TO THE EDITOR:
Deah Shaddy Barakat, Yusor Abu-Salha and Razan Abu-Salha were three incredible, selfless and caring students who were taken too soon from our community. It is an injustice to the lives of the victims that people are already speculating that the shooter, Craig Hicks, has a history of mental illness.
Instead of understanding the nuances of why Hicks committed this horrific act of violence, the media seeks to shift the blame to mental illness as a convenient explanation. For the record, Hicks is not yet known to have had a mental illness.
Dr. Mohammad Abu-Salha, Yusor and Razan’s father, and Dr. Suzanne Barakat, Deah’s sister, both believe this act of violence was grounded in hate, based on what they had previously been told by the deceased about prior interactions with Hicks. This atrocious act of violence should not merely be remembered as the manifestation of potential mental illness. Deah, Yusor and Razan deserve more than careless journalism.
To be clear, intolerance and hate are not symptoms of mental illness. Even if Hicks has a mental illness, it is essential that we distinguish between the primary and secondary factors that led to this tragedy. Criminalizing mental illnesses and one-sided narratives only promote stigma and fuel further discrimination and hate.
The overwhelming majority of people with mental illnesses are not violent. According to the American Psychological Association, about 5 percent of violent acts are attributed to people with a mental illness. Out of these violent acts, only 7.5 percent of crimes are the direct result of symptoms of mental illness.
Obscuring the facts of this story through prejudicial dialogue about mental illness is not in anyone’s best interests — not the victims, their families and friends, nor the wider community.
Instead, let us concentrate our efforts on standing up to hate and ignorance in their many forms. In the words of Deah’s mother, “Do not fight fire with fire.” We would do well to heed her call and focus on critically assessing flawed institutions, media coverage and bias and the deadening illogic that underpins intolerance.
