A Few Proposals of My Own

A Few Proposals of My Own

January 18, 2001

To: All the Honorable Members of the House of Representatives

Tom Barresi, Mental Health Reformer

With All Respect, A Few Proposals of My Own

As we, the three hundred look out over the pass, we clutch our swords (given us at birth), and prepare to meet the 6,000 Persians gathering on the horizon. Flanked by cost overruns and inefficiency, plus an apathetic society; we the warriors of Sparta, are determined to hold our ground to the last man. For we have been trained to protect those who cannot protect themselves: the mentally infirm, the lame, and the aged. For we as warriors, know it is much more honorable to perish defending the weak, than to live long, peaceful, lives in the suburbs; defending only ourselves.

Our King, Leonidas, has sent the lesser-trained soldiers home, preferring instead to withstand the onslaught with us, the three hundred Spartans. Wearing red garments since the age of two, (so no enemy shall ever see us bleed), we manage to hold the enemy, for two days. This supreme sacrifice, at Thermopylae (450 B.C.), like that of the Alamo, enabled the people of Athens, (as the Alamo did the people of Texas), to fortify their positions and defeat the advancing tyrants: King Xerxes, and Santa Ana, respectively.

In my mind, there is no such thing as a losing battle, or a losing cause; for both effect CHANGE!

Hoping not to be too presumptuous or rude, I have gathered a few select suggestions, for possible legislative consideration in mental health, and for all to ponder.

I feel a diagnosed mental patient should never, ever, be permitted to live alone. He must have social contact, (not love or respect necessarily, although these will usually not hurt), but some form of “acceptance” from another human being or beings. The traditional family support example does not cut it, but rather placement (for now), in board and care homes, half-way houses, share-rentals and the like, would be greatly recommended. The immediate results of such a law, I feel, would be astounding. First a huge decrease in the suicide rate, (as a result of shared company, empowerment, and the removal of opportunity to harm oneself). Then a marked decrease in the mass-murder type of activity we have witnessed of late, throughout our nation. By living with someone, the weeks and weeks needed for the destructive “acceleration of thought” could not occur; without being noticed by almost anyone living with the subject, thereby averting disaster!

These beliefs are amply outlined in the “Assimilation” section (databased, housing pairings) or our dogma: “Medicate, Educate, and Assimilate the mentally ill to a life of blissful productivity.”
No person under 16 should be allowed to visit anyone in a mental facility…. Ever! Also too, they should not be allowed to enter the “crime scene” o fthe mental patient’s disturbances, e.g. apartment, hotel, etc., at any time.

My loveless son is 21. Although I adore him, he has not spoken to me, or acknowledged my existence, since he as nine. It was at that time, that he was brought into a mental hospital as a visitor, and seeing his dad strapped to a metal bed, decided I was not really going to always be there for him, so he “shut it all down” in his psyche, and on Sept. 6th 1989, I “died” in his young mind, forever.

After nearly 40 years of psychiatric experience, and numerous psychologist interventions, the prognosis for my son remains the same…. Hopeless, all because of two visits to a mental hospital in Alameda County, California, in 1989.
Finally, following my incident in Lemoore, in 1992, I was locked up in a “lock-down ward” somewhere in Fresno. While I was there I was told to sign two forms: The first excluded me from voting in any election for a period of one year; while the second made it very clear that if I ever looked at, or even touched a firearm in the future, I would be “executed” on the spot. I liked the wording here, and it made an instant believer out of me. Where is this law or decree now? Why can’t all mental patients sign such a document? Do we still have such harsh language available for hapless people like the Grass Valley shooter to consider? Language that can save lives in actuality, rather than just sit somewhere on the books, doing nothing!

“Friend, Go tell Sparta, Here we stand, Loyal to Her Command,” Leonidas, King of Sparta - Persian wars.

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