God Bless the Mentally Ill

Here, here.

Amen.

It’s not something you see everyday…offensive? I’d say it depends on the view…some might think it’s a sarcastic poke at funny or maybe the person who wrote it really had a sincere message…as long as you like it and find a positive message it’s all good :)

The intent of the graffitti artist isn’t important to me. This shot has gotten people thinking. Excellent!

No one is completely mentally well or perfect, no one. Some are less well than others – i love this statement. Not at all offensive – more like a tap from our tired concious.

Nothing wrong with this :)

I like how it covers all the other tags and stands out.
Nothing insulting about this message

I don’t find the image offensive in the least. You got people talking and thinking with this photo, and that’s what art is all about. Well done. :)

there is nothing offensive in this statement to my opinion. I think if anybody was offened is because he/she chose to. “mentally ill” are not bad words. and unfortunately some people are menatlly ill and YES, I hope God does bless them.

Now do you think the person who wrote this was meaning the tagers that taged before him/her and the writer was kind of making it a little put down or was he/she really talking about the mentally ill? Either way it makes one think and thats what it should do. I feel that there is nothing offensive at all in this statement.

really nothing wrong with it.
Great capture!

You go girl

Nothing wrong with this, leave it i say

Right on!

I think it’s great, It’s a wake up call, or a reminder that were all a little ill.
Don’t remove it, make people talk about it, that is what discussions are about.
Great capture and talking point! Well done:)

Wow just got in from Uni and am really touched by the response to this image and blog. I am so glad to see that on the whole people are postitive about it. But the violently abusive comments that were left on it really shocked me. Redbubble removed those comments as they really were quite threatening personally but it also made me think about the issuse.

This statement really upset someone and even though I posted it as a positive image you can never really know who or how someone will respond to anything. And the person who saw it and was offended has a valid right to protest. Maybe not quite in the manner that he did but still he was deeply outraged by it and made that very very clear. Thats why I threw it open to the court of public opinion to gauge the general response.

So thank you everybody who has taken the time to view the image and respond to it. I feel a lot better now and will leave it up on this site.

Frogster, the person who was so upset by the image wasn’t upset by the tags or that it was graffitti but ( from what I could make out of the rant and swear words and threats of actual bodily harm to myself personally ) rather that he felt I was taking the piss. He feels that God must hate the mentally ill or there wouldn’t be mentally ill people. And that I was attempting to profit from the misery of the mentally ill by posting the image.

I have dear friends who are mentally ill and would never intentionally seek to offend anyone in regard to personal illness of what ever kind,

When my kids were little I would say to them ’ Its not the mad people you need to worry about, its the mean people.’ I still hold to that. And I still see this image as positive.

Juilee,
This is a message that’s close to my heart. I’ve been thinking about posting on this subject since I first joined RB. You picture has given me the push to just go ahead and do it. I’ll reference back to this page.

Great Patricia, its really good that this has opened up the way for others to get involved in this discussion. Well done.

a causal stroll throught the lunatic asylum shows that faith doesnt prove anything.
more people should be puting up postive messages like this in the street

FAR OUT, GOOD BLESS THEM AND GIVE THEM HOPE, AND STRENGHT TO LIVE IN THIS WORLD OF OURS…

Good on you Juilee. I found this via Patricia’s journal entry. From experience, kindness can only help and I don’t understand the negative response you referred to. Please don’t take this photo down :)

Thanks BRoCK ALSoP and Paul, I really apprecieate your comments. I”m also glad that people can see the image as an little sign of hope and tolerance. A postive message by someone who felt that sentiment with their whole heart. Thanks.

Hi Alison, I’m glad you found this thread. I too believe that small acts of kindness keep us glued together as people. And I will keep it up. I agree with the sentiment and find it a touching message thats really human.

now jp

dont be naive and dont try and get people to side for u

any artist SHOULD put up with ‘comments’

u r SO weak u have had 2 get OTHERS on ya side

WEAK WEAK WEAK

if u cant take ‘comments’ dont display works that offend O WEAK ONE

u who hides behind a camera

when i kiss my father goodbye whod committed suicide through DEPRESSION

i will think of the shallow waters who hid behind cameras and sought solace from ‘others’ because they ‘were right’.

next time…don’t u FUCKING dare use someone elses affliction to glorify ur mediocre fucking art!

u, ive told u before, cannot even show ur face cos its stuck behind the ‘shield’ of ya camera

sleep well…NOT!

Ahh Nigel how charming once again. I’m so glad you have calmed down and no longer wish to kill me for posting a view of the world around me. I will not respond negatively to your repeated abuse and threats of violence and intend to keep posting my ’ mediocre ’ art. :)

If people wish to respond to my work they will and I will accept what they say in the spirit of the comments that have been left for me under my images. Your continually abusive comments only reveal your own lack of humanity in this matter.

Hi Juilee,
I also lost a family member to suicide and don’t see this as glorifying anything but compassion.

I can’t thank you enough for this comment Alison. I too believe that compassion is a powerful force in the world and we as artists need to encourage more of it. Thank you again for seeing this for what it is.

Thanks to who ever it is that has bought a card of this image. May the gods smile on you forever. :)

Well it sort of screams out – take a photo of me, now! What can I say, if Nazis posted up graffiti, which they regularly do, we all take photos of it with its horrible sentiments, now most people get that the photographer thinks the nazi scribbler is an arse, they see it in the picture. Whats lovely about this is that its a nice sentiment, ironic or not and who knows? The photographer in this case has taken a very neutral shot, no low or high angles, just a “look what I saw one day”. Any photographer I know would take this as a gift. Cheers.

thanks philip for your sentiments this has now been painted out by the buisness that owns the wall. it lasted nearly a month which I think if pretty good to be honest. so now it only exists in memory and this one photograph.

I found this photo from your link with “Jesus died for his own sins, not mine”, which i thought was an incredible shot. I felt compelled to comment on this one, after reading your viewers comments. My mum suffered from mental illness, and died in a pedestrian accident, which will forever have a question mark over it, as to whether or not she stepped in from of the vehicle on purpose. How ANYONE can think for a New York minute that this is OFFENSIVE!!!! is absolutely beyond me. We ARE PHOTOGRAPHERS, and funny enough we do take PHOTO’S. So Juilee, never stop taking your wonderful shots of the REAL WORLD, because REAL PEOPLE love them. Cheers, Linda. P.S Absolutely love the “Jesus died…....etc. as well, great work my friend.

gee thanks Linda I’m so glad you found this and can relate to it. and its amazing to think I got death threats when I posted this.

Hi Juilee, I’m not offended by this in any way. I look at it and pray that God does bless the mentally ill whether the graffiti artist meant it that way or not.

Art is Art. It is meant to make people THINK and DIALOGUE in a PEACEFUL manner instead of other ways that create violence. People are supposed to take a piece of art and interpret it in any way they choose and be moved by it. Personally, I don’t see way people feel the word “mentally ill” has to be silenced. It exists and is nothing more than a physical illness of the brain. It is unfortunate for those ill and their loved ones. May peace come upon all those challenged with any illness be it mental or physical. Great capture.

BLESSED INDEED AND MANY

that kinda looks like some remark to the graffiti underneath

I’m not offended by the statement/graffiti, or the fact that you took a picture of it. I think what I find offensive is that people can’t be “bothered” to get to know a mentally ill person, or realize that they know someone who is truly considered mentally disabled, whether they have been diagnosed with depression or cannot even feed themself because of mental retardation. No, let’s just throw a blanket over the whole thing and hope anyone with a mental handicap is blessed. If they were truly blessed, the people who share this sentiment would take time out of their schedules to volunteer, because they can’t just sit around and wait for a miracle to happen – with 6 1/2 billion people on the planet, “God” is far too busy.