Once upon a time, we had mental hospitals. Actual places where dangerous, deeply disturbed people were kept from destroying themselves and the public. But then came Big Pharma, strutting in with miracle pills and empty promises. They assured us these people could function just fine in society as long as they took their meds. News flash, they don’t.
So now we’ve got a full-blown mental health disaster on our hands. We turned these institutions into parking lots and set loose unstable souls who can’t or won’t medicate. And what do we get in return? Chaos. Despair. Bloodshed. Turns out it’s a hell of a lot more expensive to clean up the wreckage than it is to keep people safely housed in a secure facility.
Among these folks are the truly lost, the ones who are done living but can’t bring themselves to end it. So what’s their plan B? Get the police to do it for them. It’s called suicide by cop. They create a crisis, provoke a lethal response, and force officers into a nightmare scenario no one ever trains for, because you can’t train for a rigged game.
Some show up armed with real guns, knives, or anything that looks deadly enough to force a reaction. Others reach into their pockets, pretend to pull a weapon, and dare officers to respond. And no matter where you fall on the political spectrum, this much is true, no cop signed up to die for someone else’s psychological breakdown. But they’re expected to stand there, smile politely, and get stabbed or shot before defending themselves.
If the officer survives, what comes next is as predictable as it is grotesque. Cue the grieving family with their high-powered civil attorneys in tow, shrieking that excessive force was used. If the officer’s white and the suspect’s black, the lawsuit comes with a catchy name, the ghetto lottery.
And now enters the local media, the ultimate fire-starters. These are reporters who have never worn a badge, never served in the military, never faced a deadly threat, and wouldn’t last five minutes on a domestic disturbance call. But don’t worry, they’ve binged enough Netflix police dramas to consider themselves experts.
They ask questions so naive they’d be funny if lives weren’t at stake. “Why didn’t the officer shoot the gun out of his hand?” “Couldn’t they have used a taser?” “What about de-escalation?” They toss that word around like it’s a magic spell, as if someone in full-blown psychosis will suddenly drop the knife and ask for a group hug.
And the media loves it. The news directors rub their hands together like cartoon villains because they know controversy means ratings. The more outrage, the better. Forget facts, forget training, forget human reality. Just spin it until it sells.
And another cop becomes the villain in a story written by people who wouldn’t know courage if it hit them in the face.
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