Gaining Insight

JETT TRAVOLTA: POST #2

I have received a few comments regarding my post about Jett Travolta. I wanted to apologize for coming across as insensitive. My heart truly goes out to John, Kelly and their daughter. The pain they are feeling must be absolutely unbearable. No one should have to bury their son. I wrote the post after reading an article about John's brother Joey. I gathered that Jett may have had Autism. It is speculated that his parents did not want to believe this could be the case (because of their faith-Scientology). Scientology does not recognize individuals with a mental disorder such as Autism. The religion views those as lesser humans who are responsible for their disorder. If Jett did have Autism, his parents had a chance to raise awareness since they are in the public eye. Many have used their celebrity to change public opinion about social issues (Bono, Angelina Jolie, Elton John, etc.). I do not want to place blame on Jett's parents since I do not know the whole story. It is know that his parents were treating Jett's seizures with medication. I am sure that Jett's parents loved their son more than anything. My heart goes out to them.

I found another article which discusses how Scientology, whose founder called shrinks "terrorists" and which labels mental illness a fraud, is closer than you think to implanting its extreme beliefs in the nation's laws and schools. One can only wonder if any of this is true and I do not have all the facts but this issue did strike a chord with me. A few of my family members do not believe or accept that my brother has schizophrenia. As a result, they do not support the medicine he is taking. I understand that the medicine will not cure him but I can tell you that without it, my brother may not be here today. I almost lost my brother three separate times to suicide so I do not take granted the fact that he is still here with us. Jett's passing reminded me, again, what it may have been like to lose my only brother. I don't even want to think about it. I just wish others would accept mental illness as biological/physical illness and not something you should be ashamed of. I am very thankful that my family does not follow the religion of Scientology.