Aside from human responsibility, I think our solidarity with Texas comes from shared experience. Anyone who’s questioning reasons to support a state whose leaders mocked us should remember similar struggles with PG&E and the wildfires. The emergency in Texas isn’t over yet. Even though power is back on, damage remains. Reports of COVID-19 cases and.
Recent evictions of Chico’s homeless encampments are facing heavy criticism. While some argue that evictions are a good solution, others like myself would prefer a care-based system.
Self-care, along with medical and social care, are only small pieces in this puzzle of humanity’s recovery. Some in society seem to ignore or bypass what I hold to be perhaps the most fundamental piece the environment.
Gov. Gavin Newsom’s plan to phase out gas-fueled cars by 2035 is a great idea as long as it includes everybody. We need improved public transportation, particularly for more rural communities with fewer opportunities than those in more developed areas.
In 2017, a Chico man, Desmond Phillips, died at the hands of police responding to a mental health crisis.
Concerned about his son’s symptoms, Phillips’ father called for paramedics. The situation escalated when police arrived and tasered Phillips, who was holding a sharp object. When Phillips did not stay down, officers fired 16 gunshots that ended his life.
A report from the Treatment Advocacy Center found that people with untreated mental illnesses are 16 times more likely to be killed by police. Criminalized illness results from poor de-escalation.
Some say law enforcement’s failures in crisis aversion can be resolved by improved training. The conversation of a reformed police force is now becoming more commonplace, but I believe police should not be responsible for roles outside their expertise. Crisis aversion should be left to the professionals with relevant degrees and rigorous training.
QAnon’s online presence highlights the need to increase education of critical thinking skills. In this vulnerable time, society needs the benefit of both mental health care and public discourse. From “Plandemic” to staged school shootings, conspiracy theories express a basic human need to reinforce security.
Conspiracy theories often show a need for control in a confusing world. Last year, Brielle A. Marino, who has a doctorate in clinical psychology, discussed in Psychology Today the symptoms of mental diagnoses that tend to foster such beliefs. The most common symptoms, delusion and paranoia, serve a basic need to foster mental security. But, we must note that not everyone who endorses a conspiracy theory displays symptoms of a mental diagnosis.