Fukking Sreiously?
Mental illness is real.
Postpartum depression is real.
Postpartum psychosis is real.
They are also not the same fucking thing.
Most women suffering from postpartum depression are not violent. They are exhausted, overwhelmed, frightened, ashamed, and trying desperately to function while their own minds fight against them. Many already hesitate to ask for help because they fear being judged—or fear someone will think they are dangerous and take their children away.
Now imagine the aftermath of publicly reducing the killing of three children to, “She was just mentally ill.”
What does that do to the mother who genuinely has PPD and needs help? What does it teach her husband, her family, or her employer? It teaches them to hear “postpartum depression” and think “potential child killer.”
That is not compassion. That is reckless, ignorant bullshit.
It stigmatizes millions of struggling women by allowing one horrific case to become the public face of postpartum illness. It may make women more afraid to speak honestly, precisely when speaking honestly could help them get treatment. Research already recognizes stigma as a barrier to seeking postpartum mental-health care. PubMed
And let’s ask the uncomfortable question: if a father had killed his three children, would people be working this hard to explain his pain—or would they be calling him a monster and lining up to pull the fucking switch?
We know the answer.
No, Massachusetts does not have the death penalty. That is not the point. The point is the difference in the public reaction. A man would be discussed first as a murderer. Here, people are demanding that we discuss the accused first as a victim.
Meanwhile, three children are still dead.
Mental illness may explain behavior. It may affect legal responsibility. Those are questions for medical experts, lawyers, and a jury.
But explanation is not absolution, and compassion for an accused adult must never erase compassion for the children who lost everything.
If acknowledging those children makes someone uncomfortable, good.
They should be uncomfortable.
The utter stupidity is that any of this even needs to be fucking said.
— Ross
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