Dear Editor:

This is regarding your article on “30 years of neglect.” When I thought about the incident where the bigrig driver ran into the State Capitol, I had the same sense of identification with the driver. The system let him down, and he got mad.

But somewhere near there we part company. As a mental health client activist I’m totally concerned about reforming the system so that it will be responsive to the issues of madness in this society. But unlike NAMI whose view you promote, I and many others feel that the issue is providing services on the basis of respect.

Clients are discriminated against, and it’s legal to do so. We live with the reality that society today has the attitude that we are not worthy of personal respect. The ‘treatment’ we receive is commonly traumatizing, and this is due to the structure of the ‘treatment’ process more than the ill-will of the providers. You advocate overcoming ‘neglect’ by providing more traumatizing experiences, up to and including more ‘forced treatment’. This will never work.

The positive approach is to provide adequate, voluntary services. Even more, and here is the responsibility of the press, it is to help the society understand that the seeds of madness are in every person. Stop making us the ‘others’ who are the target of society’s rage. Help society calm down and deal reasonably with the human attribute of madness.

Andrew Phelps