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© St. Petersburg Times, published February 12, 2002
Reading the news stories these days is like a walk with insanity. While we are debating the fetus-versus-unborn-child issue, another story appears of another child already born: a child who could have been be so delusional to think he was helping the cause of Osama bin Laden by flying a plane into a Tampa building!
To add further disgust, his family dismisses it by saying "he was not himself." Who did they think he was?
By not seeing mental illness, does it go away? Have we become a society that is so enlightened that it doesn't lock up the disturbed (witness the schizophrenics on the street) but ignores the problem hoping it will go away? Having lived with depression for many years, I know the problem. I wish we had answers. I live a lie every day trying to blend in. Sometimes it is just too painful, and I think that is why our children are killing themselves and others at an alarming rate. Wake up! Depression is not about self-pity. Why are we ignored and made to beg for help? It must be because we are "not ourselves." Who should I be today?
-- Linda Walker, Seminole
Question: Why did Charles Bishop "borrow" a plane and fly it into the Bank of America building in Tampa? Answer: Nobody knows, but opinions abound. For me, his was the irrational act of a clinical depressive, one of some 5,000 teen suicides each year.
As a clinical depressive, I have some understanding of what he may have gone through, but do not "know." I "believe." Depression is weird; depressives are it's crop. Most of us find temporary, partial "cures" and learn to cope.
Part of my therapy is writing in a journal. Each morning I record my conscious thoughts, especially the negative ones, then move on through the day. When I read Charles Bishop's writings and thought of mine I thought, "Yeow, I could have written some of that."
The difference is Charles Bishop recorded his "reasons" then acted. I record my dysfunctional thoughts so I will never act on them.
All the analysis and pondering does not change this fact: This annual loss of thousands of teens to suicide is a tragedy beyond words.
When my father committed suicide, we saw no good in it. Later, when my clinical depression visited, I sought professional help without hesitation. Also, two of my friends, potential suicides, took direct action to change the course of their lives when they saw the devastation caused by this inexplicable act.
Let us hope other teens, seeing the grief this brings to family and friends, will seek help whenever their "thinking" moves in the direction of self-destruction. Their loss is such a waste.
-- Gordon Hill, St. Petersburg
When Charles Bishop died, a mother lost her only son. I cannot imagine the pain of that loss.
Your Feb. 4 article Drifting life left teen pilot rootless could have only added to her pain, guilt and loss.
The experts you quote did not know this young boy or his parents. They do not know the degree to which he was loved. Of what value to anyone are the opinions? Charles is dead and certainly cannot now benefit from their Monday morning quarterbacking.
His mother, I am sure, has spent countless hours worrying about what she did or did not do that ended in this child's tragic death.
We do not know why she moved so often and it cannot be undone. It may not even have had anything to do with Charles' death. In any case, she must have believed the moves necessary and best for herself and her child.
Publishing this article was insensitive and produces no positive result for Julia Bishop or your readers. Please do not add to this mother's pain by printing such "expert" opinions.
-- Virginia Donlon, Dunedin
Re: Man arrested in beheading has fought mental illness, Feb. 5.
There is a serious lack of public debate concerning the abuse men suffer at the hands of women who play fast and loose with the hearts, minds and souls of men.
There is a federally funded "Violence against Woman Act," which is almost 10 years old and has provided billions of dollars to defend woman against abuse. It is patently unfair for the federal government to fund efforts to stop abuse against woman and not have an equally funded program for men.
Our society and its imagemakers have a tradition of trivializing and glamorizing sexuality as a commodity and a form of recreation. Sexuality and the attendant emotions involved are "dynamite" in untutored hands. The three people involved in the horrible chain of events are victims of an ignorant, barbaric, callous and negligent culture. Both leadership and membership are to blame. Society, et al, failed Dennis George Roache, Gregory Shannon and Monique Pennywell. We need to open the doors to honest critical analysis concerning the consequences of sexuality on men, woman and society. And we need to fund it!
-- Daniel P. Quinn, St. Petersburg
Re: Black leader's day has come and gone, by Bill Maxwell, Feb. 6.
In my opinion, Bill Maxwell appears to be using his safe perch as a staff member and popular journalist for the St. Petersburg Times to humiliate and deride Omali Yeshitela.
Granted, no human being is perfect, but Yeshitela has risen courageously and eloquently to the task of publicly identifying the issues and challenges that lie before the black community and our St. Petersburg community as a whole.
Maxwell seems to mimic many residents in parts of the black community who say, "I knew Omali when... " but who really do not know him personally today and yet feel a need to criticize his leadership without reservation.
Along with friends and other supporters, I have attended his meetings, panel discussions, debates and speeches at the Uhuru House and in various other arenas in the community. We've come to appreciate his steadily growing dedication to responsible civic leadership and his hard-hitting progressive style.
"Naive observers believed Yeshitela finally had joined mainstream politics," wrote Maxwell. If we interpret the way our government has reacted through banking policies and in our foreign policy toward poorer countries, including the ever-mushrooming corruption among certain corporations, then I am glad to stand aside from mainstream political influence.
We are engaged today in a huge and formidable social struggle to prevent humanity's demise. A little bit of socialism in the form of universal health care and more money to support our teachers, as opposed to gigantic outlays for the military, may be part of the answer.
In the meantime, Bill Maxwell might offer himself a little self-introspection or analysis concerning his article. He cuts off the proverbial nose by provoking more misunderstanding about one vital group in the black and minority community -- the Uhurus. Let us all, including Bill Maxwell, stand against divisiveness and confusion.
-- Shirley J. Parsons-Reiner, St. Petersburg
Re: Black leader's day has come and gone.
As a white resident of St. Petersburg, paralegal by profession, and someone who has known and worked with Omali Yeshitela for more than a decade, I find Bill Maxwell's recent column offensive.
Maxwell's attempt to paint Yeshitela as a fear-monger is rhetoric in its truest form. In reality, the only thing city officials and so-called black leaders are afraid of is the black community gaining political influence (as was recently demonstrated in the firing of former police Chief Mack Vines) and developing genuine economic development.
In New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, Oakland, and here in St. Petersburg, the Uhuru Movement has built fitness centers, health food stores and cafes, after-school tutorial programs and sports teams, all designed to change the conditions in the black community, and all coordinated by the real black leaders of our time.
Yeshitela's critique of the Police Department has not changed, as Maxwell insinuates, but is being reiterated now due to a blatant re-emergence of excessive-force policing, which was absent under Goliath Davis' administration.
I hope the St. Petersburg Times will not use the editorial page as a veil for irresponsible and inflammatory commentary.
-- Anita R. Weir, St. Petersburg
Re: Black leader's day has come and gone.
Bill Maxwell should be applauded for his recent column regarding Omali Yeshitela. He was right on the mark! It's unfortunate that the Uhuru leader has been unable to utilize his gifts in a positive manner. With so much intellect and charisma he could be doing great things for St. Petersburg, but all we've seen is a widening of the racial divide, violence toward the Police Department and unrest on the city streets.
As Maxwell noted, it's good to hear some uplifting voices coming from the black community of late. Yeshitela's rhetoric is old and tired, and people are beginning to distance themselves from it. This can only be a good thing!
Despite all the ups and downs in recent times, St. Petersburg has come a long way. While the city has prospered, growing pains have become inevitable. I hope Omali Yeshitela realizes that it's not too late to become a positive influence and join his fellow citizens in the continuation of St. Petersburg's success.
-- Kevin C. King, St. Petersburg
Isn't there some way that Bill Maxwell can be proclaimed a black leader? The current so-called black leaders never won an election to their so-called leadership positions. They were in the right place at the right time: Jesse Jackson with the blood of Martin Luther King Jr. on his sweater and Al Sharpton with Tawana Brawley, even using her after she admitted that she lied about her treatment by whites.
Bill Maxwell could start at the local level, and fill a deep void that he outlined in his column of Feb. 6. With his common sense and thoughtful perceptive overview, he might just be able to expand his influence.
Who knows? Common sense just might prevail.
-- Bob Brindley, Belleair Beach
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