Cell Phones & Crazy Folks

I was sitting at a Starbucks today when someone outside the window caught my attention. She looked like a sane enough woman, with the exception that she was talking and gesticulating in a conversation with nobody. Her long hair apparently was hiding her Bluetooth headset, but the impression she gave was that of someone who had “gone off her meds”. It’s a sight I have seen many times before and before long it will be unable to distinguish the genuinely mentally disabled folks with those who are just addicted to their Bluetooth headsets.

Just a few hours earlier I had seen the former category of citizen walking across a street. His shirt was open and hanging from his shoulders. A four day growth of beard and the ragged sandals gave the distinct impression he had been sleeping under a bridge somewhere. He was talking and waving his arms, deep in conversation with an invisible someone.

I have to say, being around people like him make me uncomfortable. I never know exactly who they are talking to or what they will do next. As refugees from our failing public health system, the growing number of street people with mental problems seems to be increasing and that bothers me. I know there is treatment that can help people like him, but unless he has access to it, a place to live and some sort of stability in his life he will not be able to stay on the medications. That is not just speculation, but a fact I have had explained to me by a mental health professional.

Both the street person and the woman on the headset have something in common. They both are acting the same way. Both are talking to an unseen presence without regard to the reactions of others who might see them. Both are examples of what could be seen as anti-social behavior. The difference is one has access to health care and technology and the other doesn’t.

I guess you could just pass out Bluetooth headsets to all the street people and then nobody would think they had a problem, but it would only mask the deeper issue. We need a public health system that is really “public”. We need a way for those unfortunate enough to suffer from mental disorders to get help not only from a medical professional but in getting their lives back together. We also need a society that recognizes that putting people out onto the street without access to the tools they need to get better is the sign of a society in decline. A civilized society takes care of each other. A civilized society understands that ignoring problems is not a way to solve them.

Oh yea, and a civilized society does not share their private conversations with anyone within earshot.