popparod Loc: Somewhere else.

When a deranged person takes a firearm and k**ls a bunch of innocent people it sparks outrage to ban the gun.

Why then when an obviously deranged person recently took an airplane and k**led approximately 150 innocent people are there no cries to ban the airplanes?

lpnmajor Loc: Arkansas

There's no law that says everybody has to have an airplane, or ride in one. Besides, when you get on a plane, you know the risks. When you walk down the street, you are not agreeing to take the risks associated with a nut job with a gun - and you can't know, who, what, where or when.

Searching Loc: Rural Southwest VA

Well, I "will" agree with you about not knowing the risks and blithely going out the door, having no idea you what the roll of the dice might be. That always brings to my mind my father having a permit to carry, and was to the public eye, a standup fellow and a deacon in his church, and yet in reality, violent and unstable, wishing to do harm. At the same time, "now" we are forced to look once again at what can happen when we put our trust in the airline industry. Even a high priced fare is no guarantee that we will arrive safely at our destination. In my opinion, the airplane, the gun, wh**ever the weapon used, is merely the means to an end, the common denominator being the human being with his finger on the trigger or his hands at the controls. The real issue, for me, is what is "not" happening in the mental health war front....

lpnmajor Loc: Arkansas

Exactly! ( to your last statement ). Protecting individuals right to privacy is sacrosanct - unless the individual is in a position to do great harm - such as an airline pilot, police officer, dam operator, air traffic controller, etc.

Our mental health and legal systems really need to get in sync, instead of treating these things like separate issues. Mental health advocates ( of which I were one ) want to protect patients privacy, to prevent discrimination and stigma and to encourage "trust", so as to prevent patients from avoiding treatment. Law enforcement and related folk, want ALL information about patents given to them, so they can decide who is a risk.

A change in the law could correct this and satisfy both groups. For instance; information about patients who display potential for harming others, or who are in critical positions, SHOULD be given to specially trained law enforcement personnel, but under judicial seal, meaning that, the information can only be used to seek advice/authorizations from a court. Then, in consultation with both law enforcement and mental health professionals, actions could be taken to promote safety. Such actions might include search warrants, confiscation of weapons, being f**gged for special attention, being suspended from critical duties ( temporarily, if treatment is successful, permanently if not. ).

I have said often enough, that the rights of the individual are second ONLY - to the rights of all. No individuals rights should place the rights of everybody at risk. If the legal system could understand that, we'd see far fewer victims of recidivist criminals, who account for at least 85% of violent crimes ( that ratio varies, depending on where you collect them ).

Someone knew that the co-pilot was at risk and that he MIGHT be a risk to others. Protecting HIS privacy, allowed him to hide his ailment from his employers - and set the stage for a terrible tragedy. If the "powers that be" could ever learn to work TOGETHER on solutions, instead of protecting their turf, we could be far safer than we are now. As it stands, you are taking your life in your own hands and handing it to unknown persons - every time you leave your home - and sometimes, you're not safe even there.

motive power

What if that nut job pilot had decided that he was going to crash that airplane into a nice suburb or a ball park full of people, maybe the local mall on a weekend? Did you agree to take that risk? Large aircraft fly over us all in high numbers everyday and by accident some have hit communities and k**led and burned them down. We all live around b****s and we all know if they get up set they will rob, burn down and destroy an entire town. Did you decide to accept that risk? Drunks and crazy people take cars and run down sidewalks full of people regularly. Did you decide to accept that risk? "no", we live in a world that has many things we can not anticipate and the situation will not allow us to outlaw the danger before it happens. We aren't going to outlaw cars, airplanes, b****s and guns based on a few i***ts!! :roll: :roll: