Sunday, June 26, 2016
...THE GOOD NEWS... the Honorable Reverend Walter E. Fauntroy, the fugitive from justice for four years, said this week that he is coming home from Dubai.
THE BAD NEWS... the once, much-respected Civil Rights Activist is returning with some hard-to-ignore signs of Schizophrenia. And that means he's going to be a handful for his family, friends, and others to handle when he is arrested.
Don't misunderstand... I'm a long-time admirer of the man who was DC's first delegate to Congress. I well remember the last time I talked with Pastor Fauntroy. I called him on June 30, 1974 when he was on the pulpit at New Bethel Baptist Church and asked that he come to the phone for an urgent message. As a young radio reporter at WWDC AM&FM in DC, I had just learned that Dr. Martin Luther King's mother (Alberta) had been shot and killed at the organ at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta. As the first female morning drive-time news anchor in Washington, DC, I wanted Rev. Fauntroy to hear about the shooting from me first, so he would be prepared when the rest of the world started calling for comments.
I truly respected this man who was so close to Dr. King. But I also know that NO MAN IN HIS RIGHT MIND would leave his kids and wife of some 50 years to selfishly hide out in foreign countries. So something happened! It is one thing to focus on Fauntroy's "debt and delusion," to quote The Washington Post (5/5/2016) but it's also important to recognized that this once distinguished figure may be mentally ill and probably has been so, for some time. At a time when 1 in 5 people are being diagnosed with mental illness this year alone, it's obvious that more of us might need to know more about the common signs of mental illness. It's all around us on a daily basis.
I live with friends and relatives who either suffer from serious DEPRESSION, MOOD CHANGES (Bi-Polar) or SHIFTS IN REALITY (Schizophrenia). As a medical researcher and mental health advocate, I find Schizophrenic changes in cognitive behavior to be the most cunning and difficult to deal with because those with such a condition are typically cognitively incapable of admitting something is wrong with them. It's a BRAIN THING! And few people who encounter them, understand how much they are in a SURVIVOR MODE. A broken hand... we can see. A broken brain goes a long time without being noticed. Until some kind of treatment is obtained, people with Schizophrenia think their ability to talk and reason is a sign they are sane. They don't get that their reality or assessments of situations actually differ from others; they often become so lost in their own unrelenting thoughts to notice a difference. PERCEPTION IS A CHOICE among the sane; those who are mentally challenged struggle with Schizophrenia can be at the affect of making increasingly inappropriate choices.
Since the purpose of the brain is to survive, it's not going to tell us we're crazy. Indeed, because people with Schizophrenia can be articulate and charming. They rarely seem to notice that they are more about being INTERESTING, than INTERESTED in others. It's what they need, want, and see going on. It's a one-side world for them until some healing begins in the brain. They are mentally overwhelmed and typically exercise POOR JUDGMENT, lack EMPATHY, and become more careless about writing checks and paying bills. Their Paranoia and Delusional states, if present, make unannounced visits and keeping appointments, a problem. It's helps to remember that it's the frequency and intensity of these things that push them up the mental health spectrum toward mental illness. Since we're largely living in an INSANE, FEAR-DRIVEN SOCIETY, we'll all have to work harder to be kinder, more loving, and God-driven. In other words, SANITY=love and INSANITY= fear.
So it's an encouraging sign that Walter Fauntroy wanted to come home to see his "new" 2-yr-old grandson, rather than die in the desert alone. Because he didn't have a Passport, money, or a sound mind to do so... his coming home is indeed a MIRACLE! Thanks to this country's State Dept. and caring friends who made this happen. My heart is already broken just thinking about how this 83-year old history-maker, missed being with family and friends to celebrate his all important 80th birthday in 2013. NO MAN IN HIS RIGHT MIND... would chose to be homeless, alone, and sleeping in alleys in a Foreign country when he could be home enjoying his well-earned Federal and DC pensions with his loved ones.
So... it's good news Walter Fauntroy is coming coming home to a city where he was once dearly loved and supported! In my opinion... there's no shame in being mentally challenged. The shame is not accepting treatment that will begin to give the brain a rest. And jail... is not a good place for anyone with mental health issues. Let's hope his lawyers tell those who come to arrest him this week that Walter Fauntroy is not a criminal... he's sick! Let's hope that some lawyer with a mental health background will be able to point out to the court that Walter Fauntroy was not in his right mind from 2007 on. The evidence for that is there. Just ask his friends, family, and colleagues when they began to notice changes. The headlines say it all!
