If someone is mentally ill is this an excuse for them to act poorly?

[Still-alive]

So in my other question someone brought up that this person is obviously mentally ill. And this person filming her should stop. However the person filming stated that the blonde woman was rudely shuffling through clothes right in front of her and she politely told her not to do that. And instead of stopping she instead follows her around the store basically harassing her. Then she got out her phone and started recording.

Question: Does being mentally ill give you a free pass to act like an asshole? Should the person filming her stopped filming?

While we are at it why couldn’t the police escort her out of the store? Its well within their jurisdiction correct? And where the hell was mall security?

If a person is mentally ill we should be more understanding of them and allowing them to act rudely is part of that

No being mentally ill does NOT give you a free pass to act rudely to other people

Depends on the mental illness

If it were me being harassed i would have filmed her too for evidence

I both think being mentally ill doesn't give you a free pass to be rude AND think the person filming should have stopped doing so

I have a different opinion (say what)

I dont have an opinion on this and uncomfortable to try stating it

Updates

+1 y

Ok another question I didn’t think of is should the person filming not have posted this online? Do you think the police could have handled this incident in a just way satisfactory to all parties involved without this pressure? Im kinda leaning no on that based on how nonchalantly the cops in the video were handling this. Wbu?

Updates

+1 y

Also if anyone here thinks the cops would treat it just as non seriously if it were a black person doing the harassing are willfully ignorant of how the police have handled racial issues in this country

Emmett Till everyone! The white woman involved here admitted to lying about it too. “Karens” have existed flr a looong ass time.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emmett_Till

[Miah02]

Naw, i saw that woman defending that Karen.
She as a white woman doesn't understand what it is like to have white women act a fool and blame us, and the cops immediately take the other person's side.
We have no choice but to film them so we don't go to jail for they crazy ass actions.

[Still-alive]

Exactly you get it! Im sure you know about the Emmet Til case right?

[Miah02]

Oml wow, i swear me and my girl literally just compared this situation to that.

[purplepoppy]

It's no more an excuse than a small child running amok in a store. We can argue their brain isn't fully developed but that doesn't mean we have to tolerate it.

[goaded]

Small childen have an adult with them who's responsible. You don't blame the child, you blame the adult.

[Alejandro3000]

I think the intention of this video was to have the victim (woman in the queue) look like a bad person for hitting but why did she hit, the likely reason verbal abuse. I've seen it too often, in clothing stores space is an issue and lots of woman aren't patient they just manoeuvre and even take what's Infront of you right from behind. The worst time this can happen is during a covid19 lockdown in a supermarket when the person doesn't even have a mask on but was allowed by Tesco staff to enter the store and you wonder if it was the product they wanted or what's inside your pockets. The concept of social distancing doesn't apply to some people who think all the rules are white people's rules smh

[Coolanon]

Absolutely not
Mental illness isn't an excuse for problematic behavior.
Unmanaged illnesses such as depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, and other diseases can hijack our reactions, causing us to behave in ways that don’t align with our values or true characters.

Unfortunately, mental illness doesn’t evaporate the consequences of our actions.

People can and do use coping skills to manage their mental health that reify problematic structures, as they should.

Mental illness doesn’t excuse your transphobia or racism. Mental illness doesn’t make your misogyny and hatred of queer folk okay. Mental illness doesn’t make your problematic behavior excusable.

We who cope with mental illness (I also suffer from OCD) have to be aware of the ways in which our attempts to cope can perpetuate problematic beliefs.

In the midst of my eating disorder, for example, I had to wrestle with how my intense desire to lose weight was simultaneously giving more power to fatphobia. I was engaging in the belief that there’s something “bad” about bigger bodies, thereby harming people of size, however unintentionally.

[lakotabebebe]

People who are mentally ill do NOT have a free pass to harass or harm others. However, us being understanding of someone with a disorder will help significantly with the situation and understanding what the person is going through.

For example, I can understand that someone with PTSD from a war will probably punch me in the face if I make a super loud gun-like noise. It doesn't give them a right to, but I know that they have trauma that they can't control.

HOWEVER, using a mental illness to excuse behaviour not caused by the issue is unacceptable. My cheating ex girlfriend used the excuse of ADHD to explain why I should forgive her and take her back.

[lakotabebebe]

For the video though, the lass recording was in the wrong. The woman in the video was clearly distressed by her recording, and yet the one recording had the nerve to keep going. If I were in her shoes, I wouldn't have even gotten a camera out. I would have just peaced out.

[lakotabebebe]

Or that might just be my bitchass only watching a little piece of it. 20 minutes of watching this just doesn't cut it for me. Though, I still would have just left, I wouldn't be recording and making it worse.

[kidvid80]

thank you for that! i am the one that set this question off by "still alive" when i said this very thing on his other question surrounding this video and more or less he didn't agree with my take on it all. so i thank you for seeing what i saw

[Still-alive]

@kidvid80 @lakotabebebe posting what i said in my other question:

do you think the cops would take this as seriously without the pressure from people after she posted this online?

You can see how lax the cops inthe video were treating this situation. I also believe her when ahe says had a black person done what the white lady did she would’ve been kicked out immediately. There’s been so many examples throughout history where a white woman cries over a black person and the cops throw everything they have at them even if it turned out later they were completely innocent (read up on Emmett Till. Also lynchings were once a thing). So even if she was clearly having a mental breakdown i do think it was in fact necessary to post this online. My two cents here

[Still-alive]

You should both watch this https://youtu.be/zFnHWFqXj4M

[kidvid80]

give me a few secs i will check it out

[kidvid80]

my thing is clear as i said on your first post both woman are wrong, i dont do the whole drama thing i wouldn't go outta my way to record anyone and Doug, lol you know the sh*t i have gone through i never whipped my camera out i just simply remove myself form the unhealthy situation just because she maybe in the right the lady filming why keep the drama going by filming? thats my take on it, i have better things to do then film what other morons do bad to me

[sage2021]

Have you ever considered that on top of being mentally ill (which they did choose to be), the person is probably on several medications ALL which have different side affects. Between having a mental illness along with medication side affects, I am surprised they can even get out of bed each day. Have some compassion here! Until you have walked in another person's shoes, you could never know just how difficult it is for them to negotiate an entire day and not come out with any bumps or bruises. Show your best self to those people and screw the cell phone saga just so you can get a lot of likes on your phone. Cut the drama would ja?

[Still-alive]

No lol read the updates

[Espresso-Grande]

I think mentally ill people should be held accountable and responsible for certain behaviors. "They can't help it "isn't a valid excuse to act like an assehole

The woman taking the video seems mentally unstable too.


Years ago, when I was walking down the street, a guy with down syndrome walked up to a woman on the other side of the street and grabbed her by the throat. She punched him in the face and kicked him in the balls to get free from his grip. Bystanders thought she was wrong in what she did because the guy had down syndrome. I'd have done the same as that woman if he'd grabbed my throat.

[Alejandro3000]

The woman is waiting in the queue to buy and the woman videoing is bothering her, there's no doubt about it. If they had a little confrontation earlier then it's normal to distance and avoid instead of following them around the store to harass. So the one videoing is trouble and it's very likely they got too close (I mean pulling a garment out right from behind or too near) instead of being patient so received unpleasantries and that's deserved. I don't believe my feelings of a video when it starts where the camera owner wants to start it.

[Jazquee]

Depends on the illness I guess. There is always ways to deal with some mental issues. People that refuse to seak help or take meds. No there is no excuse they are choosing to use their illness as a weapon.
Something like autism or such... then yes I give them a pass for actions

[Still-alive]

What would you do if that blonde woman tried harassing or almost assaulting you?

[Alyssa11]

When you're mentally ill you genuinely cannot think straight, and I'm sure people who have experienced mental illness will understand what I'm saying. However, there's always going to be a set of values or boundaries that we have to beware of as society, making certain things unacceptable. For example when it comes to crimes.

[snackthatsmilesback]

It's fine to film sure for evidence. But i think posting it online was probably unnecessary. Depends why, but if it was mainly to say look they're an asshole look what they did, I don't think it's necessary. I don't think it's necessarily bad either tho. Eh

[iseekpinetrees]

Not really an excuse I think she is just mentally immature. But why does a person who encounters an oddball somewhere want to encourage their behavior? Why couldn't this woman just walk away and not whip out a camera.

[Still-alive]

Read the updates

[Sincerly_KittyCat]

I've seen so many mentally ill people react to this video saying this is not an excuse to act like this and most of them believe she was faking. She gets fair treatment and she gets no excuse for her behaviour.

Plus she looks like a child throwing a tantrum, this is train behaviour from little which was ignored and never corrected.

[pleasestopthis]

It's not a free pass, nor it is justified, but a sick person can't be held accountable to take responsibility to the same degree a normal person can, unless they're obviously dangerous and put people at risk (this Karen is mostly ridiculous but hardly puts lives at risk). They should get treatment ASAP

[SupremeWarlord]

I think it depends on the illness, but generally my response is yes, we should tolerate them being assholes.

What we should not tolerate is if they start beating/stabbing/killing other people, in that case someone must restrain them and take the necessary precautions.

[GoodGuyBreakingBad]

Yes, this woman went nuts and she most likely has a mental issue
she got all fired up cause this woman appeared to be taking a
video of her well the White woman was acting like a Karen

[Still-alive]

Do you think she should have stopped filming her after awhile?

[GoodGuyBreakingBad]

@Still-alive I think maybe not too sure but that woman was
protecting herself from that white woman

[Wiredone]

If someone is that mentally ill she should have a chaperone. Someone to keep her calm and give her some medication if she needs it. It doesn't give her a right to wreak havock in the stores.
The police definitely should have escorted her out and called an ambulance since she obviously was having a breakdown.

[Anonymous]

She should have left and not film the lady. Neither should have posted it online. The lady seems scared of her and the filming of her by a stranger. She kept on filming.

[Still-alive]

Read the updates

[scentoflavender]

If the person In question has the capacity to understand societal values of right and wrong, no it is not an excuse. If the person is not capable of understanding, then it's the responsibility of their caretaker to guide and handle them.

[fonduegirl]

It explains their behaviour but doesn't justify it.

[fonduegirl]

Also, hate to break it up to you but most mentally ill people are overcautious about themselves. Which means, 80% of assholes are just doing it on purpose.

[Still-alive]

so you're saying she's faking it or something?

[fonduegirl]

Didn't care to see the video.

[Still-alive]

ok then lol.

[Still-alive]

you don't have to watch the whole thing just a little snippet to see how she's acting

[fonduegirl]

She should get treated if mental illness is really the case.

[exitseven]

There are so many crazy people running around and the judges are all liberals so if the crazy person is a protected class you could be the one that goes to jail. You need to take as much video as you can.

[goaded]

E. The filmer is getting far too much enjoyment from broadcasting the woman's breakdown worldwide and even shows the woman's name. Film it as evidence, perhaps, post it, no.

[goaded]

Oh, and for evidence, after the first few seconds, so you've seen her face, you could point the camera down, to deescalate the situation. You'd still have full audio, and could capture any attack with a flick of the wrist.

[Alejandro3000]

Nah that's just silly, the camera was protecting her and holding it down would give the Karen confidence again.

[goaded]

@Alejandro3000 Only if you think invading someone's space isn't aggressive. It's like standing inches away from someone and saying "I'm not touching you, what's your problem?".

[Alejandro3000]

Yeah that is 99% the probable situation that the woman videoing invaded the others space.

[WowwGirl]

Enough they can get disability for it wtf do you think?

[Still-alive]

Still not an excuse

[WowwGirl]

Tell a doctor of Psy your thoughts on that he is much smarter and educated than myself
@msc545

[Still-alive]

K sure let’s hear it

[WowwGirl]

I'm curious now too

[Toast792]

If someone is that mentally ill, they should have someone with them to take care of them, and deal with their behavior.

[ArrowheadSW]

I think mental illness is an explanation for poor behavior, but not an excuse.

[IAMNathanael]

I don't think so. They probably need a caretaker or some sort of meds.

[Neko911]

No. If you're a shitty persom you're a shitty person, mental illness or not

[EnglishEuropean]

If I'm acting in a socially unacceptable manner because of mental illness I would be grateful for someone to point it out and I would change my behaviour.

[Jamie05rhs]

No. If they're mentally ill and they can't act right, then they should either be homebound or in an institution.

[Anonymous]

If anything, it's proof that we need to help the mentally ill, teaching them how to interact and thrive in the social world to the best of their abilities. A lot of them just need help. ... Well except the Karens. They're just nuts.

[douride2]

It is definitely not an excuse or free pass to act out.

[Nazgol]

LMFAO. Definitely not an excuse! What does she think it's a daycare? I hate people that! Ugh such a cringe. Makes me wanna smack the *** out of them

[Nazgol]

Totally a show she put on! I'd just laugh in her face.

[Nazgol]

*like that

[OddBeMe]

That’s a woman who just realized she’s racist. And now is freaking out. Better than most Karen’s.

[tatianamay]

Not an excuse to act like a piece of shit

[Still-alive]

exactly you got it

[tatianamay]

lol ya, sometimes people just blame the circumstances or some illness they have and use that an as excuse to act like an asshole

[Still-alive]

yeah not only that but i know of people who will use this in relationships. like they will emotionally abuse their partner and then blame it on their mental disability as a justification. its pretty messed up sometimes

[kevyhanma]

Rudeness is always inexcusable treat others the way you want to be treated

[BobHunter]

an excuse? .. no, it's a reason

[Still-alive]

So therefore its ok?

[BobHunter]

lol.. will you set parameters or TRY to control someone who is mentally ill?

[Still-alive]

So yes? Its ok for them to be rude huh?

[BobHunter]

It's about a person that is MENTALLY ILL.. can you comprehend that?

[Still-alive]

Yes but this is about whether they are excused for their behavior. Did you not comprehend that before you clicked on this question?

[BobHunter]

Ok , judge them according to your standards

[Still-alive]

Which is if they are mentally ill they should have a chaperone with them to watch over them

[BobHunter]

LOL.. tell that to the thousands of mentally ill homeless

[Still-alive]

Pivot whataboutism

[Gwenhwyfar]

I think B sounds good

[karaspara]

Depends on the illness

[pink_and_inlove]

It doesn’t make it right

[kidvid80]

answer 5