Compassion

I just read a good piece in the WSJ (subscribers only) regarding the publics' commitment to helping those with obvious mental illness.

It's now clear that the Va Tech shooter was having obvious mental problems. However, ever since the 1980's, when several liberal court rulings determined we couldn't commit someone to a mental health institution unless they were an imminent threat to themselves or others, we now have a population of homeless and otherwise troubled people who are ticking time bombs for problems.

For those liberals who pride themselves on compassion for the less fortunate, here's a question. Would society be more or less compassionate towards the mentally ill if they forcibly incarcerated someone like Va Tech shooter? Someone who showed definite emotional problems that may not have arisen to the "threat to themselves or others" standard.

I bet the shooter's and the victims' families wish we were so not compassionate.