tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1611367906675631847.post1531492838771432715..comments2023-04-05T14:39:09.567+01:00Comments on Sex, Drugs and Comic Books: Brett Ewins ReleasedTimTruehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11980759779084868041noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1611367906675631847.post-65603022305914054462012-12-11T09:21:37.937+00:002012-12-11T09:21:37.937+00:00I think if the plumber had serious mental health i...I think if the plumber had serious mental health issues then yes, they would get my sympathy and they shouldn't be in jail either, but in a secure hospital unit. <br /><br />My concern is that your attitude appears to be "He's obviously a nutter, bang him up and throw away the key." Locking people up because they have mental health problems is a very Victorian mindset. I'd imagine you'd like the prisons to charge and we could go and visit them, like the bad old days of Bedlam? <br /><br />Brett's problems were compounded, I believe, by poor medical support, which led to this incident. I'm not justifying anyone attacking a policeman (I have a few family friends who are coppers) but this must be taken in context. Imagine suffering from paranoid delusional fantasies about authoritarianism (as Brett explored in his graphic anthology, The Dark Gate: http://www.comicbookbin.com/darkgate000.html) and then suddenly the police turn up at your doorstep. That's enough to tip any schizophrenic over the edge.<br /><br />Do you actually know Brett? If you do, you'd know that he is the quietest, gentlest bloke you'd meet and this incident was completely out of character. <br /><br />Again, not justifying what happened, just understanding the circumstances. The less judgemental society is, the better we'll all be.TimTruehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11980759779084868041noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1611367906675631847.post-88481159926442906472012-11-02T16:43:43.409+00:002012-11-02T16:43:43.409+00:00Sorry, but I can't justify "stabbing a po...Sorry, but I can't justify "stabbing a policeman during a psychotic episode" with "shouldn't have been standard jail". I like Brett's work, but jails are full of people who had reasons. People who stab people should be in jail.<br /><br />Why is there a social exception for artists? If a plumber stabs a great cartoonist, would the plumber receive this same sympathy… especially from the comic book press?Dave M!https://www.blogger.com/profile/08303744052301178342noreply@blogger.com