> I commented some months ago that the chief need of a friend who suffers
> from schizophrenia was a few more thousand dollars a month. That's the
> chief need, in fact, of millions of people who suffer from difficulties
> with reading or writing (and sometimes with speech). Bush _had_ not
> thousands but millions, so he could escape the the only _real_
> intellectual problem of most of those who suffer from dyslexia -- that
> is, from the ignorant fuckheads who think bad writing is a moral defect.
It's as bad as making fun of Reagan's Alzheimer's. I can't claim I've never mocked Bush for his gaffes - if they should be so put. I agree there's often a lack of scruples involved in making fun of political figures; oft-times it's simply based on a presupposition that reinforces existing prejudices. For example, making fun of Dan Quayle because he looks or seems young is itself ageist - as if young people could not have intelligent or meaningful input on public life.
I am in 100% agreement with you about the needs of the mentally ill. I've met many who CLEARLY need, above and beyond any sort of therapy or medication, a stable place to call home, and a steady income.
Brian
--
"At times one remains faithful to a cause only because its opponents do not cease to be insipid." - Friedrich Nietzsche
"Il etait enfin venu, le jour ou je fus un pourceau!" - Comte de Lautreamont, Les Chants de Maldoror, 4th Hymn, Strophe 6