The Use and Abuse of Jordan Neely

Anyone who lives in a major urban area routinely encounters someone like Jordan Neely — a mentally ill person who needs help, isn’t getting it, and, at best, lives at the margins and, at worst, is a threat to himself and everyone around him.

Neely was a product of our urban civilization, of the choices it makes and specifically of its callous disregard for the mentally ill swathed in a faux compassion.