Here's my question, why does the burden have to fall on the police to deal with people wandering our streets who are mentally unstable? Those people aren't criminals, though, they are committing some crimes, for sure. But they're not a typical "criminal" making a career out of it. Those people should be in mental healthcare facilities being evaluated and treated for their conditions, and, in some cases, institutionalized to get them off the streets as they are not ever going to be functional adults. My family is from Austin. My grandmother was born in Liberty Hill in 1922, and my mom talks about not ever remembering seeing homeless people the way we have now. She also says back then that if someone acted crazy they were treated crazy. They were put in a hospital for evaluation and maybe institutionalized if the situation called for it after they had exhausted their efforts. We like to politicize the issue, blaming our politicians and taking sides - either blaming Democrats or Republicans or making wild theories about what type of government it would take to solve the problem, even as the one we have now is failing at it, but this issue is relatively new even though Austin has had a certain political ring to it for generations. So, trying to say it's a Democratic or liberal problem is off the mark. Making it political will never solve the problem. This is something that should not be a partisan issue.
So, is defunding the police smart? No, of course not. However, there is nothing wrong with moving money around in a budget to study the problem and explore options and test the results. People politicized that and spun it as political garbage does, and well, that's how you end up with no one wanting to talk to each other. The unfortunate part of this is twofold. One, that we've come to expect the police to solve a societal problem that has been forgotten and then ignored and now has become an issue that everyone is very aware of and that the police are now having to deal with. And two, that we're still stuck on the idea that it's the police's responsibility to deal with the problem that we've largely allowed to happen. If I break a bone, I won't be going to the police for help. There's a hospital for that. So, I don't know why we can't get these people who have mental issues some care. Some just need medication to get them straightened out. Some need therapy. Some need a little more care and time, and some are a lost cause as their mental condition is more severe and will require a long term care.
I don't think the issue is police funding, I think the issue is mental healthcare funding. The police don't have anything on their belt that is going to help them. That's not their job.
Imagine if the physically ill were lying around in the streets left to fend for themselves against what was ailing them because a trip to the hospital or a doctor visit was unattainable. Maybe dying on the street and spreading whatever it was they had. And it was happening because for whatever reason they didn't have access to medical care. That's basically what's happening with a large percentage of the homeless population - though, not all, but a lot of them need some kind of mental healthcare. They're not all slackers or druggies.
I get that people cringe at the thought of having to take part in dealing with the problem, but the refusal to do so makes me wonder if they're really serious about solving it. The problem isn't going to go away on its own, and these people with mental health issues can no more function the way the rest of us do than someone with a broken leg can participate in a triathlon without medical help first.
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Last edited by KevinFromTexas; Apr 19, 2021 at 8:34 PM.
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