more from the families...

How refreshing it was to read your column today! I have been unable to listen to much of the coverage of the VT massacre as I have both a sister and brother who both have schizophrenia.
My sister has been ill for over 40 years and my brother for about 25 years.
Listening to these pundits try to dissect the ramblings of an obviously paranoid schizophrenic man is making me crazy. ( I spent tweny years trying to convince my mother that you cannot reason with a schizophrenic.) You are exactly right when describing the parents. My parents had eleven children , yet they bent over backwards trying to get help for my sister's severe mental illness years ago. In those days , when there were state hospitals ,it was still extremely hard to get help, and today it is even worse.
Yes, there are more helpful drugs available, but as you said , convincing a crazy person to take them is no easy task. And the ACLU makes sure they retain the right to be insane.