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The Mental Health Excuse Theory [1]

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Date: 2025-05-06

Please note, that these are my thoughts on mental health in a very specific context.

The other day, someone said that the white woman who called a 5 year old Black child the N word had mental health issues and that racism and other maga like attributes derived for mental health issues. A few others chimed in to agree with this theory. Once more we need to point out that in almost every circumstance of wrongdoing a white person is involved with, there is always a call that it’s about mental health. Is there a DNA gene specific to white people that has been linked to mental health issues?

Note, that I’m not saying all these actions could not be a result of mental health, but why is it almost always only pointed out when it comes to white people committing atrocities or just plain racism? Whereas the same actions by Black folks (or other minorities) are often seen as lack of father figures, single motherhood, propensity for violence etc… ?

Now someone is sure to chime in and tell me I’m preaching to the choir on this platform, but I will point out the comments were made here. So there is that.

Mental health seems to have become a catchall diagnostic for white people why is that? Is it because the stigma of mental health is somewhat reduced in this era? Is it more palatable? More acceptable? Personally I think, It’s become an easy to excuse the inexcusable. Because if one’s actions are the results of one’s mental health, then can you really blame the individual? It’s not their fault anymore. In my opinion, even if one has mental health issues, it does not excuse one’s behavior. And in the context of this entry, the excused are often quite ‘normal” in the rest of their daily lives.

This woman may have been rude in her personal life, but I’m pretty darn certain no one has accused her of having mental issues before this episode. Mental health is a serious issue, and I will be the first to admit that the US seems to have more than its share in those that seem to have this concern.

One might wonder why it seems that the US has such a large swath of mental health issues more than peer countries even, my theory is that normal reactions to what life brings you, death for example and subsequent grief and even depression are not in truth mental issues unless they result in harmful behavior.

It has been said constantly that everyone grieves differently but it still people are told to “seek help” to deal with grief. People are still judge for how long or how little they grieve, if they dare to laugh while mourning as if life stops because one’s dealing with death. You don’t deal with grief, you accept grief. A lot of other natural reactions are treated similarly. I often say the industrialized world has reduced their capacity to deal with life as much as they have reduced their physical immune defenses, with too much “protection”.

One cannot be protected from life, life will happen, both bad and good things, but mostly if one is lucky life is simply being content with your lot… it’s humdrum and even boring at times. One needs to learn to get up when life knocks you down, you may need a hand to do so now and then, but it shouldn’t be for every stumble and fall. When you have children unaliving themselves, because of bullying, you don’t only have a bully problem (note I’m not talking about extreme or physical bullying).

I don’t know, maybe it’s because having spent 30 years in the poorest country in the world, I’ve seen so many things and yet seen people retain their humanity in the face of astounding events, that I can no longer understand the societal conditioning of my own country.

To get back on topic and conclude, mental health should not be a bandage that’s applied to every outrageous acts of a certain demographic to diminish the import of their actions. And if you’re going to apply it, do it across the board, not only to a certain kind of people while demonizing others.

#TheAmericanHaitianPoet

#Woke #SocialPoetry

paypal.me/murielvieux to help Haitians families 10$ x donors can go a long way.

#ThePoet - Muriel Vieux – May 6th, 2025, ©All rights reserved

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