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Comment by DanBC | Hacker News Reader

It's disturbing to see blatant prejudice on HN against someone who may have a mental illness. (I'm not a doctor, and I'm not saying he does. Maybe he just went on a drinks / drugs bender, in which case judge away.)

His erratic behaviour shouldn't be causing you to scrutinise their information; that's something you should be trying to do anyway.

For a reputable source you could try IRIN (Yes, I post lot from them. I have no connection to them.)

(http://www.irinnews.org/Report/95083/SECURITY-Fighting-Kony-...)

> Invisible Children only publish information on LRA, or suspected LRA, activity on their LRAcrisistracker.com website, while other acts of violence in the region - where aid workers say the “DRC government is absent” and there are alleged human rights abuses by FARDC and Ugandan troops operating with the assistance of US forces in CAR - never get a mention.

View on HN

I'm not sure where you're getting the prejudice angle from, the link is merely information about a topic that was widely discussed here.

One person says "Maybe it shouldn't...but that makes me think a little less of this guy. I have always tried... but now I think I will redouble my efforts to fact-check and look with a critical eye, at issues that come to my attention via 'Clicktivist' campaigns."

If (and it might not be) it is a mental illness, well, you shouldn't think less of him. That's like saying you'd think less of someone if you found out they were Jewish, or that they used a wheelchair.

Another person says "I have a hard time believing that after putting in all the effort of creating the video and getting it out there that this guy would do something like this [...]"

If (and it might not be) it is a mental illness he either has less control or no control over his actions and thoughts. That's not an excuse to just let him do it, but it shouldn't affect the campaign.

Frustratingly I thought there was lots wrong with the KONY video, but my stigma-reduction for people with MH problems is bigger than that.

Obviously, maybe he was just on drugs, or is a weirdo. In which case he should get what he deserves.

The ivory-tower relativist view may give him a pass, but in the real world this turkey is cooked.

And that is total BS that you would compare people with mental problems to Jewish people or those born physically disabled. Yes, I twisted your words, but not that much. You could have chosen much better examples.

Why is it BS to compare someone with a mental illness (specifically a psychotic illness) to someone who is Jewish or someone who is a wheelchair user?

I think you have chosen your words poorly because the above reads like you are calling an entire ethnicity disabled.

I think you need to read what I wrote again.

There are several types of discrimination - race, sex, sexual preference, age, ability, and religion.

My point was to compare one type of discrimination -discrimination against those with a disability, a mental illness - with other types of discrimination, either discrimination against those with a different disability - those who use wheelchairs, or discrimination against people of a different ethnicity.

Why is it acceptable to say "This person has a mental illness and thus all of their work is suspect and all of the work of their organisation is suspect"?

Why is that acceptable if it's not acceptable to say "This person is a wheelchair user and thus all of their work is suspect and all of the work of their organisation is suspect" or "This person is gay and thus all of their work is suspect and all of the work of their organisation is suspect"?

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