What is worse, is the victims of thevolent crime are hardly believed, or the yare treated like they have a low intelligence quotient. And that is a stigma, either not believed or the mental retarded stigma comes up.

I am not going to appologize if I offend people, but my daughter was a victim of a violent crime and the stigma was there, and OhMy god, the way people would remembermy little girl as a mentally retarded kid, and she is not. all because of her having ADHD.yes this is a rant, a rant of crap that happened a year ago and it still ticks me to no end.

What about multi-generational sexual abuse/incest? Don’t Providers say that a person “offends” (euphemism for “rapes”) because they, themselves, were victimised sexually as a child? When a child rapes another, younger, child - they say “It’s not their fault, they were just doing what they learned.” Or, even worse, the victim is not believed and peers and family turn further against them. Being abused sexually/incestually is the root of many mental disorders. So, theoretically, all involved have mental illnesses. Therefore, why do some victims help and protect those weaker than themselves and some victims torture those weaker than themselves simply because they can “turn the tables” and be the one in power? I think the difference is a little thing called EVIL.

Mentally ill or mentally stable, a person CHOSES to hurt another person. Why do some make that choice, when they, themselves, went through the trauma of being victimised and objectified? Why do they not “offend” against the person who abused them? You don’t hear that too often. Maybe consistent abuse leads to the cowardice revealed in violence against those weaker - usually women and children, and invalids.

Please respond, everyone! This is a great topic to tackle. Mental patients are discriminated against in so many ways. This seems like adding insult to injury. First you get an abusive childhood, then an abusive relationship, then when you finally “Snap” you are labelled forever weak (even though your experiences have made you STRONGER than those who look down on you). You are not allowed to carry arms to defend yourself (even though research shows that victims of sexual abuse as a child are extremely more likely to be abused again and again through life. Raped, robbed, pimped, - who needs a gun for protection more?) No one will insure you, so no one will hire you. No one will allow you to have custody of your children. No one wants to date you. No one will give you a loan. No one would vote for you! If you need longterm care, no one will pay for it - not even the government. We are set up for elder abuse and homelessness and abject poverty. Don’t abuse victims ever get a break?!? Maybe when we die. And people don’t understand why we try to commit suicide!! And people shame us if we reach for some temporary, partial relief from pain and fear with alcohol or pot or other drugs. From birth to death, abused children are doomed in this society to much suffering, much humiliation and much “separateness” from their non-abused neighbors.

Three things give me hope and reason to live - my God, my children, and my art/my voice. Oh, and the future! It is sure to be better than today.