Apparently, the 34 yr. old man named Aaron Alexis heard voices & had a troubled past. The fact that a lot of mentally unstable people have guns or access to them has been a part of the national discussion since Gabrielle Giffords & countless others got shot. This latest tragedy at a Washington D.C. Navy Yard involves a mentally unstable black man with a military background. Mr. Alexis was reportedly obsessed with guns & violent video games. At the same time, he was a seemingly peaceful man who was a practicing Buddhist that enjoyed meditation. It's tragic that Aaron Alexis played out a scene in one of his violent video games by killing over a dozen people. He should have used the teachings of Buddha & meditation instead.
What many people are focusing on is a subject that many African-Americans tend to avoid or dismiss. That issue is black mental health. Why does this issue make so many of us uncomfortable? I will posit this opinion. I believe that it a topic that black people feel further stigmatized by. You see, we have so many negative stereotypes to contend with already. Plus, the educational system tends to view black boys in particular as remedial at some point in their scholastic journey. So, we are already viewed as stupid and behind the rest of polite society. Why would we want crazy to be added to the long list of "problems in the black community?"
Here's Don Lemon's point of view on black mental health from Black America Web:
"When I told my own mother I was dealing with depression some years back, and I was seeing a therapist, she told me I didn’t need a therapist, I needed a preacher. That was my own mother. She eventually did come around, she’s my biggest supporter, my biggest ally, my biggest friend now. And after my step-dad died some years back, she too went to a therapist and she got healthy. But it took time for even the person who gave birth to me to realize that there are certain things that you cannot pray away.
Why would we think mental or psychological issues can be prayed or willed away? A sick mind is no different than a sick body. Would you pray away a broken arm? Would you pray away bad eyesight? Would you pray away cancer, leukemia or diabetes? No. You would get it treated by the proper physician while praying at the same time.
But since we are talking about the Navy shooter here I want to stick with black men for a moment. According to the Center for Disease Control, from 1980 to 2012 the suicide rate for black males doubled becoming the third leading cause of death for black men between the ages of 15 and 24. Suicide, depression and other mental illnesses are real in our communities; maybe more so than other communities because of institutional racism, because of overwhelming unemployment and poverty.
We can no longer look at these issues as taboo and something we can power through with God because we’re soldiers. Even soldiers have post-traumatic stress disorder.
If we don’t wake up to these realities, that we cannot pray it away, the next time we see a crime on the news, especially a mass shooting, the first question you might ask yourself; is it the usual one? Oh, no, are they black? You know you all do it; I hope they’re not black. It might be the same one that the haters are posing on the Internet. If Obama had a son would he look like the killer?" Read the article in its entirety here.
If you suffer from mental health go to: http://www.blackmentalhealthnet.com/
