View Single Post
Old 08-15-2013, 08:22 AM   #6
Clodfobble
UNDER CONDITIONAL MITIGATION
 
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: Austin, TX
Posts: 20,012
Because unlike physical disabilities, there is a tendency to believe that a person's behavior--no matter how clearly linked to a chemical imbalance or neuronal pattern difference--is still fundamentally their choice, their fault.

It's not about blaming the victim though, it's about the observer feeling powerless: if that mentally ill person is not ultimately responsible for their behavior on some level, then the sane person also cannot take credit for their mental stability. If we're just bags of chemicals and it's all a crapshoot, then you don't get to feel good about anything you've accomplished in your life. Blaming the mentally ill is just a logical continuation of a human being's basic ego.
Clodfobble is offline   Reply With Quote