Off Her Gaugin / Please Fuck Off And Die

Meet Susan Burns-yes, the woman who tried to tear Gaugin's 'Two Tahitian Women' right off the wall so she could destroy it because it showed homosexuality.

Of course the mental health advocates are coming to her defense saying she was off her meds and that she would not do this otherwise. But...How many times has she done this when 'going off her meds'? She has been arrested several times, and not for petty crimes. if two little girls were holding hands, would she hit them with a car because they were showing 'homosexual tendencies'? Like holding a bouquet of flowers and watermelon is some sort of sapphic rite of passage for lesbians everywhere?

Which begs the joke "How many lesbians does it take to make a tropical party?"

You know what? fuck her. Drugs don't make you a homophobe. Is there such a thing as reverse disinhibition? No, I don't despise her because she is mentally ill-not because she lost her job and life is hard-those are things that happen all the time to people both on and off medications of many types. If she loses her job/benefits its HER responsibility to MAKE SURE SHE FINDS A WAY to get more or get help another way-not the museum, or the general public's responsibility. There are any number of public health options and private options for getting medications that cost NO money. As someone who was taking these types of drugs, she was well aware what not taking them leads to-as her long criminal rap sheet can attest.

No, what actually bothers me is-even in her delusions she is still a homophobic bigot. Reality does not alter your values or their expression-please don't try and cover that by blaming her schizophrenia. it is not a get out of jail free card here. How long until she goes off and kills someone, even if she just perceives them to be "homosexual?" what if the painting was of two sisters? would she attack any painting that showed people of the same sex in the normal non-judeo-christian ethic clothing normal to their culture? even if they are not touching each other-simply in the same frame? C'mon, this is about being crazy-the meds here are NOT the problem - its the crazy white lady who won't take full enough responsibility for her mental health-full stop. Lets just hope she gets real help before she tries or is allowed to destroy anything-or anyONE-else.

We need to stop babying people forever and acknowledge that some people are just NOT going to do well in a normal society and DO something about it. better that than cycling these people endlessly through the mental health /criminal justice systems.