This links to an NPR story by a parent with a seriously mentally ill son who describes the hurdles to getting mental health care for an adult child with mental illness in Virginia.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=9750908

It really gives you an idea of the state of mental health care for adults and apparently Virginia is one of the hardest states in which to accomplish an involuntary commitment.

Joe,

Here's the link to write a private letter to the editors:

http://www.salon.com/about/letters/index.html

It sounds like there was a misunderstanding about how your quotes would be attributed. You'll likely be able to discuss this with the writer and the salon editors. I found the link on the left-hand side of this page. Best of luck.

This is Joe from this article and I am mad at how you are using my full name without permission especially since you didn't include about how I said theres no excuse for what he did. I definitely think that the focus should be more about the victims than the killer. I am disturbed about how often he is shown on tv. Well take my name that I said you didn't have permission to use out of this article or I will seek legal action against you especially since you claimed that you were just seeking research for Time magazine and that I could be anonomous.

domini, I appreciate your thoughtful posts, but you copied and pasted something I said, and then proceeded to disagree with something that was not contained in the text.

fromPhilly: This is just a guess on my part, but I'd suspect that the number of lawsuits filed by mentally ill students against a school for the school having disclosed information about the student's mental health to his/her parents is closer to zero than to 10.--

domini: You would be wrong. The previous mental health article was about a student with mental health issues (suicidal throught, voluntary commitment) having health info disclosed by hospital (on a "need to know"- the academic term for health and safety exception) to the university, and the university disclosing and remocing the student from campus. There have been other high profile cases.--

If you read what I said, I said disclose to the PARENTS, not the university.

I would be interested in hearing about any lawsuits you know of that involve this scenario: a CHILD sues his/her university because the university disclosed information about the child to the PARENTS. I have no knowledge about whether such a lawsuit exists, but my suspicion is that the number of these lawsuits is closer to zero than to 10. If I'm wrong, please reference the cases so I can speak with greater authority in the future.

Elizabeth Shin's parents sued MIT because the university didn't disclose her mental state to them. I realize there are need-to-know laws, but what I'm saying is that, there is an untested "health and emergency" phrase in the law that can, theoretically, enable the university to contact the parents while keeping the university legally protected.

What amazes me most in peoples' responses to me is how much people are tied to the mantra: "nothing can be done; everyone's hands are tied." Ridiculous and untrue.

Don't forget that if the mentally ill person AUTHORIZES the release of information, it can be released. Did anyone ever ask Cho if they could talk to his parents?

Perhaps if his parents stopped paying for his education and removed him from the university, he would have gone on a rampage in his town, or returned to the university as a non-student to go on the same rampage. But maybe he wouldn't have. Maybe he would just have killed himself and not taken anyone with him.

Don't forget that Cho willingly went to a mental health facility in 2005 and willingly took some sort of pscyhiatric drug.

It's possible that if his parents--the people who presumably paid the bills for his education--had more information about his on-campus behavior, they would have removed him from the school.

“In the name of God, stop a moment, cease your work, look around you.”

- Leo Tolstoy

"Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself."

- Leo Tolstoy

That Asian kid that just shot 32 people and himself at Virginia Tech is just another reason & reminder of why I dedicate my mind to salvation. This world is a mess. That guy doesn't need condemnation, he needs blessing. What is not love is a call for love. Forgive him.

By killing himself he took away people's target for attack. Instead of experiencing hatred for the kid, most people are experiencing shock and grief. If he was in police custody right now, you would see the level of hatred and anger in this world. More gun laws and more security is not the solution. Sending everyone to therapy who writes a violent term-paper is not the the solution. Suddenly everyone is a watchdog. Can anyone see this? Can anyone see a solution to this picture called the world?? I am curious.

There is no solution.

The whole thing is a sordid mess, right down to NBC running the clip, right down to movie makers and novelists using violence as entertainment. The whole thing doesn't make any sense. Is there any reason for selling a gun other than killing or destroying something? That's the most insane part of all to me. Someone walks into a gun shop, they run a security check on him and he is fine, but what he is going to use the gun for? What do people use as reasons for purchasing a gun? Protection and target practice? Come on. Even the use of a gun for protection still means someone is going to get hurt.

I don't get it.

Times like these I sit entirely stumped. I am told that through my mind a new world is ushered in. I believe this is true. I am a minister. I am a Teacher of God. I am God's messenger. I have dedicated my mind to the certainty that peace is possible.

But times like these, it's so overwhelming. It makes me want to cry.

Everyone is running confused. Everyone is scared. No one knows what to do. Nothing makes any sense.

I am glad I don't own a television. I saw the photo on the internet of that kid aiming a gun at the camera and the one of him with a hammer, and last night I had a dream that I was on a busy street in Manhattan and an Asian kid is walking towards me, arm fully extended, pointing a gun at me. He looked me straight in the eye, then kept walking. I turned around to see what happened next, he kept walking with the gun extended and he stopped and turned the gun towards a yellow cab and shot a passenger sitting in the front seat of the cab. The guy slumped over dead against the window and the kid kept walking with the gun pointed at other people.

And I don't watch television! I only saw 2 photos and read a couple paragraphs of what he said (before I said to myself "that's enough!) and these images are burned in my brain forever.

I want to start finding people to join with me to usher in a new world, who want to be part of new leadership. I don't know how it looks. I need help here. Blogging isn't enough anymore.

The time for NEW LEADERSHIP is now.

It's not going to come from the government. It's also not going to come from any current structure. Hopefully you can see this by now.

New leadership is going to have to start with me. It's going to have to start with you.

Lisa natoli