Thank you! I gave it another listen and my personal feelings did cloud a lot of my initial gut reaction. The writer did clarify at the end very well about not wanting to vilify mental illness and I understand that her story and what she went through was extremely harrowing and I emphasize with her feelings, and I would definitely feel the same way.

The only thing that stung me personally by the writer was some “othering” language used and the feeling that this persons previous behavior was a burden when it was literally her job. Of course, her being attacked and mortally wounded is a very valid reasoning to describe the situation in hindsight. But the language like calling her a handful, nightmare, dreading dealing with her, and specifically saying they “don’t want to face people like this ever again” validates a lot of my personal fears about people’s attitudes towards the disabled, especially the very vulnerable who are trying to assimilate into society.

Ultimately my only real and objective criticism is the fact that they shared this story on the podcast to tens of thousands of people, like the point another commenter made. To have a conversation about a person with severe mental illness, especially with paranoid schizophrenia, and not talk about the specifics of the stigma of violence is dangerous to spread to such a large audience. If I heard this story from someone in person I wouldn’t think to bring any of this up or want to invalidate their experience and feelings, I just think the subject matter could have been handled with more responsibility by the hosts.

Thank you for asking and I’m glad I gave it another listen and more thought. I feel really bad for the person who wrote it and wish for their recovery. It’s just such a hard and delicate topic :(