Mental Health : A Free Pass for Crime?

Mental health awareness – it’s a popular topic of discussion and popular hashtag in this modern era, and for good reason.

For many thousands of years, the stigma surrounding mental health problems have been detrimental to the people suffering them, with ‘witchcraft’ and the Devil blamed for common conditions like epilepsy and schizophrenia.

Thankfully we have progressed from the days of ‘women’s hysteria’ and terrifying lunatic asylums, but admittedly the surface of mental health and human psychology remains barely scratched.

Despite the efforts governments worldwide have put into researching mental health, and the subsequent changes in law and care that result from so-called enlightenment, mental health is still very much misunderstood – a big black void where only the brave peer in.

The problem has arisen that criminally-minded scumbags are quick to take advantage of this ignorance of mental health, and claim certain disorders cause them to rape/ murder/ steal – as little can be said to prove otherwise.

My two favourite ones are as follows:

– Radicalisation

and

– Sex Addiction

The above are common excuses for illegal, detrimental and often murderous behaviour, and madly they’re often accepted in courts.

Maybe you yourself find them reasonable – so let me explain why I think this way.

Pull up a chair.

Radicalisation

Radicalisation is an accepted ludicrous term for people who become ‘brain-washed’ by terrorist groups, and go on to commit crimes on their behalf. Recently there seems to be an alarming increase of white, western citizens from the US, UK, Canada, Germany and even Australia travelling to war-torn Middle Eastern countries to fight for the Taliban and ISIS.

If caught alive, they claim to have been ‘radicalised’ and in effect say they had little control, and therefore responsibility, for their actions.

Amazingly, partly thanks to the media promoting these idiotic terms as fact, governments give captured terrorists the soft treatment, opting for ‘understanding’ and acceptance of a mass murderer’s new religion or national identity. They find themselves catered to in prison, given light sentences or even released to start new lives in the western country they apparently hate so much.

Yes, Minister

One female convicted jihadist, Mulumebet Girma, was actually given a top government job in London, appearing on the cover of the Southwark council in-house magazine.

The fact that she spent 10 years in jail for helping the London tube-bombing of 2005 apparently slipped their notice, until things came to light in 2017 and she was quickly fired. Didn’t stop shit hitting the fan though – the media soon picked up on it and government security was critically questioned and scorned.

Honey, I blew up the West

16 year old Linda Wenzel from Germany is by far my favourite case.

She was captured this year by Iraqi forces after running away to join ISIS and marry a Jihadist she innocently ‘met on an online forum’. Now that she’s been caught and faces execution for terrorism, she’s suddenly changed her tune to claim she was ‘groomed’ and effectively brainwashed to leave Germany.

Okay… let me warm up my keyboard for this one.

Firstly, I cannot believe any good and peaceful citizen of a country strongly opposed to ISIS would ‘accidentally’ find themselves on a jihadi chat forum, no less strike up a conversation with a suicidal, murderous Muslim who could somehow seduce them into marriage and a new suicidal, murderous life.

It doesn’t happen. Even if curiosity takes stupid people to these kinds of websites, we inherently know the danger of even associating ourselves with keywords like ‘ISIS’ and ‘terrorism’. Normal people stay away.

Secondly, though talking about killing somebody is easy, actually shooting someone dead is an entirely different matter.

Iaido swordsmen and women go through the motions of killing with the Japanese katana every day – they picture an imaginary ‘enemy’ when they strike. Practising martial arts mimics killing an enemy with hand and foot strikes. Computer games simulate war and gore.

But actually killing somebody for real, in the flesh, and knowing you have proverbial blood on your hands is no light matter. It changes a person.

Therefore, after Miss Wenzel started to kill for ISIS, did it not occur to her that what she was doing was wrong? Did it really take an arrest to make her realise she’d been ‘groomed’ against her will to act this way?

I call bullshit on this one.

Criminals often repent when they’ve been caught in the act and cannot escape justice. Only then does the weeping and gnashing of teeth start – and more fool you it you believe them.

The Curious Case of Joshua Boyle

At this very moment the news is in a flurry over a Canadian/ American couple who have been safely returned to Canada after a bizarre nightmarish trip to Afghanistan.

The husband, Joshua Boyle, claims he and his then-pregnant wife went innocently ‘back-packing’ in Afghanistan – well-known for its thriving camping/ backpacking economy, I’m sure – and surprisingly ended up captured, tortured

and raped by the Taliban.

Shocking.

Much celebration and sympathy has been gushed by the media on their behalf, welcoming them back home, especially as they’ve somehow returned with more children than they started with. We are supposed to feel much relief that this innocent family has been rescued, but is there more to this than meets the eye?

Actually, no. The eyes tell you all you need to see in this case.

The fact that Mr Boyle still sports a charming ISIS-style beard, and his wife a headscarf, is being ignored by the media. As are his cold, soulless eyes and almost insane angry expressions that are an exact mirroring of the faces found on ISIS terrorists, even though he’s safe and sound on Canadian soil, surrounded by happy family members. He looks like a murderer.

It is glaringly obvious that this couple are not merely a pair of brainless prannies who mistook Afghanistan for the Lake District and accidentally stumbled upon a war-zone whilst singing Kumbaya around an open fire.

Just like Linda Wenzel and many westerners before her, anyone with a brain can see the Boyles have attempted to join the Taliban and were either pathetically rejected or cheerfully ‘radicalised’ – ah, my favourite word.

Now they’ve been caught, or had troubles abroad, they are playing the media and naive Canadians to gain sympathy and safety. Scarily, though thousands of people are commenting online that the Boyles look ‘plain evil’ and ‘liars’, the media’s official stance is one of rejoicing.

How many of us will be misled by this kind of propaganda, when the truth is literally before our eyes? It’s early days yet, so watch this space on this one.

I (don’t) believe in Harvey Dent

Ah, Hollywood. A veritable smorgasbord where fat, balding perverts take their pick of beautiful young starlets, desperate to make it big.

Harvey Weinstein, fat big-shot producer and co-founder of film studio Miramax, has been finally called out by many high profile actresses and actors for his sexually abusive behaviour of young women over his sordid career.

As there’s a fuss, Hollywood has abandoned him, BAFTA has suspended his membership and his former university have withdrawn his honours, leaving him open to worldwide hatred and FBI/ Scotland Yard investigations. Hopefully he will be arrested and locked away for a very long time, especially as his offences include rape, but Mr Weinstein is no fool.

He knows how to play the game and use the media to his full advantage.

Shortly after his crimes became public knowledge and then public outrage, he quickly booked himself onto a ‘sex addiction’ therapy course at one of America’s most famous clinics.

The media subsequently accepted his inferred excuse that all of his abusive behaviour stems from an inordinate pathetic desire for sex, and once again let him use a fake ‘mental illness’ to attempt at letting him off the hook.

When will ‘sex addiction’ become a thing of the past? I’m going to say what y’all are thinking:

There is no such thing!

There is control, and there is lack of control when it comes to bodily needs and desires.

But in the case of abusers like Harvey Weinstein, rape and sexual intimidation is not about an animal lust for sex at all. It’s about using power, fear and humiliation to control people whom he despises or disrespects. In this case, Harvey despises and disrespects women, perhaps seeing hopeful actresses and models as brainless eye-candy, only good for one thing.

A sense of entitlement that often accompanies rich men leads to the view that whatever they want somehow belongs to them by right.

Demanding sex and submission from a woman who need to get past big producers like Harvey to become successful in their industry is another way of exercising that ‘right’ to take what they want; in their view it’s justified.

Exchanging her tit for your tat – it’s fair, right?

Only, male actors don’t often find themselves forced to exchange their dignity and bodies for high positions. That ‘privilege’ is almost exclusively reserved for women.

Therefore, using ‘sex addiction’ as an excuse for raping and harassing women is as ludicrous as claiming ‘eating disorders’ caused the nobility to snatch food from the mouths of starving peasants.

Again, I call bullshit, and if you have any sense so will you.

Get out of Jail Free

For too long mental health has been used as a free get out of jail pass for life-ruining criminals.

Claiming one is brainwashed, radicalised, forced-against-ones-will, addicted, depressed, a former victim of abuse or any other kind of mental health sob story should no longer be accepted as a viable excuse for committing serious crimes. ‘Sex addiction’ especially should be treated with the scorn it deserves.

Also, the habit of branding rapists and murderers as ‘monsters’ or ‘animals’ needs to stop.

We must stop excusing their behaviour as unnatural and therefore dehumanising flesh-and-blood human beings, as if they’re a different species to ordinary people and incapable of being normal. They are not ‘monsters’ or ‘animals’. They are men and women who have made informed, adult decisions about their course of life, and therefore should not be shielded by these vague and blanketing terms.

So, is mental health an excuse for crime? It may contribute, sure, but I can assuredly say it is not.

Whether governments and justice systems will eventually catch on, that remains to be seen.

Frankenwein: Draining the Swamp of Hollywood, CA

You’d have to be living under a rock these past few weeks not to be aware of the drama that’s stirring up La La Land right now.

Celebs around the world have found themselves under the spotlight they love so much for less-than-desirable reasons, and it’s all thanks to one now-infamous man:

Mr Harvey Weinstein.

The Fall of the House of Weinstein

Hollywood started off as such a great idea.

The world of shining stars, glamorous lifestyles and charming movies that transported audiences to new worlds are officially a thing of the past. Once the ultimate dream, it’s fast becoming more of a nightmare in the light of recent events.

So what happened to turn the world off Hollywood?

Frankly put, one of their most powerful pillars has been demolished by multiple claims that he raped and/ or sexually harassed various women throughout his measly life.

And the worst part is, everybody knew.

Everyone knew, and did nothing – until now.

And so the draining of the swamp begins.

So who the fuck is Harvey Weinstein?

Harvey Weinstein is a big-shot, big-bellied, balding American producer behind popular movies such as Good Will Hunting, Pulp Fiction, and Shakespeare in Love. He is obscenely wealthy co-founder of film studio Miramax.

And he is also Hollywood’s worst kept secret.

Finally called out for his misogynistic, abusive behaviour this month by two women in the New York Times led to a glorious can of organic worms being opened and showed to the whole world.

Now so many high-profile celebrities have revealed secrets of Weinstein’s dirty past it’s hard to keep track of them.

Angelica Jolie, Rose McGowan, Gwyneth Paltrow, Romola Gari, Ashley Judd and many more have accused the pig-headed producer of everything from sexual harassment to full-blown rape, backed up by others such as Emma Watson, Colin Firth and Jennifer Lawrence.

As his reputation already stinks to high heaven within the film community at home and abroad it’s easy to believe.

And it’s even easier as the man himself confessed it.

The Truth comes out

Confession is a wonderful thing – even better when it’s accompanied by several eyewitness accounts and a splendid audio recording to go with it.

Listening to the snatch of recording publicised by the New York Times and recorded by the NYPD via wire-tap on behalf of Filipino-Italian model Ambra Battilana Gutierrez provides a horrid insight into the film mogul’s sordid behaviour – that’s frankly impossible to listen to without gagging.

He’s clearly heard repeatedly pressuring 22 year old Ambra to enter his NY hotel room back in 2015, insisting she stop ‘embarrassing him’ by ‘causing a scene in the hallway’ and come inside ‘for a minute’. In reply she’s heard resisting him and almost in a childlike way longing to ‘go downstairs’ and ‘leave’.

He repeats that he ‘won’t do another thing’ with her, and when she timidly reminds him he grabbed her breast the day before he hurriedly apologises, excusing himself with ‘I’m used to it’ and he ‘won’t do it again’.

But, after all the damning evidence and self-confessed molestation, why hasn’t Harvey Weinstein been arrested already?

It’s pretty simple really.

Hollywood’s worst kept secret

Though recently BAFTA has suspended his membership with the impressive statement:

“We hope this announcement sends a clear message that such behaviour has absolutely no place in our industry”

it’s well known that such behaviour has been the absolute norm in Hollywood from the beginning.

Who can forget the abuse Judy Garland endured onset of her most iconic movie ever, The Wizard of Oz?

Or Marilyn Monroe’s exploitative nightmares with the likes of Hugh Hefner and more? Bill Crosby, Jimmy Saville, Hefner, Weinstein… for decades the most influential in society have turned a blind eye to the activities of abusive men.

Let’s face it – women are sexually exploited in all areas of life, and when the glitzy world of movie starts beckon, male businessmen high in the hierarchy will certainly use their position of power to take advantage of ambitious starlets.

Of course sexual exploitation is not only reserved for women – men like Zac Enron, Terry Crews and 50 Cents have complained in the past of being groped or stripped in the public eye, but we have to acknowledge the fact that incidents of female exploitation vastly outnumbers the male, and alarmingly it seems male celebrities have tended to protect their fellow men in these instances.

The Bourne Treachery

Apparently back in 2004 action favourites Matt Damon and Aussie Russell Crowe helped nip a sordid story about Weinstein in the bud for the New York Times.

Calling the reporter, Sharon Waxman, they did their best to dissuade her from publishing the story, and succeeded.

Ben Affleck, brother Casey and close friend Joaquin Phoenix, have long shared a bad reputation for being out-of-control drug-addicted, alcoholic misogynists, resulting in Casey being sued for sexual harassment, molestation and degrading comments towards a female producer and female cinematographer on set and in private.

Ben himself, though keeping silent on his brother’s score, quickly jumped on the bandwagon to condemn Harvey’s behaviour – only to be justly shot down by most vocal victim Rose McGowan.

Apparently groping a producer’s breast, cheating on his then-wife Jennifer Garner and admitting he knew of Harvey’s abuse of Rose slipped Ben’s mind, but Twitter has once again served the common people by reminding us that Hollywood’s poster boys’ morals are down the pan anyway.

To top it off they knew their fellow actresses, producers, cinematographers and models were (and still are) being raped, molested and degraded by bloated ass-munchers like Weinstein and did diddly-squat about it.

Get rich or die trying

Now Harvey has been fired from his own company, dropped from the BAFTA’s, divorced by his designer wife and disowned by his former college, the rich and famous are secure enough to come pouring out of every nook and cranny and point the finger.

But why now? Why not years ago, when he was conducting a sexual free-for-all with budding starlets and models?

The answer, again, is simple.

The movie business is a hard nut to crack – it mostly relies on who you know, how you look and taking full advantage of your ‘big break’ if and when it comes. It’s pretty much all or nothing, and if you’re lucky enough to make it big you’ll likely rather watch the world burn than give it up.

Speaking out against a big fish like Weinstein may be the brave and honourable thing to do, but hey, business is business.

All these silent actors and Hollywood big-shots preferred preserving their coveted careers over defending abused women – a fairly common pattern we see in all areas of life.

Harvey’s lawyer, several news articles and many members of the public point the finger at his victims – why didn’t they speak out at the time? they say.

Again, victim-blaming is common when it comes to abuse, especially sexual. The responsibility to take care of the attacker is dumped at the feet of the victims, as if it’s exclusively their problem to deal with.

What was she wearing? Did she encourage him? Did she enjoy it? are all horribly heartless and unfair questions to throw at people who are already damaged and afraid.

Recently, Colin Firth said of Weinstein:

“He was a powerful and frightening man to stand up to.”

and I think that says it all.

Fear of an abuser holds victims back from saying anything, opting for suffering in silence than accusing a powerful and hurtful person, because doing that often incites more abusive behaviour.

If men found him intimidating, how much more would people violated by him?

Power goes a long way

There is already evidence to prove Harvey had the power to quash news stories about him, and considering his vast wealth paying off the police wouldn’t be a far stretch of the imagination.

Actresses that refused to play ball with him altogether fizzled out from the screens, most of them completely unheard of.

He had the power to determine whether you would make it to Hollywood’s Wall of Fame or end up on the Blooper Reel of life. Meryl Streep and other big names have attributed their Oscar wins to him, others their entire careers.

Therefore it’s not surprising so many women who’ve been privately and individually assaulted by the fat bastard have chosen the ‘suffer in the silence’ option rather than end up a beggar sitting in the gutter beside the Stage Entrance.

Up Next: Draining the Swamp

True, it sent shock-waves through La La Land when shit hit the proverbial fan.

But Hollywood, like all massive, well-established industries, feels nicely safe and secure, knowing the public will never tire of entertainment or a bit of good old-fashioned idol worship when it comes to the Beautiful People.

Some, however, are worried, and with good reason.

Tides are changing, winter is coming, and the internet is dark and full of spoilers.

Religion was once an untouchable part of human life – now churches are empty and people have the courage to question what they’re being taught from the pulpits in Christianity and other religions.

Once slaves to God, people are rapidly breaking free, and perhaps soon we’ll see a breaking of chains when it comes to the enslavement of mankind to celebrity worship.

However, if life has taught me anything it’s that today’s papers will be tomorrow’s bog roll.

Sadly, the flavour of the month gets stale pretty quickly, and people lose interest. Whether Harvey’s case will start a revolution amongst the common people or merely small tremors remains to be seen.

Will the public really want to boycott action-packed blockbusters just to take a stand against abuse? Entertainment is a guilt-free drug, a less damaging form of escapism that the whole family can enjoy, and like booze or cocaine it’s highly addictive.

Somehow I find it hard to believe people will start bonfires stacked with Weinstein-stamped movies, making oaths never again to spend their hard-earned dollars on another film Meryl Streep or Russell Crowe stars in.

The fact is, people love them.

They love them so much they’ll forgive them anything. To us, they are no longer mere mortals but gods of the big screen.

The small troubles of imperfect women are dwarfed by the enormity of these divine individuals whose beauty and talents overwhelm us with awe. Like the Roman gods of old, a bit of rape here and there means nothing when Star Wars: XIII comes out.

It would be great if we could look back and say the rebellion started in 2017, when the proverbial guillotines were dusted off to take care of the arrogant and privileged among us who forgot they were just ordinary human beings and flaunted their wealth.

Whether that will happen or mankind will crawl back to feed at the trough of entertainment, who can tell?

But sadly I do know that right now in the living rooms of news-watchers across the world, people shake their heads at the Weinstein reports and casually ask:

“What else is on?”