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The concept of "good versus evil" is not unique to one culture. It is embedded deeply into Judaism, Christianity, and, apparently, a number of other religions. It forms the basis of much of the criminal justice system in the U.S., and it is incorporated into the U.S. Constitution. Also, most people think in terms of what is "right and wrong," albeit most seem to see themselves as right, and see those with whom they disagree as "wrong." 

Concerning what behaviors people consider "wrong," it varies, and a lot of it seems arbitrary. It might have origins wherein a person did something in a specific context that caused something to go awry. Yet over time, the context was dropped, and a behavior was considered a "sin," because the Cleric, Rabbi, Priest, or the text of a religious work, said so. 

The concept of "right and wrong," when applied to people with mental illness, ought to be qualified. This is because mental illnesses can cause people to do things that many would consider reprehensible. Much of the time, the disease, at least in part, caused the behavior, and not bad intentions. 

A person with a psychotic disorder might do things of which others can not make sense, and people struggle to find an interpretation. I knew someone who left rocks wrapped in bandage tape in people's driveways at night, because the person was severely delusional. The FBI was summoned.  

Severe clinical depression is a form of insanity. Some people who suffer from it will do almost anything in an attempt to make the pain stop. This could sometimes include actions that harm people. Bipolar illness can cause mania that includes being hyperactive, psychotic, and, in some instances, violent. Schizophrenia causes a person not to think according to reality. This could mean that a person does harm to people or property without intending to. 

The above issues need to be addressed in society. However, in the process of this, we must not condemn the persons suffering from a psychiatric condition. And, we must remember that mentally ill people are more frequently victims of crimes than they are perpetrators. The ill person is usually the primary victim of their condition, because of the tremendous suffering intrinsic to mental illnesses. 

Many people in society condemn mentally ill people, in some cases, merely for existing. They treat us as though we do not have the right to exist, and as though we can't be trusted to roam free among the good "normal" "working people." 

A lot of the condemnation toward mentally ill people seems to occur when one of us interferes with operation of someone's business establishment, or otherwise with their work. Or, in some instances a mentally ill person gets in trouble when doing something "inappropriate" at a church. 

Then, all it takes is for a mentally ill person to show up at any public place, and we are persecuted for the wrongdoing of existing in the presence of others. We are not being where we are supposed to be, which according to some might be in a special home for mentally ill people, or in some other institutional place. 

Even if we are mentally ill, in treatment, and haven't done anything wrong in decades, (such as me) people have a tendency to attribute turpitude, and to condemn. I have been made to feel unwelcome in some places, apparently because I gave someone the wrong look. In other instances, I've been recognized as mentally ill, and have been considered no better than the devil. In some instances, I might not have shaved in a couple of days, and it is enough to trigger people's bigotry. 

Some of the time, Judeo-Christian ethics in my opinion are applicable to the actions and speech of persons with mental illness--especially if we are stabilized and medicated. However, ideas of "right and wrong" or "good versus evil" are used as weapons against some mentally ill people, or are used as a means of oppression. 

A well-known Zen Master employs the concept of "appropriate attention" versus "inappropriate attention." This to me seems like a very diluted and kinder version of the same outdated and primitive ethics. However, Zen practitioners have mostly come across to me as some of the kindest people, with some exceptions. 

Practicing meditation doesn't automatically make someone immune to ignorant attitudes or uninformed beliefs. Even when I visited a Buddhist monastery, I've felt as though I was being treated differently because of my apparent disability. 

Ethics of a person doing something "wrong," when applied to people whose illnesses impact behavior, can only make a person with a psychiatric problem even more alienated. What about some understanding and some help instead? 

Human beings have a lot to learn, in that our societies produce outcasts. No person is undeserving of humane treatment. People condemn without an attempt at understanding a person considered "bad," it alienates numerous people, and this could be part of what goes into some people committing mass murder or other awful acts. 

In the paragraph above, I am not justifying violence. No excuse can exist for the premeditated, horrible actions that we have seen in recent years. However, without applying the outdated ethics of which I speak, it seems to me, these shootings are the symptom and not the cause. We have a society that is often unforgiving and uncaring. 

On the other hand, those who commit mass murder should be in a different category than a mentally ill person off his or her medication, who might merely be a nuisance. We don't deserve the bad rap with which we've been saddled. People who commit mass murders that they have planned are not the same people as those wandering the streets because they urgently need psychiatric treatment. We are not the bad people society accuses us of being.