpartum Depression
• Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
• Schizophrenia
• Schizophrenia Education Guide
• Seasonal Affective Disorder
• Social Anxiety Phobia

I started this post in response to the kidnapping and torturing of the “challenged” young man by the four black people. I heard someone say “they must be mentally ill” and I took acceptation to that. The list of mental disorders I’ve given applies to a lot of people possibly even including the people who claim that the four black people must be mentally ill. For example, depression, anxiety, postpartum depression, PTSD, and substance abuse.

There doesn’t seem to be a lot of discussion of whether or not there is evil in the world. There is evil in the world. It is very likely that these four people are evil and not mentally ill. It is not likely that four people with mental illness would band together and commit such heinous crimes.

Since I started this post this morning there has been a mass shooting at the Fort Lauderdale airport. Already one newscaster has mused that the shooter has been captured and that he may be mentally ill.

Seriously? Why doesn’t the media posit that these kinds of crimes can be committed by evil people and not necessarily by people with mental disorders?