承前*1
SE Smith “'Psycho killer'? The Jared Lee Loughner case brings out the usual abuse” http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cifamerica/2011/jan/10/jared-lee-loughner-gabrielle-giffords
米国アリゾナ州のJared Lee Loughnerによる銃撃事件に対する反応；
発信源の政治的左右を問わず、銃撃と「精神疾患（mental illness）」を結びつける言説が量産される。他方、マス・メディアの方は最初はネットに比べれば抑制的ではあったが、直ぐに短絡的な「一般化」が出現した；
Real time reactions on the internet did not disappoint, whether talking about "crazed gunmen"*2, "lunatics"*3, "psycho killers"*4, or "mentally disturbed people"*5. People on all grades of the political spectrum opined that the shooting must have been committed by someone with mental illness, someone "totally nuts"*6; no sane person would do this, as numerous people took care to inform me on Twitter*7.
この背景には「精神的に病んだ人々は他人に対して危険である」、「暴力は精神疾患の表出である」、「精神疾患は人を暴力的にする」といった「信念」の蔓延がある。しかし、事実はどうか；
The media were initially more reticent when it came to drawing conclusions about the circumstances of the shooting. National Public Radio even posted a condemnation of speculation*8, after an initial slip-up where they prematurely reported the congresswoman's demise. After years of substantial work on the part of the mental health community, a growing number of media outlets have turned to a more responsible journalistic approach when it comes to situations where mental illness may be involved.Within hours, however, sketchy reports were being used to cobble together sweeping generalisations about the shooter's mental status, along with vague speculation about the shooter being "just a nut". By Monday morning, the Los Angeles Times was going one further and providing a detailed list of shootings linked to mental illness*9 – reinforcing the idea that violent crimes are always linked with mental illness.
突飛な事件が起こる度に精神疾患についての偏見が強化されるわけだが、それは精神疾患を抱えた人々に以下のような効果をもたらすという；
(…) mentally ill people are actually 11 times more likely than the general population to be victims of violence, according to a Northwestern University study*10. People with "severe mental illness" are responsible for an estimated one in 20 violent crimes*11, a rate much lower than the general population usually supposes.
そして、それ以外の人たちには「説明責任の回避（to avoid accountability）」の口実と「安全という幻想（an illusion of safety）」を。
The consequences of linking acts of unconscionable violence to mental illness in the absence of information are twofold. The immediate result is the continued stigmatisation of mental illness; it is often assumed that mentally ill people are violent, dangerous and need to be controlled. This results in responses like repressive legislation, such as requirements that mentally ill people submit to treatment against their will, harsh sentences for mentally ill offenders and immigration bans; Canada, for example, does not accept immigrants with a history of institutionalisation for mental illness.It is extremely hard for people with mental illness, particularly mental illnesses popularly considered violent, like borderline personality disorder and schizophrenia, to "come out", as a result of social attitudes about mental health. Every time a horrific event splashes across the headlines and people start screaming "mental illness", the mentally ill community is reminded that we are considered unsafe and dangerous, despite stigma-reduction campaigns. This has real impacts, making it harder for us to seek treatment, find work and engage with society.
前のエントリーには誤解を招きかねない表現があって、その点については反省しなければならない。
*1:http://d.hatena.ne.jp/sumita-m/20110111/1294690248
*2:http://twitter.com/ysaw/status/23877699059580928
*3:http://twitter.com/weeklystandard/status/23892069315510272
*4:http://twitter.com/TauntedTiger/status/23898105090940928
*5:http://twitter.com/BWConfidential/status/23886659586101248
*6:https://twitter.com/mattyglesias/status/23851231722078208#
*7:http://twitter.com/hexachordal/statuses/23826968747188225
*8:Ken Rudin “Barring Info, Speculating On Motive Behind Giffords Shooting Helps No One” http://www.npr.org/blogs/itsallpolitics/2011/01/09/132765516/barring-info-speculating-on-motive-behind-giffords-shooting-helps-no-one
*9:Andrew Malcolm “Tucson shootings: Mental illness, not rhetoric, at root of more political assassinations historically” http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/washington/2011/01/gabrielle-giffords-jared-loughner-assassinations.html
*10:Aaron Levin “People With Mental Illness More Often Crime Victims” http://pn.psychiatryonline.org/content/40/17/16.full
*11:“Mental health crime link studied” http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/5216836.stm
