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: Injustice in Seattle

Slow Ahead

By David Packman

This week is going to be a bit slow with posts, I apologize for that, but my headaches have been getting bad again and my (paying) jobs require more hours from me this week. Things will hopefully be back to normal soon, but in the meantime I have a question for you, the readers, to ponder for me until I have a chance to post again.

You see, I was struck by a post made on the Behind The Blue Wall blog that simply linked to a support site for people who suffer PTSD and their families the other day. Not that there is anything wrong with that, I fully support those support groups, but what struck me is that there are support groups for all sorts it seems.... groups for people who get PTSD from being in combat, people who suffer domestic abuse, people who are victims of violent crimes...

...but, there is no support group for people who suffer PTSD from being a victim of police misconduct. Interesting, isn't it?

As I said, I support those other groups, their work is important and I hope it helps many who suffer PTSD like I do. But, while they get help, people like me can't because we can't afford it and there are no groups for us. What's worse is while PTSD from combat or other terribly traumatic events are difficult to deal with alone, PTSD from being a victim of police misconduct seems worse...

Why?

Well, a PTSD sufferer from a combat situation doesn't have to walk down a street and see people in the uniform of the people who harmed them. A PTSD sufferer from a domestic abuse situation can eventually leave their abuser and they have help to do that out there.

But we who suffer PTSD from being hurt by the police are always reminded of that abuse, we have nowhere to turn, and nobody to protect us from further abuse from our abusers. We suffer alone, constantly, and must learn to live with fear and trauma for the rest of our lives... and relive it every time we see a police car, a police officer, or hear a siren coming down the street...

If any sufferer of PTSD needed a support group, it's us... but there will never be one.

Want to hazard a guess as to why?

Full post as published by Injustice in Seattle on January 27, 2009 (boomark / email).