An Honest Opinion

I don’t tip toe around issues. I like to say what my gut tells me not to. Did you know photography inspired Kirkbride in his work with his patients? Back in a hopeful era of gramophones and moral treatment, when we fought like warrior word-smiths for the mentally ill by petitioning the shit out of our government and dying from licking too many stamps. When we pulled the sick out of prison and healed them. This guy was just sitting there starring at a brick one day and the next day he invented an entire welfare system that works. His love for photography (and people) and architecture changed the world. It literally changed the world. There were replicas of his system in place in almost every country by the time of his death. Thomas liked his hobbies.

We have been advocating for change since 1887. That’s a lot of months. Look out your window at how much has happened since the year 1887. That’s like 4 or 5 generations of ghosts to hunt. You mean we still haven’t solved this problem? Now my kids have to deal with it and that pisses me off.

Hospitals eventually became over crowded and under funded. The hospitals closed. Now we treat mental illness in smaller community settings and use what few state hospitals we have left for treating emergencies or serial killers.

Have you noticed how the asylum sat empty and rotting for 40 years. Suddenly the millennials are spitting out images of our failings all over the internet so the government tears them all down in a haste, selling their land for pennies to the best candidate who will bring in revenue by building starbucks, walmarts, and home depots because they’re eye sores or their money suckers or they’re prime real estate gone to waste. You’re ashamed at what we have fun exposing. It’s done so we don’t forget. It’s done so we can see what we’re working with, what we’ve done so far, what we failed and what we succeeded at. Most of those nurse’s notes, patient files, etc. are gone and we never digitally transcribed. What was sitting on the floor of the hospital was all there ever was and it’s gone like the titanic at the bottom of the ocean. Why you gonna make us waste so much time and effort like that? If no one knows what it was like back then, then how are they supposed to change it?

Photography inspires me to capture our failings as they get swept under the rug. I like my hobbies. I hope we can make plans to change the world.