MindFreedom-News Digest, Vol 133, Issue 1

Thu Mar 27 15:21:26 CDT 2008

Hello,

Regarding encouraging people to write to the chairs of the disability
committees of USA Presidential candidates to support human rights in mental
health may I suggest that people remember that Ron Paul is still a candidate
and should be included in their letter writing campaigns.

Best wishes,
Joanne Switserloot
Australia

On Fri, Mar 28, 2008 at 4:00 AM, <mindfreedom-news-request at intenex.net>
wrote:

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> Today's Topics:
>
>   1. ACT: Email President Campaigns re: Psychiatric Rights
>      (News and alerts from www.MindFreedom.org)
>
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Message: 1
> Date: Wed, 26 Mar 2008 10:49:28 -0700
> From: "News and alerts from www.MindFreedom.org"
>        <mindfreedom-news at intenex.net>
> Subject: ACT: Email President Campaigns re: Psychiatric Rights
> To: "News: Human Rights in Mental Health"
>        <MindFreedom-News at intenex.net>
> Message-ID: <B35111F4-0184-409B-A5C3-643B1A35CF92 at mindfreedom.org>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII; delsp=yes; format=flowed
>
>
> MindFreedom International News - 26 March 2008
> United Independent Activism for Human Rights in Mental Health
> http://www.mindfreedom.org/events_listing - please forward
>
>    Call For Action from MindFreedom International
>
>    USA Presidential Election Opens Big Opportunities for Movement to
> Change Mental Health System
>
>    How You Can E-mail to Issue Committees for the Three Presidential
> Candidates
>
> When the social change movement led by psychiatric survivors and
> allies began in the 1970s, it was hard to imagine when, or if, we
> would become part of mainstream politics. We were pretty invisible on
> the political radar.
>
> But psychiatric survivors do not give up. Activists such as Ted
> Chabasinski -- who spent almost his entire childhood in a state
> hospital in New York -- devoted decades to courageous advocacy and
> community organizing. Since 1971 Ted, who is now an attorney and
> board member of MindFreedom International, has continued to speak
> truth to power, as you will see from his powerful call for action,
> below.
>
> Nearly four decades later, we've come a long way. The public has come
> to see more and more how everyone is affected by abuse in the mental
> health system.
>
> *** Today, drug giant Eli Lilly just made another settlement about
> their psychiatric drug Zyprexa with another outraged State, Alaska.
>
> *** Major newspapers run stories about false advertising, suppressed
> studies, and the corruption and undue influence of drug companies.
>
> *** Outraged parents organize against mental health screening.
>
> *** A poll by the American Psychiatric Association even found at
> least one third of Americans surveyed thought psychiatric drugs do
> more harm than good.
>
> And when we bring our cause into the political arena, we have had
> victories. In 1982, voters in Berkeley, California, often among the
> first to support new causes that later become mainstream, voted
> overwhelmingly to ban shock treatment there in a ballot campaign led
> by psych survivors.
>
> More recently, the California Network of Mental Health Clients fought
> an outpatient commitment bill to require citizens to take psychiatric
> drugs while living in their own homes. In a campaign lasting several
> years, and using tactics ranging from lobbying legislators to showing
> up at hearings wearing the black triangles that Hitler forced "mental
> defectives" to wear, the Network succeeded in gutting the bill so
> that it was essentially unenforceable.
>
> Our movement has grown tremendously. MindFreedom International alone
> now has thousands of members and over 100 groups from countries all
> over the world in its coalition. And MFI is just one group among many.
>
> PLEASE ACT ON THE PASSIONATE WORDS BELOW from Ted Chabasinski.
> Whether you live in the USA or not, please speak out now.
>
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~
>
>    A CALL FOR PASSION, A CALL FOR ACTION!
>
>    E-MAIL TO USA PRESIDENT CAMPAIGNS TO SUPPORT HUMAN RIGHTS IN
> MENTAL HEALTH
>
> BY TED CHABASINSKI
>
> It is time we realize we now have the strength as a movement to be
> taken much more seriously. We should take advantage of this window of
> opportunity, where voters are paying more attention to political
> issues than they have in decades.
>
> The major-party candidates for President have committees that are
> working on their positions about disability rights issues. The
> movement of people with disabilities, has been very supportive of the
> issues of psychiatric consumer/survivors, and we should be contacting
> the campaign staff of the candidates and letting them know what is
> important to us.
>
> Although the campaign organizations are huge, the "issue committees"
> working on platforms are relatively small. A few hundred letters
> would be noticed and make a big difference. Let's show these
> candidates that there is a real movement out there, and push them to
> take our issues seriously.
>
> *** We can educate the campaigns about the emergency of human rights
> violations in the mental health system, like forced drugging and
> forced electroshock.
>
> *** We can oppose the moves to replace the current legal safeguards
> for involuntary commitment with a standard of "need for treatment."
>
> *** We should talk about replacing a system that offers nothing but
> drugs, drugs, and more drugs, with programs controlled by their users
> that offer real help.
>
> *** We should demand that the practice of drugging small children
> even to the point of death, as in the Rebecca Riley case in Boston,
> be stopped.
>
> There are many other things we can and should tell these politicians.
> And it's time we came forward and did just that.
>
> Because it is important that the campaigns know that there is a real
> movement, if you represent or are active in an organization, say so.
> Mention MindFreedom, too. Or just talk about your own concerns.
>
> Tell these officials that our issues count.
>
> *** That we are citizens whose rights must be respected.
>
> *** That forced electroshock, forced drugging, and forced restraint
> are unacceptable practices that cannot continue and must be stopped.
>
> *** That we all need alternatives to a drug-based, one-size-fits-all
> mental health system.
>
> We have reason to think that at least some of the people you will
> write to are already somewhat sympathetic to our cause, and will
> listen. But we need to make them see that there is a real movement
> out there, and that the excesses and abuses of the current mental
> health system threaten everyone.
>
> So, yes, write with PASSION! Let's get these politicians to take us
> seriously.
>
> Now is the time for our movement to make itself heard. Let's take
> OURSELVES seriously and do this!
>
> "Those who profess to favor freedom and yet deprecate agitation are
> people who want crops without plowing up the ground...Power concedes
> nothing without a struggle. It never has and it never will." -
> Frederick Douglass
>
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~
>
>    * * * ACTION * * * ACTION * * * ACTION * * *
>
> WHAT YOU CAN DO:
>
> E-MAIL a civil but passionate note to the chairs of the disability
> committees of these USA Presidential candidates:
>
> BARACK OBAMA CAMPAIGN:
>
>    Stan Klein -- stan at disabilitiesbooks.com; Seth Harris --
> sethdharris at comcast.net
>
> HILLARY CLINTON CAMPAIGN:
>
>    Catherine Brown -- cbrown at hillaryclinton.com
>
> JOHN McCAIN CAMPAIGN:
>
>    Donna Jones -- djones at mccain08hq.com
>
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~
>
> Please FORWARD this call for action to all appropriate places on and
> off the Internet.
>
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~
>
> Build united strength in numbers!
>
> JOIN MINDFREEDOM INTERNATIONAL!
>
> http://www.mindfreedom.org/join-donate
>
> * Win human rights campaigns in mental health.
>
> * End abuse by the psychiatric drug industry.
>
> * Support self-determination of psychiatric survivors.
>
> * Promote safe, humane, effective options in mental health.
>
> * Show your MAD PRIDE!
>
> MindFreedom is a nonprofit human rights group that unites 100 sponsor
> and affiliate groups with individual members.
>
> MindFreedom is one of the very few totally independent activist
> groups in the mental health field with no funding from governments,
> drug companies, religions, corporations, or the mental health system.
>
> All human rights supporters are invited to join MFI by donating here:
>
> http://www.mindfreedom.org/join-donate
>
> For hard-to-find books and gear, including a normality screening kit,
> go to MFI's Mad Market here:
>
> http://www.madmarket.org
>
> MindFreedom International Office:
>
> 454 Willamette, Suite 216 - POB 11284; Eugene, OR 97440-3484 USA
>
> web site: http://www.mindfreedom.org
> e-mail: office(at)mindfreedom(dot)org
> MFI office phone: (541) 345-9106
> MFI member services toll free: 1-877-MAD-PRIDe or 1-877-623-7743
> fax: (541) 345-3737
>
> Please forward.
>
> ~~~~~~~~~~~
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> End of MindFreedom-News Digest, Vol 133, Issue 1
> ************************************************
>

-- 
'I have learned that people will forget what you said,
People will forget what you did,
But people will never forget how you made them feel.'

MAYER ANGELOU, Novelist, Poet.
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