New Developments On The Western Front

Allow me to be the first to say it: 

    THESE PEOPLE HAVE LITTLE TO NO IDEA OF WHAT IS ABOUT TO HIT THEM. 

BUT I DO.

And what's really sweet is that I know by now that people like  Cory "crazycorycorner" Nelson and Will "Yea Team!"
Humble are very likely going to refuse (as they always do) to offer anything along the lines of good faith response to the increase of news reports and other like developments specific to the highly questionable conditions at The Arizona State Hospital and directly related shortfalls in the Arizona Department of Health/Behavioral Health Services system. Knowing this will effectively save myself and everybody else on my side of this ongoing conflict one hell of a lot of valuable time and energy; and it will also expedite the process in general, for at this point in time, all attempts from my end to give these people any more free leash in the hope of them DOING THE RIGHT THING are over. There is no point in it, regardless of how much easier that may sound, for their undeniable dereliction of duty to the public has gone on far, far too long, and to ignore that fact can only occur at the direct expense of the welfare and health of ASH's patients. And this has gone on for far too long. Period. 

It's basically that clear to me today, for there was a point in time when I had the opportunity to look Cory Nelson in the eyes and simply request in no uncertain terms that he DO THE RIGHT THING; this was probably 6 weeks after he started as ASH's newest supervisor in late summer 2011, and I did at the time have every hope that he was up to the task of doing just that, THE RIGHT THING, and nothing more complex than just that. But he wouldn't then, and he sure hasn't since. This is very, very sad, in my thinking, because if eighteen months ago he'd had the basic intelligence to grant me equitable treatment in terms of my voice and related experience at ASH, any number of people would be far better off today. Today I am reluctantly forced to presume that Cory Nelson and all the rest of these people are indeed so lacking in fundamental intelligence, this hypothesis not relying whatsoever on character or ethics, that there is no hope in expecting anything else out of them. This is the state of affairs today, just as it was when I departed from ASH in late February, 2012. 

Sad, sad, sad… Business at ASH as per the usual. 

That said, the process at this point it is only "sweet" in the sense that my evolving experience in this matter is now becoming very, very valuable in terms of understanding how these RAT BASTARDS prefer to conduct their affairs, and in this sense, I am somewhat enjoying watching them hang themselves, one knot at a time. Their inability to respond to well founded reports of problems in their system of operation is Pavlovian in nature, illustrative in my opinion of far more than simple ineptitude- I find it to be depravity personified. My experience is also very useful to the newest participants in this process, people who I am not at liberty to identify quite yet,  and we are all appreciative of (aka concerned about) the proven fact that the issues at stake today extend far into the deepest recesses of Arizona's overall structure of public administration and government. Therein, the "sweetness" of a self hanging; never a pretty thing to witness, but that's just how things have to go sometimes. 

In truth, this process is not about me anymore (was it ever?), and nothing about it is positive to experience, for it derives most strongly from the heartfelt worry that I have about my former patient-peers there at ASH, most of whom I know have yet to stabilize to the point of safe discharge, and some of whom will likely never reach that point. This is certainly true as long as the general conditions at ASH remain so dismally substandard in undeniable collusion with ASH's senior clinical staff and the related support of corrupted administration officials who continue to allow these clinicians to function in blatant defiance of established health care ethics. Every night before I go to sleep, I make a point of looking at one specific personal journal entry that I drafted in my last few days at ASH. I derived my article and prose piece "Of Friends In Hell" from that entry, and I review it each night because it sharpens my bearings in relation to the presence of these greatly at risk people in my life. They the patients are there, and I am not (anymore); through this reality we together will make this happen. 

                I refuse to abandon them.

IN CLOSING: I will be leaving the deep south and returning to the southwestern United States in a matter of weeks. There is a very real need for me to return. A reasonable proportion of this need has to do with the ongoing work specific to bringing the substandard conditions at Arizona's sole long term public mental health care facility to an end once and for all; and in this context, there are indeed New Developments On The Western Front which have beckoned my presence on a full time basis. But more importantly, on a personal level, it is high time for me to return to my home. My wellness and related future aspirations greatly hinge upon the presence in my life of close and trusted friends, some of whom I have been close to for decades, stretching back into my very childhood. I am very fortunate and deeply grateful to have such friends in my life, this given the fact that I no longer have any immediate family, but also in terms of the simple virtue underlying deep and longstanding friendships in the realm of human experience, and I need to take advantage of this fact in my life. These are the people who know me and remember me for who I am, something that I lost touch with for a time in my own right. Consequent to the drag down affect of mental illness, (which is something I now recognize as one key theme to Edgar Allan Poe's psychological tale "A Descent Into The Maelstrom" [1919] ), I have been under the radar for a number of years -MIA as it is sometimes called, Missing In Arizona- and more than one of my oldest friends have made clear that they were very curious as to what I have doing with myself (to put it lightly). Surprisingly, I have yet to hear anyone express actual surprise to my updates. This is particularly true in the context of my work today in relation to advocating for the life interests and fundamental human rights of Arizona's most seriously mentally ill and disabled citizens. I am blessed, as such, to have friends who have done very well for themselves in terms of integrity based life pursuits and related dedications to principle in a range of contexts, including family, profession, and fundamental social worth. These are the foundations upon which my longest friendships were established, and I have been missed.

Ok, people: There is a national crisis at this time that shares direct relation to the needs and related rights of America's seriously mentally ill citizens. There are a number of factors at play in terms of how this issue is being reckoned with, and at times, it rather complex. But I attest to the fact that in places like Arizona- and despite extensive funding sources and related laws and policy specific to the public health care system in general- the finger can be directly pointed at the graphic failings of the various mental health care professionals and related state officials who we, the public, have granted our trust in when in comes to caring for and treating this exclusive population. These people collect exorbitant salaries and use the authority entrusted to them in order to willfully abuse and neglect their roles, and they do it as matter of standard practice. Please do your part today to see that these matters are addressed, with specific respect for the tragedy befalling the citizens being treated at The Arizona State Hospital, because Patient Abuse is Tragic in all senses of the term. The administrators and senior clinicians at ASH and throughout the Arizona Department of Health Services/Behavioral Health Services are still maintaining these atrociously substandard mental-medical conditions and practices, and they are getting away with it lock-stock-and barrel.

paoloreed@gmail.com