cross-posted from: https://hexbear.net/post/634586
happening
no but seriously, this guy was fucked over pretty consistently:
The court heard Mr Reid consumed about six bourbons for “Dutch courage” before attending a local service station earlier in the day and filling up the jerry can.
“There was a build up of stress,” Mr Reid told the court.
“He had to vacate four rental properties, which were all on short six-month leases, and had to find another house to live each time with a new bond.”
…
The court heard O’Brien had no history of mental illness but a psychological assessment found he had a “paranoid personality”.Mr Reid said he had attended Kalgoorlie Police Station the Friday before the fire “feeling overwhelmed” and threatening self-harm.
“He was admitted to hospital, he’s provided me with the medical band … he wanted to speak with a psychiatrist,” Mr Reid said.
“He spoke to a psychiatric nurse … he felt he was not given the help he needed and left feeling worse than when he arrived.”
and the
reaction is much less libby than I was expecting:
https://old.reddit.com/r/australia/comments/16lvfur/arsonist_who_torched_kalgoorlie_real_estate/
A while back, a Taiwanese American man shot up a church. It was revealed he was a former landlord who became mentally ill then homeless. Police and neighbors knew about him and his situation, but somehow he was still able to obtain a gun lol. Mental health services are definitely needed in these situations regardless, but yes, a less inhumane economic system would reduce one’s need for these services in the first place.
I’m sure his descent into mental illness had a lot to do with his sudden loss of income without any government help (I guess in the case of him being a former landlord, he probably voted for that as well, ironically).