Sunday, September 30, 2018

What Did Happen in Ravensburg?

The news media hype goes in various directions so I've spent an hour reviewing a dozen odd sources and finally agreed to some basic facts (mostly provided by Focus Magazine):

1.  Ravensburg, for geographic reference....is a town on the southwestern end (absolute end) of Germany.  Population: 50,000.  It's in the state of Baden-Wuerttemberg.  It's one of those small towns that you'd stop....have dinner....and then wander around for a couple of hours in a fairly safe and friendly atmosphere. 

2.  What cops say is that on Friday morning....a  Afghan asylum guy went through some kind of psychotic experience (cops words).  They feel that the guy (21 years old) is suffering some kind of psychiatric illness, but no one can clearly say 'what'.

3.  What the guy did was stab three folks in the city walking district (shopping district).  All three have survived. 

4.  Cops say that the charges initially are attempted murder and dangerous assault....normally enough (with three folks) to get you a minimum of ten years in a German prison.  The issue is....if he is mentally deranged....none of that will apply.

5.  Cops do say that this behavior and mental issue was known, and that he'd been in some kind of  inpatient therapy (more than once). 

6.  Cops say that he had some type of dispute with a co-worker....over what?  Totally unknown.  The co-worker had been invited to the middle of town (Marienplatz) to discuss this matter.  That morning, prior to the arranged meeting situation....the Afghan went out and bought a large kitchen knife. 

7.  The co-worker?  Well....he never showed up (luckily, because he'd probably be dead today, had he shown up).  So the Afghan guy lost emotional control, and just picked three guys at random.  Two of the random guys?  Syrian immigrants.....the third guy?  A German.  Yep, just totally at random.  It could have been anyone....men, women, kids....it just was a random act. 

8.  The guy in question has been in Germany for roughly two years.

Those are the basic facts to the story.  Terrorist?  No.  Terror act?  No.  Radical Muslim?  No. What you have is a guy with severe emotional issues that would probably require (if he hadn't attacked anyone) long-term medication and out-patient care. Getting him hired up?  Well, if he is this reactionary to a comment, a joke, or criticism....I can't see any business hiring the guy because of the potential threat that he represents, without medication.

The mayor?  Well, he's in a bit of worry because some folks might take this story in the wrong fashion and get all hyped-up pro-AfD Party, or have demonstrations over this.

But here's the odd factor which you don't know and it's best not to discuss in open forums....just how many people do you have that arrived in the past five years....which are in some physiological clinical outpatient program, and maybe not emotionally under control?   In general, the German legal system is motivated to usually put people who are a threat...into some type of controlled atmosphere.  But if you came to realize that you had five hundred individuals who were given visas and just not emotionally stable....could you find the courage to commit these folks to a controlled facility?  I have my doubts.

So that's the Ravensburg story. Three guys stabbed....all three survive....no terror act...just some guy with an uncontrollable rage. 

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