Who's Crazy?

[bijou]

This bizarre news story struck me forcefully because the events described took place just a few blocks from my house:

    [Rhonda] Arkley's husband, Stuart Arkley, said he was resting in a lower-level bedroom when his wife entered and threw gasoline on him, hurled a lit oil lamp at him and hit him in the head with an exercise weight. ...

    The two struggled at the front door as Stuart Arkley attempted to flee and his wife, holding a steak knife, yelled, "I only want to kill myself."

    Rhonda Arkley then grabbed a 5-gallon can and spread gasoline around the house, saying, "I don't want anyone else to see this house." He tried to stop her, but she threw more gas on him and lit a piece of paper. He fled out a back window to a neighbor's home and called 911.

    When police arrived, they found the home ablaze and Rhonda Arkley in a locked car in the driveway, stabbing her chest with a screwdriver.

    Arkley drove off. Eagan police put down stop spikes on Pilot Knob Road near Cliff Road, disabling her vehicle. Officers approached and saw her again stabbing herself in the chest with a screwdriver, using a hammer to drive it in.

The events described are sad, if not tragic. Mrs. Arkley's son had recently died of a heroin overdose. One can only have sympathy for her and her family. It is noteworthy, however, that Mrs. Arkley is not a random Minnesotan--rather, she was the Democratic Party's candidate for the Minnesota Senate in 2002 in District 37, my district. In that race, she received an "A" rating from the National Organization of Women. She is a prominent member of Minnesota's atheist community. And she is on record as believing that Congresswoman Michele Bachmann is "nutty."

That last, of course, is an article of faith among liberals. But the contrast is a striking one: Congresswoman Bachmann is, in fact, a woman of great serenity, substantial professional accomplishment, invariably sunny disposition, and almost unnatural energy; she is the mother of five and foster mother of 23 children. This sad anecdote from my neighborhood illustrates a commonplace of sociology: scratch a conservative and you will almost always find a happy person; scratch a liberal and you are likely to encounter a seething cauldron of disappointment and rage.

http://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2010/12/027991.php

[Ralph Wiggum]

Don't scroll down without one of these: 

[DefiantSix]

...It is noteworthy, however, that Mrs. Arkley is not a random Minnesotan--rather, she was the Democratic Party's candidate for the Minnesota Senate in 2002 in District 37, my district. In that race, she received an "A" rating from the National Organization of Women. She is a prominent member of Minnesota's atheist community. And she is on record as believing that Congresswoman Michele Bachmann is "nutty."...

Yup; a sure sign of being a few fries short of a happy meal is that you think it's the rest of the world that's the crazy ones.

[Thor]

I happen to know that area.

[DefiantSix]

I happen to know that area.

Are the rest of the moonbats in the area as crazy as this chica?

[debk]

wow.


Regardless of whether or not the woman is a liberal or an atheist....to me, this is a tragic story.

At some point in time, this woman must have been a fairly confident woman to have run for State Congress.

Losing a child, no matter what the circumstances, is devastating for any mother. Obviously, this woman felt that her world had ended.

Sad that no one, particularly her husband, family, and friends, did not see that she was in serious need of some psychiatric health care.

And thankfully, she did not harm anyone else in her desire to "kill herself"....

Bad things happen to most everyone, regardless of their political affiliation or faith/lack of faith. This woman deserves pity(not necessarily empathy)....not comparison with Michelle Bachmann. Some people are just able to deal with tragedy better than others, often because they are fortunate to be surrounded by a very good and wonderful support system.

[NHSparky]

Reminds me of a few of the denizens of the old SCC board...right Athena?

[SSG Snuggle Bunny]

I happen to know that area.

You do seem to have that effect on women.

[true_blood]

You do seem to have that effect on women.

[JohnnyReb]

Now we have the real reason liberals want guns outlawed.... Guns make liberal suicide to easy.

[dandi]

Forgive me, but what is that?

[DefiantSix]

Forgive me, but what is that?

That, sir, is the best candy-date the Dhimmi-Rats could come up with in that state senate district.  Kinda looks like they thought they've been running the graveyard vote for so long, that they could be justified in bringing in a graveyard candy-date.

Now, I must go chug another gallon of mind bleach, if you don't mind.   

[dandi]

Losing a child, no matter what the circumstances, is devastating for any mother. Obviously, this woman felt that her world had ended.

Sad that no one, particularly her husband, family, and friends, did not see that she was in serious need of some psychiatric health care.

And thankfully, she did not harm anyone else in her desire to "kill herself"....

Bad things happen to most everyone, regardless of their political affiliation or faith/lack of faith. This woman deserves pity(not necessarily empathy)....not comparison with Michelle Bachmann. Some people are just able to deal with tragedy better than others, often because they are fortunate to be surrounded by a very good and wonderful support system.

Pity?  I'd give this sub-human moonbat the same pity I give the wild vermin that my cat has flayed and left to die on my lawn just before I put it's lights out with a shovel and scrape it into a garbage can.

This "woman" (and I use that term for gender identification only) spent her whole life going against nature and God, probably raised her children unnaturally as well, and has hit the point of total lunacy.

EG, typical liberal.

She chose her path because she was supremely arrogant in her belief that she was her own highest power and did not need to pray to anyone but herself.  Now her son is dead, her mind is gone, she attempted to take her own life and that of her husband. 

Pity for someone who has made their own Hell and is too blind to see it?  No, there is no pity for someone like that.  Showing pity to a lunatic is no longer a luxury that American Society can afford.  It's time to put them back into sanitariums where they belong or stand back and let them remove themselves from the gene pool in spectacular fashion.

[dandi]

Forgive me, but what is that?


That, sir, is the best candy-date the Dhimmi-Rats could come up with in that state senate district.  Kinda looks like they thought they've been running the graveyard vote for so long, that they could be justified in bringing in a graveyard candy-date.

Now, I must go chug another gallon of mind bleach, if you don't mind.   

You can scrub and scrub, but that stain is never going to come out.

[debk]

Pity?  I'd give this sub-human moonbat the same pity I give the wild vermin that my cat has flayed and left to die on my lawn just before I put it's lights out with a shovel and scrape it into a garbage can.

This "woman" (and I use that term for gender identification only) spent her whole life going against nature and God, probably raised her children unnaturally as well, and has hit the point of total lunacy.

EG, typical liberal.

She chose her path because she was supremely arrogant in her belief that she was her own highest power and did not need to pray to anyone but herself.  Now her son is dead, her mind is gone, she attempted to take her own life and that of her husband. 

Pity for someone who has made their own Hell and is too blind to see it?  No, there is no pity for someone like that.  Showing pity to a lunatic is no longer a luxury that American Society can afford.  It's time to put them back into sanitariums where they belong or stand back and let them remove themselves from the gene pool in spectacular fashion.

I still say she deserves pity.

No matter what, she has lost a child. That could make the sanest of women go crazy.   

I don't think if fair to say that because she didn't/doesn't believe in God or organized religion, that she is getting what she deserves. There are conservatives who are atheists or agnostics. If you paint this woman with the brush of her getting what she deserves because she is an atheist, then you have to use the same brush on conservatives. If you are going to hold to The Constitution that people have a right to worship as they wish, you can't pick and chose who gets the right, based on their political beliefs.

[Eupher]

When you get right down to it, the woman is likely accused of a crime or multiple crimes, attempted murder being one of them certainly.

A jury will sort out the facts and arrive at a conclusion.

Whether or not her attorney is able to convince a jury that she was "temporarily insane" when she poured gas on her husband and attempted to torch him with a lighted lamp remains to be seen.

Whether or not her religious leanings have any bearing on the case or not remains to be seen.

They say the worst thing an adult can endure is to outlive an offspring. As that's never happened to me, I don't know that I can arrive at some sort of judgment about that woman and what she is accused of.

For me, the word "pity" doesn't fit. What does fit, as it stands right now, is that she's accused of a crime and her title - if there is such a thing - is "defendant".

[debk]

When you get right down to it, the woman is likely accused of a crime or multiple crimes, attempted murder being one of them certainly.

A jury will sort out the facts and arrive at a conclusion.

Whether or not her attorney is able to convince a jury that she was "temporarily insane" when she poured gas on her husband and attempted to torch him with a lighted lamp remains to be seen.

Whether or not her religious leanings have any bearing on the case or not remains to be seen.

They say the worst thing an adult can endure is to outlive an offspring. As that's never happened to me, I don't know that I can arrive at some sort of judgment about that woman and what she is accused of.

For me, the word "pity" doesn't fit. What does fit, as it stands right now, is that she's accused of a crime and her title - if there is such a thing - is "defendant".

Without any doubt, I do think she should be punished for her crimes. Some defense lawyer will probably get her institutionalized in a mental health facility that is equipped to house criminals, but at least it will get her off the streets and protect the public from her. Sadly, the taxpayers will have to pay for it though.

Somebody should have seen the irrationality in this woman long before it ever reached this point, and gotten her some help. I doubt that she went from "normal" to pouring gasoline on her husband and stabbing herself with a screwdriver (and hammer it in?!?! )without any other significant breaks with reality.

[Eupher]

Without any doubt, I do think she should be punished for her crimes. Some defense lawyer will probably get her institutionalized in a mental health facility that is equipped to house criminals, but at least it will get her off the streets and protect the public from her. Sadly, the taxpayers will have to pay for it though.

Somebody should have seen the irrationality in this woman long before it ever reached this point, and gotten her some help. I doubt that she went from "normal" to pouring gasoline on her husband and stabbing herself with a screwdriver (and hammer it in?!?! )without any other significant breaks with reality.

Some people just crumble. Other people snap. This woman snapped and went off the deep end. If she's a certified nutcase, yeah, the taxpayers will foot the bill (why not? we foot the bill for everything else in this country). 

[debk]

Some people just crumble. Other people snap. This woman snapped and went off the deep end. If she's a certified nutcase, yeah, the taxpayers will foot the bill (why not? we foot the bill for everything else in this country). 

Doesn't matter if she criminally institutionalized in a mental health facility or incarcerated in prison...taxpayers are going to foot the bill...

If she and her husband had health insurance, AND it had mental health care on it, insurance would have footed the bill if someone had gotten her some help before she snapped.  (I know...big IF"s in there.  )

[dandi]

I don't think if fair to say that because she didn't/doesn't believe in God or organized religion, that she is getting what she deserves. There are conservatives who are atheists or agnostics. If you paint this woman with the brush of her getting what she deserves because she is an atheist, then you have to use the same brush on conservatives. If you are going to hold to The Constitution that people have a right to worship as they wish, you can't pick and chose who gets the right, based on their political beliefs.

You missed the entire point.

What I said was she made a conscious and deliberate choice in her life to defy instinct, go against nature, and refused to consider that there is something greater than herself.  She crowned herself as her own highest power with a belief in nothing beyond her own observations and raised her children in the same unnatural manner.  The inevitable outcome of such raw arrogance is what she got - disintegrated family, shattered life, absolute lunacy.  When the finite mind attempts to contemplate the infinite and attempts to claim the knowledge of it, the result is always the same.

In addition, I made a point that I have no pity for anyone who willfully creates their own Hell on Earth and is too blind to see it.  I further stated that American Society can no longer have the luxury of overlooking this type of personality and the damage it does to all of us.  If you don't think that is the case, I give you the democrat party and their elected officials currently holding us hostage.  They are no different than this crazy woman.  No pity for those who make their own misery; no more.

No where in my post did I ever state that people could not worship the way they wish, that she got what she deserved for not believing in organized religion, nor was I abrogating the Constitutional rights of anyone.

[Freeper]

You missed the entire point.

What I said was she made a conscious and deliberate choice in her life to defy instinct, go against nature, and refused to consider that there is something greater than herself.  She crowned herself as her own highest power with a belief in nothing beyond her own observations and raised her children in the same unnatural manner.  The inevitable outcome of such raw arrogance is what she got - disintegrated family, shattered life, absolute lunacy.  When the finite mind attempts to contemplate the infinite and attempts to claim the knowledge of it, the result is always the same.

In addition, I made a point that I have no pity for anyone who willfully creates their own Hell on Earth and is too blind to see it.  I further stated that American Society can no longer have the luxury of overlooking this type of personality and the damage it does to all of us.  If you don't think that is the case, I give you the democrat party and their elected officials currently holding us hostage.  They are no different than this crazy woman.  No pity for those who make their own misery; no more.

No where in my post did I ever state that people could not worship the way they wish, that she got what she deserved for not believing in organized religion, nor was I abrogating the Constitutional rights of anyone.

Yeah and religious people never go off the deep end it's only those wacky atheists who do things like this.
 

[dandi]

Yeah and religious people never go off the deep end it's only those wacky atheists who do things like this.
 

Apparently you missed the point as well.

In addition, I made a point that I have no pity for anyone who willfully creates their own Hell on Earth and is too blind to see it.  I further stated that American Society can no longer have the luxury of overlooking this type of personality and the damage it does to all of us.  If you don't think that is the case, I give you the democrat party and their elected officials currently holding us hostage.  They are no different than this crazy woman.  No pity for those who make their own misery; no more.

[debk]

Apparently you missed the point as well.

I don't think if fair to say that because she didn't/doesn't believe in God or organized religion, that she is getting what she deserves. There are conservatives who are atheists or agnostics. If you paint this woman with the brush of her getting what she deserves because she is an atheist, then you have to use the same brush on conservatives. If you are going to hold to The Constitution that people have a right to worship as they wish, you can't pick and chose who gets the right, based on their political beliefs.

You missed the entire point.

No where in my post did I ever state that people could not worship the way they wish, that she got what she deserved for not believing in organized religion, nor was I abrogating the Constitutional rights of anyone.

I think you misunderstood me when I said what I did about the Constitutional rights regarding religion, and I probably should not have used the pronoun "you" as you took it to mean that you - personally - were denying religious rights to people. I meant that because of the our Constituion, any American has the right to believe in who or what they wish, God, Bhudda, Allah, or not believe....and those beliefs - or not beliefs...are not exclusive to either conservatives or liberals.

I did interpret your post to mean that you felt that she lost her child and went crazy nuts because she was a liberal and because she did not believe in God.

In addition, I made a point that I have no pity for anyone who willfully creates their own Hell on Earth and is too blind to see it. 

When a person goes "off the deep end"....I don't think they are capable of seeing what they are doing or have done. I don't think it's a question of being "too blind to see it"...they are too ill too see it.

Have you ever had someone you are close to, that's an alcoholic? I have, and I know there are also a few members here that are recovering alcoholics. I can tell you, and I'm sure they could also, it's impossible to make an alcoholic see that they are headed for a cliff. They don't want to see that cliff, they don't even care that the cliff is there. All anyone can do is try to help them - when they fall off the cliff or if they suddenly see the cliff approaching and ASK for help before they go off of it.

Until an alcoholic or drug addict wants to help themselves, no one else can help them. A mentally ill person is often not capable of even recognizing they need help.

With the current mental health laws, a friend or family member cannot do anything to help an individual - 18yo or older - unless that person is a danger to themself or society. Sadly, most police or mental health providers will not even respond to a call for help from a friend or family member until AFTER the individual has caused harm to themself or another. A family member - one who has legal guardianship - can only commit a child under the age of 17. 18 AND OLDER MUST COMMIT THEMSELF FOR TREATMENT.....they must be capable of signing the dotted line themself BEFORE entering a treatment facility.

The only authority who can commit an individual 18 and older, without the individual's written acceptance.....is the court system by judicial order.

[DumbAss Tanker]

wow.


Regardless of whether or not the woman is a liberal or an atheist....to me, this is a tragic story.

At some point in time, this woman must have been a fairly confident woman to have run for State Congress.

Losing a child, no matter what the circumstances, is devastating for any mother. Obviously, this woman felt that her world had ended.

Sad that no one, particularly her husband, family, and friends, did not see that she was in serious need of some psychiatric health care.

And thankfully, she did not harm anyone else in her desire to "kill herself"....

Bad things happen to most everyone, regardless of their political affiliation or faith/lack of faith. This woman deserves pity(not necessarily empathy)....not comparison with Michelle Bachmann. Some people are just able to deal with tragedy better than others, often because they are fortunate to be surrounded by a very good and wonderful support system.

You have waaaaaay to much empathy, sympathy, call it what you will.  The only pity in this case is that a homicidal lunatic didn't actually succeed in offing herself, and now everyone in her family will have to be on their guard the rest of their lives in case she snaps and goes totally postal.

[debk]

You have waaaaaay to much empathy, sympathy, call it what you will.  The only pity in this case is that a homicidal lunatic didn't actually succeed in offing herself, and now everyone in her family will have to be on their guard the rest of their lives in case she snaps and goes totally postal.

Don't you think she already went totally postal?

Maybe I do have too much pity for her. I don't have empathy or sympathy for her actions....but I do pity her because her child died. I don't know what I would do if I lost one of my children....particularly if it was under circumstances that I may have been able to prevent.

My grandmother was never the same after my mother was killed in a car accident. No, she did not go crazy, just became very very sad, because my mother was her only daughter. Could my grandmother have prevented it, no. It was not a "preventable" circumstance, except maybe by me. 

My ex mother-in-law and father-in-law were considerably different after their youngest died of a drug overdose....in jail. The MIL was already an unreasonable woman and became much worse, including her use of alcohol and Rx drugs. FIL had his own issues. They had a lot of guilt. If they had bailed him out, maybe he wouldn't have ended up dead. If they had done a lot of things differently....it may all have been prevented.

My ex sister-in-law lost a 5wk old daughter to SIDS. I didn't know her when it happened, but maybe she would have treated her next child, another girl, differently/better if she hadn't lost the first or if the next child had been a boy. Was it preventable? No. I never even liked the woman, but I still felt sorry for her that she had lost a child.

Think of all the mothers who have lost their children due to war. I don't know any personally, but that doesn't stop me from feeling sorry for them.

Children aren't supposed to die before their parents....