As many of you most likely saw on Twitter last night, the hashtag #GiveStigmaTheBoot started circulating in response to fashion designer Kenneth Cole’s tweet, seen here:

I am, to say the least, highly disturbed by the message this billboard is sending. Apparently, a lot of other people were too. The American Psychiatric Association responded to Kenneth Cole’s tweet, posted on his personal Twitter account @mr_kennethcole, saying this:

“The fashion designer’s attempt at making a statement on gun reform creates a misleading impression that people who suffer from mental illness are violent. This is a disappointing misrepresentation of the facts and only serves to further stigmatize those suffering from mental illness.”

Kenneth Cole has effectively cast a shadow of suspicion over those who suffer mental illness. As if the current stigma wasn’t enough, Cole has basically accused those with mental illnesses of being violent and untrustworthy. The gross lie that “all [those with mental illness] can access guns” is nothing more than scaremongering propaganda.  Kenneth Cole’s gun violence billboard, although it claims to be about gun reform, is simply and plainly ignorant.

It’s this ignorance that forms a lot of the stigma around mental illness. The APA fired back at Kenneth Cole’s gun violence billboard by tweeting facts about mental illness and violence, pointing out that those with mental illness are far more likely to be victims of violence and that 1 in 4 people with a mental illness has been a victim of a violent crime this year alone. The APA used the hashtag #givestigmatheboot so that others could follow their tweets explaining the facts about mental illness, and it has spread through the mental health community like a wildfire.

Kenneth Cole’s gun violence billboard has had the unfortunate timing of gaining attention just before a fatal shooting at a Sacramento campus Thursday night and news of an alleged armed suspect on a Kansas campus this morning. Luckily, there was no armed suspect found on campus in the city of Manhattan, Kansas, but the fatal shooting at the Sacramento campus is one of the top news stories circulating on the web that is garnering attention on the subject of gun violence. Should the shooter be found to have a mental illness, I highly doubt Mr. Kenneth Cole will be taking down his billboard.

It’s one of the first questions people ask when there’s a shooting:

“Did the shooter have a history of mental illness?”

I think I speak for everyone when I say that just because someone has a mental illness, it doesn’t mean they’re a violent person. I’m not going to go shoot a place up because I have depression or anxiety. Even the most severe symptoms of mental illness don’t cause someone to become violent enough to kill. I believe that even on the worst days, someone with a mental illness (or anyone, for that matter) has to consciously make a decision to commit a violent act. Mental illness, in and of itself, does not cause violence.

As a Christian, I believe what the Bible says about the origins of hate, that it comes from the heart (Matthew 15: 18-20). It comes from our sin nature. We have the choice of whether or not to give in to thoughts of violence and the desire to act out those thoughts. It’s a choice to be violent. It’s a choice to kill someone. And guess what? Guns aren’t necessary to kill someone. If someone is hellbent on hurting someone, they’re going to with whatever means are available. Making it harder for people to get guns won’t stop them from getting one. Anger makes a person incredibly resourceful.

Kenneth Cole’s futile attempt to raise awareness about gun violence has instead fueled the stigma surrounding mental illness. The statement that some with mental illness (38% according to the APA) aren’t getting the health services they need shouldn’t have been followed up by an accusation. On a side note, we also need to take into account those who have access to necessary healthcare but choose not to use it out of fear of the stigma associated with mental illness.

So, it’s not that 38% don’t have access to psychological health services. How many people have access but choose not to go, and how many just don’t have access, is difficult to tell. Just be aware that that consideration was left out when compiling the numbers. We do, however, need to ensure that those who need help can get it.

In closing, I’d like to encourage you to voice your opinion on Kenneth Cole’s gun violence billboard and spread awareness that mental illness should not be a stigma. Reblog. Retweet. Whatever you want to do. Use the hashtag #givestigmatheboot to see what others are saying about this.

Thanks, guys. Ciao for now.