For more than four decades, I have worked as a psychiatric-survivor human rights activist. Then, at the end of 2012, I broke my neck. As readers of my blog posts, such as those on Mad in America, know, I have devoted the past few years to rehab and activism. But it has been a while since my last personal blog. Let me sum up my Mad Pride journey today, because a lot is changing.
As a quick background, all of my grandparents were immigrants from Lithuania. Both of my grandfathers were coal miners for a combined 31 years. I was raised in a very working-class neighborhood on the south side of Chicago, and got a scholarship to Harvard. During my sophomore, junior, and senior years, I experienced the psychiatric system. This included involuntary psychiatric drugs, such as on the sharp end of a needle while being held down on a bare mattress on the floor in solitary confinement.
During my junior year, Harvard’s volunteer social change agency, Phillips Brooks House, referred me as an intern at Mental Patients Liberation Front in nearby Central Square. MPLF is one of the very early psychiatric survivor activist groups from the 1970’s. After a total of five psychiatric lockups I graduated with honors in 1977, and studied community organizing with the infamous group ACORN, based on the methods of Saul Alinsky. Community organizing with psychiatric survivors became my career.
MindFreedom International: Winning Human Rights in Mental Health!
Fast forward: I co-founded and was Executive Director for 25 years of the independent nonprofit coalition, MindFreedom International (MFI) which fights for human rights in mental health. MFI has always been wide open to everyone who supports human rights, including attorneys, mental health workers, family members, and the general public. But surveys show that a majority of MFI members identify as having personally experienced human rights violations in the mental health system, that is, psychiatric survivors.
Because MFI’s constituency tends to be low-income, most groups in this field need to rely on government support to exist. That is understandable. But an amazing thing about MFI is that it has always mainly been supported by donations from individuals, poor and rich, and some private grants.
Because of this independence, MFI has always had a different center of gravity than most similar groups: Revolution! We at MFI always attempted to connect with other movements for social justice, such as prisoner’s rights, LGBT+, anti-racism, anti-poverty, and environmentalism. For the last few decades, one of our closest connections has been with people with disabilities.
A Tale of Two Movements: Psychiatric Survivors and People With Disabilities
Frankly, the connection between psychiatric survivor Mad Pride and the physical disability movement has been a bit complex, and sometimes even challenging. For example, there appears to be a difference about the issue of diagnoses. Don’t we radical psychiatric survivors reject all labels? Don’t people with physical disabilities often rely on their labels? Yes, “disabilities” are socially constructed; it is our society that is disabled. But I am aware that some leaders do not always understand our unity.
Unfortunately, I have even seen a leader of a disability Independent Living Center falsely say, repeatedly, that MindFreedom pushes people to quit psychiatric drugs. Wrong. In fact, there are many MFI members who willingly choose to take prescribed psychiatric drugs, and they have told me they feel totally comfortable and accepted.
Both the psychiatric survivor movement and the movement for people with disabilities are united in their goals. Both support the empowerment and choice of the Marginalized And Disempowered (MAD). I’ve written about this before, and I will again, but this is not my point now.
For now, I will point out that calling someone a name they do not want is labeling. Asking for a diagnosis from a pro you trust, willingly, ain’t labeling. More later, but for now, understand that the unity between psychiatric survivors and people with disabilities is more than theory for me. It is my life.
Our Cat, Bongo, Plays a Key Role in My Life
At the end of 2012, in an attempt to retrieve our cat, Bongo, I fell and broke my neck, becoming a very disabled quadriplegic in a power chair with impaired voice and hands. I do not recommend this drastic approach, but one silver lining is that now I have absolutely no problem at all bridging both the psychiatric survivor movement and the entire disability movement!
As some of us activists have joked about ourselves when we encounter challenges again: I have “re-established my credentials.”
Because of my profound disability challenges, I needed to retire from MFI in 2013. During the past seven-and-a-half years, I have been working on rehab.
I have improved my breathing by twice-daily exercises with heavy weights and an incentive spirometer, bringing my capacity from one-fourth to one-third typical breathing. A great improvement, but I am of course, at the age of 64, one of the most vulnerable folks during the COVID-19 crisis.
I have sought to improve my impaired speech. This has involved years of speech therapy and a surgery on my vocal folds.
Before my fall I could type 120 words per minute, now I cannot type at all. So I have worked to improve my memory because projects and writing need to stick up there, in the mind. Now, in one sitting, I can pretty easily and reliably memorize two shuffled decks of cards (a total of 112 cards, counting jokers and promo cards). I can repeat the memorized order of cards, blindfolded, in about five minutes. I have recited shuffled double decks perfectly 37 times.
There are many other ways I have applied the lessons I learned in our psychiatric survivor movement to my own rehab. For example, back in 1989, I started a men’s support group called the BUBS. During this COVID crisis we have been meeting weekly via Zoom. This sort of small group, mutual peer support, as we know from our movement, is invaluable to rehab and surviving a crisis.
Before my fall, as a fiercely independent Pagan, I relied on my occasional trips to the Oregon wilderness for three days of fasting and reflection. In fact, after one of these trips, I recorded a brief statement, which can be found on YouTube by searching for: david w oaks neptune beach.
Since my fall, to make things easier, I have joined the nearby Unitarian Universalist Church. Yes, a church. I am glad I did, because the UU philosophy works for me, and they are very supportive of people with disabilities. For example, I helped re-start an Access Committee at our church with support from the reverend.
But What Would Judi Chamberlin Say?
As I have expressed, and many other psychiatric survivor activists know, I have always fought against involuntary and unscientific diagnoses. “Label jars, not people!” as my friend in MPLF, the late Judi Chamberlin, liked to say.
After my accident, I clearly had thoughts and feelings consistent with classic Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, such as recurring vivid nightmares of falling off my bed that would continue after I woke up. Folks, I cannot even budge once I am lying in my bed!
I have found my psychotherapist, Dr. John Bundy, to be very helpful in addressing these problems. Finding a psychologist that works for me took a bunch of my skills and networking from our movement. Dr. Bundy is superb, and because of a childhood accident, is 100% blind. Perhaps we connect more as peers because of our disabilities.
Yes, many friends and family have encouraged me to write a book, because there are many other tools from our movement I have used in my rehab journey, that may help the general public now.
Silver Linings of Planetary Crises: No New Normality!
Looking for silver linings is one of the lessons I gained as a psychiatric survivor with major physical disabilities. Today, as the whole world struggles with COVID-19, there are quite a few silver linings. One of these is that undeniably we are all connected in one planetary community, obviously and deeply.
To the right are images of my home care team wearing masks. This montage is a tribute to these truly essential workers, crucial for my independent living and our household. One of my home care workers pointed out that essential workers have always been essential, even before this pandemic. Good point. Mainly, I need help thanking and giving credit to my home care team.
Ačiū! Ačiū! Ačiū! This is an ancient Lithuanian word that means “thanks.” This gratitude is why I named my consulting business Aciu! Institute. Thank you, everybody, for your support!
During this rehab, I have attempted to blog now and again. But I will now try to do this more frequently. I believe there are real life lessons from the psychiatric survivor and disability movements which can assist the general public right now, in this era of viruses and climate crisis. I have often heard media outlets say people with disabilities or mental problems make up ‘x’ percent of the public, such as 18% or 15%. But, for example, everyone on Earth addresses the severe trauma of how we treat nature. Scientists suggest that none of us have, or even can, get a grip on reality.
We are now all the 100%. In today’s world, if you are not crazy you may be nuts!
Today we often hear about how “normality” is gone. But normality never really ever existed. Kind of like a unicorn. Many are now talking about a future “new normality.” But this is a lie! Normal is dead forever. One way or another, for better or worse, we won!
This year, my consulting business, Aciu! Institute, LLC, has its second major client, MindFreedom International! I report to their superb director who has taken my place very well, psychiatric survivor Ron Bassman of Colorado. I am helping build their network of Affiliates and Sponsors, updating the list of past groups and finding new ones. One of the uniting tasks that Ron is encouraging for these groups is to support a retooled MindFreedom Shield. Shield is a campaign to support individuals who are expressing concerns about their involuntary psychiatric procedures, issuing human rights alerts that encourage action, similar to pressure campaigns by Amnesty International.
Here in Eugene, Oregon, USA, we continue to build our own MFI local affiliate, MindFreedom Oregon and MindFreedom Lane County. We meet every month by Zoom now. Contact me if you are interested: [email protected].
MindFreedom has always called for a global revolution. Wouldn’t a planetary revolution be a nice thing to try? Is there any other way? We can discuss what kind of revolution, but at least talking openly about this would be a start.
As well as MindFreedom, my Aciu! Institute consulting business is assisting a variety of disability and mental health groups. I will blog about this in future posts. Even though I only work a few shifts a week from home, working remotely with my superb administrative assistant Fian Peng, launching Aciu! helps my purpose and meaning. I last ran a for-profit back when I was a little kid, selling seeds and lemonade. I then worked for decades for wonderful nonprofits. It is a blast returning to a for-profit dedicated to social and environmental change!
Building Support for the Next Phase: Revolution!
After I broke my neck, the values and wisdom from our movement helped me each day in my real-life endeavors. Many call this inspiring. I call our social change Mad Pride movement inspiring. Once in a while, someone will question the whole idea of “Mad Pride.” (I sometimes wonder if they like “Normal Shame.”) But for the last few years, our Mad Pride crazy wisdom has helped support and sustain our home, my independence and my life.
One skill I learned in our movement was grassroots fundraising, from many people, poor and rich. While I was in Craig Hospital rehab, we held a number of support drives to raise funds. For instance, quick support from people like you is how I bought my wheelchair van.
Since then, I have not done much fundraising. For one reason, my wonderful wife, Debra, and I live a comfortable life on our quarter-acre homestead we call Mad Swan. One of the absolutely best things in my early adulthood was falling in love with the amazing and always-fascinating Debra.
But while we are not struggling for food, I do want to use my background and experience to help justice and transformation today.
My family created a “David W Oaks Irrevocable Medical Trust” that supports my independent living. Support from this trust is helping me launch my Aciu! Institute consulting.
I pledge to post more often to my own personal blog (www.davidwoaks.com), my consulting business blog (www.aciu.info), and of course Mad in America, which has helped amplify my concerns over the years, so that I know my leadership is still here and helpful.
More than ever, I especially value your feedback. The Mad in America community is vibrant, and I look forward to your comments here. I will try to reply to as many as possible. You will now also find me frequently on Facebook, including our group UU Mental Health Justice. On Reddit we have created subreddit r/MadPride. On Twitter and LinkedIn, let us explore what challenges and opportunities can be found in the intersection of #MadPride and #Disability.
Ačiū!
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Editor’s Note: If you wish, you can make a one-time or monthly donation to David W. Oaks Irrevocable Medical Trust. Your gift is not tax-deductible, but is very important to his independent living. He is launching his consulting business, Aciu! Institute.
For more information about donating to David W. Oaks Irrevocable Medical Trust, go here: http://davidwoaks.com/welcome/support
Thanks for this David,
“….We are now all the 100%. In today’s world, if you are not crazy you may be nuts!…”
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Thanks, this is the very first comment I received for feedback on this blog. So glad you like this idea that we are the 100%. Took me decades to get there, and I still have difficulty wrapping my mind around this. But when we look at the state of the planet today, this can provide us with evidence. Thanks again!
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The Survivor movement is the first place for me that felt like home. I wasn’t careful. I fell back into the role of patient here too. I cannot seem to help diving in with my whole heart honestly. Something happened. Life is funny that way. I tried handling it one on one because we are a family of sorts. It didn’t work and the silent treatment here mirrored the silence of abusers outside. Reputation above all else. I felt pushed out but it was really me pushing away and lashing out. A psychiatrist labelled it PTSD. There are survivors who tried, but I was too much and too mad. I can’t figure out who is safe and who isn’t, so I set about disappearing. Saner on my own, but this movement has a draw to it. People like you David keep me coming back even if just to hang around in the shadows remembering what it feels like to be home. Thank you for everything you do. You inspire me to keep going!
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Welcome home! Aciu for your feedback. My one reply is that the “movement” can feel like one person at times. We can then feel the ups and downs of relating to one person. But the reality and truth are that literally millions and millions of people are critical of our mental health system, and seek far deeper and empowering, humane approaches. Of course many do not even know each other.
In other words, even though you may be disappointed by some people in the movement, please remember that this is a huge movement.
A while back, someone lamented that we did not seem to be accomplishing much. I recalled an individual who was spared forced shock because our movement swung into action. Certainly for that single individual, our movement helped so much.
Stay involved, and there are plenty of folks to interact with “in the shadows” outside of the spotlight. All approaches are needed!
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Very true, David. My life today, modest as it is, would not be as stable nor as progress-bound, if not for this movement. We matter and we need to endure. The 20th century got us out of the cage. This century, I hope, will get us *into* mainstream life. We can get there, but only if we don’t give up.
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Glad you’re progressing David, seriously.
Nonetheless “survivors” are not “mad” and we should not identify that way, or as any sort of “special” group. (Though we should be angry!) Nor are we “disabled.” As more and more survivors are concluding, he only movement which truly addresses the needs and issues of survivors is the ANTI-PSYCHIATRY ABOLITIONIST movement.
You mention “global revolution” but not much about the capitalist system needing to go, which would be the object of any true revolution, or how psychiatric labels bolster the attempt to label any dissatisfaction with the system as “mental disorder.”
More to come, stay tuned.
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Psychiatry has been used, historically, to defame and destroy dissidents in country after country, like Bolshevik led Russia and Nazi Germany. It is not merely a tool of the current American crony capitalist system, which does need to end. I’ll wait for “more to come,” to further comment.
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Well, I don’t want to derail things with a generic debate about class, capitalism, etc. as this was more a side comment prompted by David’s use of the word “revolution,” which he left undefined and hence ambiguous at best.
More to the point, I think we would both agree that psychiatry will adapt to serve the interests of whatever the reigning power structure may be. (Btw I may be wrong but I think Stalinists were probably more guilty of this than the Bolsheviks.) Or, as some would put it, psychiatry serves to enforce conformity to the values of the dominant culture.
Also “more to come” wasn’t specifically referring to this particular blog but “survivor” stirrings in general.
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Thanks, aciu for our feedback. You have been a contributor to Mad In America, for years and your help creating a vibrant community is appreciated. Three quick comments:
1) I am a psychiatric survivor and I identify as “mad” and having “mad pride” and our community is indeed “special.” Sorry to disagree with you, but to disagree in a civil way is just fine.
2) You endorse anti-psychiatry abolition. OK, but how? I see many paths. But certainly outlawing two individuals getting together, one who calls themselves a patient and one who calls themselves a therapist, would be absurd. Even voluntary bondage in sexual privacy is fine. So exactly what is the path to this “abolition”? Law?
3) You are correct, my brief blog did not include “capitalism” and now I have brought up the topic. By the way, I would maintain that human challenges begin far, far before capitalism. There are other difficulties in the world, it ain’t that simple.
Thanks again!
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“But certainly outlawing two individuals getting together, one who calls themselves a patient and one who calls themselves a therapist, would be absurd. Even voluntary bondage in sexual privacy is fine. So exactly what is the path to this “abolition”? Law?”
In my case the “two individuals getting together” meant I needed to be drugged without my knowledge with benzos, have a knife and some cannabis planted on me to allow police to detain me against my will, and force me to speak with a filthy slanderer who completed a fraudulent statutory declaration to have me kidnapped.
Basically the equivalent of a nite club rapist acting as a Community Nurse.
And as far as abolishing these practices, the laws exist, it’s just that the people with a duty to act (the Chief Psychiatrist) simply deny they even know of the existence of the law and enable these human rights abuses and cover up their misconduct by arguments from authority rather than with facts and truth.
I do not consider this a form of “voluntary bondage”, as I have been protesting it for 10 years now, and am still being slandered and have as was explained to me should I continue to complain about being subjected to this torture and kidnapping, been fuking destroyed along with evey relationship I had with my family. They won’t even allow me access to the courts to retrieve my belongings, including my own mothers remains which were thrown out on the street to create the appearance that someone else had ‘stolen’ the documents demonstrating the ‘spiking’ (make it look like the Aboriginals down the street did it). I’m kind of pleased i’m going to Hell, because at least i’ll get to see them punished. These ‘good medical people’ sure are ugly when you put them to the test.
So laws are of little to no use when the people charged with enforcing them are the criminals. Australians do not respect a rule of law as our Prime Minister suggests, in fact negligence fraud and slander is the methods employed by our State governments to maintain their postions of priviledge.
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There is even a specific section of the Criminal Code that deals with the offence committed by the Community Nurse, and which is made clear in the Guidelines and training manual for that role.
336. Procuring apprehension or detention of person not suffering from mental illness or impairment
Any person who, by the production of a false certificate or other document, knowingly and wilfully, procures any person, not suffering from mental illness (as defined in the Mental Health Act 2014 section 4) or mental impairment, to be apprehended or detained, pursuant to that Act or any law relating to mental impairment, upon insufficient or unreasonable grounds, is guilty of a crime and is liable to imprisonment for 3 years.
Did I have a mental illness? No, by defintion on the Mental Health Act definitely not. Was a false document produced to procure my person? Yes, fact.
Though one of the problems is that the Police don’t have a copy of the Criminal Code which means they are ‘winging it’. They simply refuse to accept any evidence of wrongdoing by organised criminals operating in our hopsitals and leave them to ‘fuking destroy’ anyone who compains about being tortured and kidnapped. I mean its great if you are of the opinion that corruption is the grease that keeps the wheels turning, but not so good when your the victim of some serious criminal offences and the local Sargent is prepared to lie to your face and tell you that he doesn’t have a copy of the criminal code because he like baiting ‘mental patients’ so he can beat them into submission or put another notch on his pistol.
And one thing that really makes me smile is how much work actually goes into making the crimes they were committing into looking like they were ‘accidents’. Not like any one in authority gives a damn, I mean they are basically dropping complainants to the ED for killing, period. Why bother hiding it? It’s a simpe fact of business when your in government, people going to need to be silenced when police and public officers are the criminals. No matter what they’re the good guys, even if they need to use our EDs as a slaughterhouse to maintain that truth.
Then of course you have those leftie pinkos who haven’t got the stomach for it, who rudely interupt the ‘unintended negative outcoming’ of a whistleblower. Why? Should have let him go through with it first Prof. Save any worries about me actually slipping through the net and causing problems by still having the proof I was tortured and kidnapped. I’d prefer you let me know next time you want to use me without my consent for bait. Though my wife did explain why you did it that way. How clever that my speaking the truth sounds insane because as was explained to me by a psychiatrist “they wouldn’t do that”. Really? Such great insight into human nature when they live in fear of being imprisoned for torturing and kidnapping someone, and just happen to be married to a psychiatrist. Surely they just put their hands up and present themselves to police who can’t find their copy of the Criminal Code and send them on their way. Nay, in fact will actively commit serious offences by retrieving the documented proof of the crimes for the criminals. Which I think explains why they can’t find their copy of the Criminal Code, when they are assisting organised criminals operating in our hospitals. Having the documented proof of the crimes means the only defence they can put up is negligence of duty.
173. Public officer refusing to perform duty
Any person who, being employed in the Public Service, or as an officer of any court or tribunal, perversely and without lawful excuse omits or refuses to do any act which it is his duty to do by virtue of his employment, is guilty of a crime, and is liable to imprisonment for 2 years.
Keep looking Sargent, i’m sure it’s there somewhere. And don’t forget the madatory reporting under s. 28 of the CCC Act.
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Of course me not being a “patient” and thus the Community Nurse being aware that he couldn’t just snatch me from my home because he wanted to presented a problem. Imagine the laws providing protection from him?
So how does one get around those legal protections? By planting a knife and some cannabis on the victim, and thus the police can then lawfully detain and make referral to him, seeing he is such a nice fraud and slanderer. But, it’s difficult to plant a knife and cannabis on someone when they’re alert and awake. I know we can drug them without their knowldge by ‘spiking’ ther drink with benzos and when they collapse then we can plant the items for police and we have found a lawful way around the protections afforded by the law. Well not realy what they were doing was conspiring to stupefy and commit an indictable offence namely kidnapping but seeing how police think the guy collapsed in his bed with stuff planted on him is a ‘mental patient’ they can cause an “acute dstress reaction” and force him into opening his mouth to be ‘verballed, ie tortured. (see the DO NOTS associated with acute stress reaction, do not foprce to talk, do not prescribe benzos).
The benzos being the assault and thus making this ‘hard torture’, though with the evidence being tampered with via “edited” legal narrative being provided to my legal representatives (if you could call back stabbers that), and the threatening of my family who witnessed the torture and kidnapping (in fact provided material support for it).
Was I a “patient”? No, fact. I managed to bev=come a “referred person” but was examined by a psychiatrst who could find no mental illness. Now consider that statement along with the Procuring of a person not suffering from a mental illness? How do we know I wasn’t suffering from a mental illness, is is documented. Was the Form 1 “false or wreckless as to the truth”, oh yes. Though it wold seem my complaint about being tortured and kidnapped is considered an illness by the people who tortured and kidnapped me. Nothing to do with their conduct of course, and more to do with the chemical imbalance caused by their conduct that wasn’t their until they released me for not having a chemical imbalance.
Activists? They have assisted in concealment of these methds of abuse, because the law gets in the way of getting drugs into inconvenient truths. Yes, the laws need to be scrapped because they don’t work anyway. These criminals do what they want and their enablers assist in further abuses until the victims commit suicide and they can use those deaths to ask for more money and resources.
At least if the public were aware that arbitrary detentions and forced drugging for opinions not sanctioned by the State were occurring we would at least not be surprised when it is done, like I was. Totally shocked because of the people that died for the liberties I thought we enjoyed, written away by the Cheif Psychiatrist with negligence and a pen.
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1) By “our community” you mean people who have been psychiatrically labeled, often coercively. To refer to ourselves as “mad” is accepting that psychiatry defines us; also that some people are “mad” and others aren’t. If everyone is “mad” then the term is meaningless. The only thing “special” about being saddled with a psych label is the sharing of a particular variety of oppression, which is nothing to celebrate or take “pride” in; it is something to rage about and organize to defeat.
2) There are many components of abolition. A sweeping decree is rarely what people mean, since the system will never outlaw one of the institutions designed to prop it up. And abolition has NOTHING to do with the “right of two people to get together.” Bonnie Burstow used to speak of “attrition” as a strategy but I believe that’s too passive an approach. However, even speaking of strategy is premature until the goal is agreed upon — in this case until people understand that psychiatry cannot be “reformed,” and serves only oppressive and destructive ends. Once we have defined our goals more clearly we can move on to strategy.
Immediately, psychiatry should be delegitimized as a field of medicine; all coercive interventions must be eliminated; and all state support for psychiatry should be ended. It’s inherent contradictions should be thoroughly exposed. At that point psychiatry will collapse, as it depends on state support as well as public acceptance.
Psychiatry’s ONLY purpose is social control. The ONLY purpose of any “movement” should be its abolition.
c) I don’t think we would be able to have an intelligent discussion of capitalism here; however you sort of force the issue when you talk about “revolution.” Rather than appropriate such romantic-sounding terms without having a common definition it would be better to be specific.
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Some of us are disabled. Either with legitimate physical problems doctors brushed off as “severe mental illness.” Or crippled by the “treatments.” Drugs, shocks, and psycho-surgeries….
But I agree with you about “mad” not being a real thing. David Oaks kind of goes into that.
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We need more collective actions! Duh!
We are the 100,000 %. I really enjoyed normality screening, David. I’d like to see more of that kind of thing taking place. I think the red nose suits me. I wouldn’t mind donning a wig to match. Perhaps if we opened a Non-Normal Academy we could engineer the kind of world we want to see. Normality is a symptom of intolerance, and that is certainly something that the world doesn’t need an excess of.
That’s a fine looking support team you have there. If the rest of us had something like that, how could we lose? I’d like to see more resistance to the system organized on a massive scale, and for that kind of thing to take off, we’re going to have to work together as a team.
The turtle and the hare, yeah, that sort of thing. With the right strategy, the future is ours. We could work on applying strategy a little.
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Once the COVID pandemic starts waning, of course.
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Nice seeing your supportive comment here. Thanks, friend!
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Thanks for sharing David your amazing and inspirational story of your survival all best wishes to you
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I have to agree, the scientific fraud based psychiatric, primarily paternalistic child abuse covering up, iatrogenic illness creating disability system, is likely taking billions away from the accident, or maybe even a not yet proven – but real “genetic” induced, or vaccine induced – disability system.
Since the psych drugs do create the symptoms of the two “most serious mental illnesses.” A problem, to which the “mental health professionals,” are still not confessing. Which does make this a serious societal problem. Great comment, anomie.
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I’m surprised you didn’t mention your recent Piss on Pity screening. I listened to it, it was interesting. My best wishes to you, David, you’re a survivor, and thriver, kudos. And thank you for all your activism.
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Thanks, aciu for feedback. Yes, I very much enjoyed being on both panels for the virtual screening of Piss On Pity. In fact, my watching this flick for a second time to be ready helped inspire my recent blog on Mad In America about Mad Pride disability.
The web stream of the doc and panels was 3 days before the blog was published by MIA.
Folks who missed the showing can rent Piss On Pity which you can read about on their website here: https://www.pissonpitymovie.com/
I rented the flick on Vimeo.
Another great flick on the disability movement, that just came out recently, is Crip Camp which I highly recommend and is on Netflix.
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“Shield is a campaign to support individuals who are expressing concerns about their involuntary psychiatric procedures, issuing human rights alerts that encourage action, similar to pressure campaigns by Amnesty International.”
Can you say a little more about this David? I contacted Amnesty Int regarding the use of known torture methods by my government and all they could suggest was that they didn’t get involved at an individual level, and would I like to contribute a donation or collect money for them in shopping centres. Seemed a bit strange to me given I had provided them with the documented proof of the torture. In fact I have had quite a bit to say about people who claim to be ‘activists’ in this area who seem to capitulate to any authority who threatens them or their families. Police telling me that unless the people who have been threatened by police report the matter to police then their is nothing they can do. Same goes for the torture, they refuse to accept the documents, and show no respect for the law and they’re good to go. In the meantime their ‘friendlies’ at the hospital can sort the matter out via the abuses of psychiatry.
In fact I think that the citizens of my State would be shocked at how whistleblowers are being dealt with in Emergency Depts. Lucky there isn’t anyone prepared to stand up and speak truth to power. Speaking the truth here is not only a revolutionary act, it can get you unintentionaly negatively outcomed.
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For the past few months, I have been on several teleconferences by MindFreedom International to help retool their Shield campaign. Any day now, MindFreedom will probably be announcing changes. I do not know exactly when, I recommend watching their website and Facebook page.
The new Shield campaign will investigate and put out alerts to support folks who report involuntary psych procedures. Plus, there will be a great new patch with a unique design to celebrate this campaign.
All of this is for anyone, whether or not they are a member of MindFreedom, but I highly recommend that folks be current members. Just go to their website and click on “Donate.”
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Thanks for the reply david.
I hope that an announcement can be made here as to what changes are made, and how others can assist those who find themselves the subject of torture programs being enabled by ‘democracy’s’ under the guise of medicine. At least if the names of the doctors signing off on these torture programs are published we might start to build a picture of the areas where action can be taken.
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David,
Thanks for the article and your devotion to activism, and support for others.
I am totally amazed by your ability to memorize cards, wondering if that could serve you in a casino? 🙂
And if you did win, I doubt I’d buy that cat a better brand of catfood. They say cat’s have nine lives, perhaps because humans risk theirs for the fur balls lol.
I’m wondering how psychiatry looks at you now? Post accident? I’m wondering if physical limitations that can be seen, makes it less likely to get “diagnosed”? It seems they like to try and cause disability in the healthy.
I personally think that an organization has an obligation to expose the dangers of drugs. We know that some people “benefit”, but we also know that the position of the people who make those claims can drastically change and often too late.
“For now, I will point out that calling someone a name they do not want is labeling. Asking for a diagnosis from a pro you trust, willingly, ain’t labeling.”
I don’t think most people ever asked for a label or EVEN a “diagnosis”.
Everyone that ever went to a shrink willingly, went there for Life pains, and understanding them and what actions or help and support there were. They were people interested in gaining tools to live better.
They made the unknowing mistake that psychiatrists are and never were the “counselors”, or the “help” that they advertised to be.
Most consumers heard the word “mental health” and thought, Wow, I can use some of that (WHICH was very nice of them btw, to try and improve)
And I warn all young people now against that advert of “mental health”. Ohh and of course the word “stigma”
Your passion is evident and I am glad to see your continuation of work. Lord knows it ain’t easy.
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“For now, I will point out that calling someone a name they do not want is labeling. Asking for a diagnosis from a pro you trust, willingly, ain’t labeling.”
Actually that grabs my attention, and for reasons that might not be obvious to people who have willingly attended a psychiatrist/mental health professional.
In my situation I really had no choice but to attend a psychiatrist for a report for my lawyers due to a workplace incident. That report was provided along with two others by my employers doctors (the first diagnosis didn’t suit their defence lawyers so they got a known ‘hatchet’ to do a report for them). The matter was resolved and we went on our merry ways, or so I thought. This rather expensive clinic that did the report for me decided to release the strictly confidential diagnosis done by my doctor to the public system despite the protections of the Privacy Act (what they call HIPPA in the US?).
So at that point I am being snatched out of my bed because of some report done by a doctor for a very specific purpose, and which was legally bound. The conditions under which that information was released known to be criminal by the hospital staff receiving it, but they are regularly ‘fuking destroying’ anyone who they snatch from their beds and torture anyway. I went from a fine French restaurant to being locked in the cage with the cows at the slaughterhouse lol. All that while drugged without my knowledge and having police induce an “acute stress reaction” (read code for torture by police before interrogation by mental health)
This private clinic releasing this information have some rather high profile clients who might be a little upset knowing their personal and private information is being dealt with in such a manner. Especially when the information being released was produced as a means to an end, and NOT an end in itself.
Luckily the private clinic has ‘friends in high places’ who can use their position to ensure that the victims lawyers throw their client under the bus. I’m sure a you scratch my back approach is always best when such people are involved.
So I didn’t know what this diagnosis was, or even that it existed until I got the public records showing where that ‘diagnosis’ came from, and that my Privacy had been breached by the clinic. I mean I get it that the psychologist who released that information did it on a ‘just between you and me’ basis, knowing it was criminal. But with a psychiatrist husband she doesn’t really have a lot of worries, they are ‘disposing’ of any problems in the ED. And let me say the particular Doc who owns the clinic isn’t someone you would want to make an enemy of in this town.
Imagine a private clinic makes a telephone call to a public hospital and lays claim to a citizen as a “patient”, informs them they have arranged for the citizen to be ‘spiked’ with benzos and planted a knife on them when they collapsed to obtain a police referral and make detention appear lawful? I believe these are called “remotes”? Though strictly speaking a “remote” is done with a “patient” and not someone who has no doctor patient relationship with the person arranging the kidnapping.
Still, my life destroyed as a result of me not getting what I paid for (my right to have these matters sorted out without having people slander me publically, or give me a ‘label’ I did not want), me ‘living on the edge’ daily, I guess it will all sort itself out in the end. Maybe the hot shot in the ED wasn’t a bad idea after all. Maybe this method of the State dealing with their victims of torture is actually ‘for the best’. Because let me say having your whole community turn their backs on you out of fear of being next is just disgusting to me. I hear people talking about being seperated from their families for a few weeks as a result of the COVID pandemic. I haven’t seen my daughter and grandchildren for 10 years as a result of the needs of the State and some private cilinic to conceal the fact they tortured me. I was impressed how quickly they could leave a man who lived in his home with his wife and family to a person left on the street by police in nothing but the clothes he stood in (and a few documents that for some reason I knew were important) because he complained about being tortured and kidnapped. And of course I need to be denied any of my human rights now as a result of pointing out that the State was about to put fraudulent documents into the Federal Courts knowingly. I should have considered my postition more carefully there, thinking they would do the right thing and not double down on the crimes. I can’t help but wonder how many dead were the victims of these corrupt public officials who you people trust with your loved ones.
And not a soul who looks bothers to come back and say No Boans because …… as it’s true what i’m saying. They just maintain the fraud and slander put forward by these criminals, and continue to ‘gaslight’ me I assume in the hope that I will do what Dr “i’m the boss around here” failed to complete in the ED. I guess in this sense I understand why they are in need of more resources and money if they are spending their time concealing their criminality in this manner, that can’t be cheap (though I did get the impression that the doctor who was going to unintentionally negatively outcome me in the ED actually enjoyed a bit of thinking he was Dexter. Possibly the meth problem he seemed to be suffering from? You should get that checked Doc).
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Asking for a diagnosis from a pro you trust, willingly, ain’t labeling.
Of course it is! Trust has nothing to do with it.
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Certainly, many folks who receive a psych diagnosis get this kind of slapped on us. We are often fraudulently told these labels are scientific. That happened to me. I well remember sitting face-to-face with a psychiatrist at McLean Psychiatric Hospital, and being told falsely that my label of “schizophrenia” meant a lifetime of psych drugs for chemical imbalance. Lie!
But, some individuals, I do not know exactly how many, willingly accept nomenclature from the licensed pro about their challenges. Certainly, I have done this personally when I experienced severe PTSD after breaking my neck.
Once again, the real issue is human rights. We need to focus on choice and empowerment. That is the real line between labeling and voluntary diagnosis.
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Very glad to hear you’re doing as well as you are, David, and keep up the good work! I’m on the MindFreedom email list, but aside from an occasional email, MF may as well not even exist for me. I have to agree with (some of) what “oldhead” says above in his comment. I reject the whole “mad pride” and “revolution” rhetoric. And i strongly support the idea that NORMAL is simply what most people are most of the time, more or less. So i am both normal, and abnormal, BOTH. Also, i strongly reject Alinsky as the un-American and anti-American “domestic enemy” which i believe him to be. Let Alinsky rot on the scrap-heap of history along with other mistakes such as the dual FRAUDS of Freud & the pseudoscience of psychiatry. I do NOT self-identify as a so-called “psychiatric survivor”, because i do not want to give any undeserved legitimacy to the lies of the pseudoscience drug racket known as psychiatry. And, unlike “oldhead”, i have no real issue with the basic ideas or existence of so-called “capitalism”, which was created by the same folks who created socialism, communism, fascism, democracy, libertarianism, and capitalism. The only “ism” i support and endorse is AMERICANISM. i was in 10th grade when my parents first took me to a psychiatrist, who gave me a bogus “diagnosis” (stigma-label), and an Rx prescription for neuro-toxic drugs. The next 20+ years of my life were WASTED by the lies of the pseudoscience drug racket and social control mechanism called “psychiatry”. I’ve been 100% psychiatry-free for well over 20 years now. Thank GOD! I’m a non-sectarian Protestant Buddhist Christian, and i’m very comfortable in that belief system. So, while i’m truly very glad to see you doing so well, and glad to see you back here at MiA, i also see NO PLACE for me in your “movement”, or whatever you call “it”. BTW, no, there are NO typos in this comment. Maybe your world of “no normal” is my “dystopian nightmare”? RSVP????….(i grant MiA permission to give you my email….)….
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I’m a non-sectarian Protestant Buddhist Christian, and i’m very comfortable in that belief system
OK thanks for clearing that up. 🙂
I actually volunteered for my first shrink visit around the same age, I thought he would surely tell my mother she was crazy…I probably shouldn’t have dropped the acid before I went.
Anyway I’m thinking of making T-Shirts simply saying “Fuck the New Normal” or (even more subversive) “Unmask!”
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I will buy that T-shirt and wear it, IF it says to “fuck the old “normal” as well”.
In fact, “fuck normal” will do, in which case, no one is getting screwed.
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There could be a variant version that says “Fuck the New Normal” ABOVE “Fuck the Old Normal.”
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HAHAHA, seriously it’s a money maker.
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I’d buy those T-shirts.
I got a T-shirt made to commemorate an Asylum release. The front said “I SURVIVED AHE” (The initials for the one state hospital) and “WELCOME TO PONOKA” on the back. (Ponoka is the other Asylum for our province.)
Wore it proudly back to group therapy. Very angry staff. My disorder was really acting up that day. hahaha.
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Yay! good job. It doesn’t take much to get those worker ants angry. It’s the oddest thing. I think their “disorder” was acting up. Or perhaps not active enough.
It’s really a hard job for them, I get it, the pretenses etc, but why won’t they leave then?
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My disorder was really acting up that day.
Or, as they say in the business, “Acting Out.”
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Totally OK if any particular group does not float your boat. But I would ask a question: What group do you suggest folks become active with? What I have seen a lot in the USA is isolation, thinking that somehow as an individual we are going to change things. But the reality is it is often organized groups of folks that challenge problems and change them. I remember the old saying:
Lead, follow, or get out of the way!
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If this is directed to me I’m not currently at liberty to comment.
More soon. 🙂
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No, my immediately previous comment was not responding to anything from you. A comment talked about not identifying as a psych survivor with Mad Pride, etc. My reply is not “directed” at anyone. Each of us chooses our own path. But rather than hearing mainly what groups and folks NOT to align with, I am curious what groups, small or large, are recommended. I am honestly curious.
Certainly we need lone wolves such as artists and writers. But if we mainly say NO to any group, are there any we say YES to?
If not, what steps are recommended to create one?
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More is happening already than you might realize. MIA comment sections are not exactly the venue for internal “survivor” discussions.
On a more general level, the “reform vs. abolition” debate is a recurring theoretical theme at MIA, and should not be seen as personal.
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Artists can be more than lone wolves, depending on the extent one wishes to collaborate or go solo. The idea of creating art is constantly up for discussion as to what Art might be. And to go beyond prevailing belief systems, can be a challenge if one’s efforts are dismissed. I am curious in a similar way, though to wrestle with the thinking, a certain way of discovering my and even our reality, to the extent my intuitive skills can be realized in a visual or performance language as Art. I would ask the readers at what point, or if you have ever considered yourself(s) as Art in motion? I am not sure if i/We really chooses our path, when one has been forced into the experience of a mental hospital or the process to realize how an organizational structure can embrace diversity as unity. Some happened to land here on a raft, later a boat, the imagery being quite relevant when one ponders the meaning of freight on board, the process by which transport needs to be energized along with democracy as a measure of distilling better truths.
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see: https://www.courier-journal.com/story/news/local/2020/06/12/king-louis-xvi-statue-vandalized-downtown-louisville-3-arrested/3176827001/
After being introduced to our Liberation Day, courtesy of Mind Freedom, went to work within Kentucky’s advocacy efforts, even realizing a City Resolution about Bastille Day. With the other statues falling, do we send the piece back to France and create a new work? In visiting with some of the protesters I would attempt to engage around the concept of sovereign, as in their life, or the nature of the We, as in citizen. So, far the right hand was broken off with other smaller efforts to deface the piece. Louisville has had a strong hand surgeon and as such, I wonder if the doctors might craft an electronic hand to be attached, that becomes active when a citizen walks up to the work. Maybe the hand could play with a yo-yo or something to awaken the crowd to a sense of awe and wonder? Why allow Disney to attract the wait in line or the pill station to serve up, “wait in line” mentality. And if NARPA is not meeting in Portland this year, what are your suggestions for the in-between period?
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RE: your comment about leading, following, getting the hell out of the way in a world now where the information flow can short out the neural synapses. So, with a technology that is being pushed to be more flexible in a world that may not understand huge groups can network seems to be part of the problem if not the solution. In realizing the march on Washington, there was one former football player who would provide the time and motion studies to know approximately the expense of time aligned with deployment.
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Your creds were never lost, brah. I’m glad you’ve taken the time to rest and heal. Mad activism matters, but so does your life. Happy to see your return to MIA!
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Thanks much for your support for my journey. Please note that on my website for my personal blog, on the right, is a form to sign up for a free occasionally notice about my activities. Just go to http://www.davidwoaks.com. Thanks again!
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Also, one reader prefers to listen to a podcast and told me about a nifty site to convert blog to synthesized speech. I added this to my blog when I placed it today on my personal site. Now you can listen or read my blog here:
http://davidwoaks.com/re-establishing-my-credentials
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Lovely response
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Many of us will disagree with some of David Oaks anti-psychiatry strategies; and in these comments, they already have. But I want to give credit to what David Oaks has done. In 1987 the Network Against Psychiatric Assault in Berkeley, California had died and Madness Network News was a dying newspaper in its last year of life. David Oaks took Madness Network News’s information to Eugene, Oregon and created a new newspaper: ” Dendron ” . After a few years, Dendron became Mind Freedom International, a World Wide, anti-psychiatry, e-mail newsletter; so that the International Anti-Psychiatry Network, once only a paper list of A.P. organizations in Madness Network News, now became a list available on the Internet to the whole World. And Mind Freedom International still exists to this day, 33 years later, thanks to David Oaks and others. I am also very glad to hear that David found a new director for M.F.I. , psych. survivor Ron Bassman of Colorado. I am very sorry about your accident in 2012, David. I am glad to see that M.F.I. has a new future; although the USA is now in very dire straights.
I also liked this comment:
Nonetheless “survivors” are not “mad” and we should not identify that way, or as any sort of “special” group. (Though we should be angry!) Nor are we “disabled.” As more and more survivors are concluding, he only movement which truly addresses the needs and issues of survivors is the ANTI-PSYCHIATRY ABOLITIONIST movement.
First I would like to correct one part: ANTI-PSYCHIATRY ABOLITIONIST movement is actually a double negative. I think you mean the ABOLITIONISTS OF PSYCHIATRY MOVEMENT. Then, when you say we are not disabled; I wish that were true. If any of us could ever come out of a locked psychiatric prison and be perfectly free of ALL disability: physical or mental in any way, shape, or form; then what could we ever complain about; except lost time ? THE DISABILITY IS REAL. Yes, it’s hard to face; but we have to try to repair the damage and then move on. Of course we will never be all the way repaired; but the disability label shouldn’t bother us; because we, ex-prisoners of the World’s psychiatric prisons, are not to blame. We never had a choice. The responsibility for disability is 100% upon the Psychiatric Dope Pushers.
When David Oaks asks, ” What is the path to this ” abolition ” ? I’m reminded of Charlton Heston’s statement in ” The Ten Commandments ” . ” It would take more than a man to free these people. It would take a God. But if I could; I would. ” I say it is no small task; but abolition is what we should fight for.
In response to this section of David’s article:
Unfortunately, I have even seen a leader of a disability Independent Living Center falsely say, repeatedly, that MindFreedom pushes people to quit psychiatric drugs. Wrong. In fact, there are many MFI members who willingly choose to take prescribed psychiatric drugs, and they have told me they feel totally comfortable and accepted.
I liked ” anomie’s ” comment. :
This is particularly misleading because the science of these drugs and the outcome data don’t support this narrative. While a minority of individual accounts may report benefits, the overall statistics show massive amounts of disability and even death with these drugs. This is similar to people stating that not everyone gets cancer from cigarettes, therefore we shouldn’t advocate against smoking.
And my response is that we in this abolitionist movement, should be proud to pressure, or rather encourage, people to go off their psychiatric drugs. Of course, psych. drug victims need support too, to come off drugs.
David made this comment.:
A while back, someone lamented that we did not seem to be accomplishing much. I recalled an individual who was spared forced shock because our movement swung into action. Certainly for that single individual, our movement helped so much.
And I want to add that I do believe that in the last half century; the anti-psychiatry movement hasn’t accomplished nearly what it should have. But David Oak’s Mind Freedom Shield program freed some people who were in very great danger from the Psychiatric System. And I say that what we get out of the Movement totally depends upon the energy we put into the Movement.
Lastly, I say that I am very happy to see all these anti-psychiatry activists on this site. But, I have wanted for years to see a greater presence of all ex-prisoner anti-psych. groups on the Internet. But, alas the whole movement has fallen on hard times. Drug company Trolls are all over the Internet; trying to destroy us. And now the new Plandemic ( Search for ” Event 201 featuring Johns Hopkins School of Public Health ? ” ) followed by the real Outbreak threatens our whole World. I just hope our movement can survive.
yours truly,
Roger Fuller , member of the Network Against Psychiatric Assault from
1978 to 1984
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First I would like to correct one part: ANTI-PSYCHIATRY ABOLITIONIST movement is actually a double negative.
LOL actually you’re right, I was just trying to double down, to emphasize that to be truly anti-psychiatry is to be abolitionist.
If any of us could ever come out of a locked psychiatric prison and be perfectly free of ALL disability: physical or mental in any way, shape, or form; then what could we ever complain about; except lost time ? THE DISABILITY IS REAL.
You are talking about psychiatry-induced disability, not “mental disability/illness.” Some who survive psychiatric torture might also qualify for the disability rights movement at that point, but they are more akin to political prisoners.
I also agree that David did a good job trying to hold together the frayed ends of the movement when it was attacked and destroyed by opportunists and shrinks in the mid 80’s.
Now many of us are poised to go back to our true anti-psychiatry roots and pick up where the movement left off back then. I wish I could say more. Shortly I will. Thanks for your post. And please hang around a bit. Psychiatry must go!
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” Lost in Juarez and it’s Easter time too “. And probably if I had two decks of cards I might remember how to play koluki like my mother taught me or else remember the first five cards of one of the decks for just over 30 seconds. But not to worry the idiot savant factor sometimes kicks in and it feels like I’m back on a roll again. Plandemic sure enough , I turn around , Event 201 and it’s Billy Gates in the center of the action again . Who really is that guy and what is he really up to ? Could it be Philanthro-Piracy ? And besides what do we do ?
And yeah David W. Oaks freedom fighting activist . I’ve always admired your ability to keep within
that peaceful non-violent center much like the greats MLK and Gandhi .
Today one of the most capable activists in the world , with a plan to lead humanity realistically to a positive future, and deserving our support ,is without a doubt Vandana Shiva . Search for her videos on YouTube Vandana Shiva ” We Must Fight Back Against the 1 Percent to Stop the Sixth Mass Extinction “. Dr. Vandana Shiva ” Why We Need an Organic Future” (NOFA-VT 2017 Keynote Address) There no such thing as seeing too many videos of Vandana Shiva . Her talks in the tradition of Gandhi are the most clarifying about what is going on in our time and what really we can do about it .
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I turn around , Event 201 and it’s Billy Gates in the center of the action again . Who really is that guy and what is he really up to ? Could it be Philanthro-Piracy ?
Something’s happening here and we don’t know what it is, do we Mr. Jones? At least I don’t, not completely, at least not just yet.
Yes, Gates & Fauci, looking more & more like a marriage made in hell.
While this COVID shit is a distinct issue from anti-psychiatry, the specter of future forced drugging of the population with “vaccines” is yet another related issue. We don’t know for sure how crazy or dystopian they are planning to get or what the agenda around this “virus” thing may be; one thing for sure is that that soon there will be too many workers and not enough work to go around, so to the ruling class a number of workers will soon become…”useless eaters.” Probably just a coincidence.
Good to see you checking in Fred, I thought this seemed like a likely occasion for a post from you. You “6th Extinction” people are everywhere lately — judging from some of her previous comments Anomie & you should talk. 🙂
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Something more immediate also related to this Covid19 is the relentless pushing labels and drugs on people who feel lonely and desperate from physical isolation and job loss.
Psychiatry continues to do its dirty work and remains fully operational when everything else but Covid19 services are shut down.
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As Steve alluded to previously, did isolation and job loss trigger chemical imbalances in people, which are in turn causing their “mental illness”? Because I thought “it” has nothing to do with life circumstances, it’s all biochemical, right?
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It is 100% hereditary too. The reason it’s not only just but compassionate for society–led by the shrinks–to treat the “mentally ill” like pieces of garbage is we’re subhuman genetic throwbacks/monsters. Not really human like the “normals” and the shrinks.
Must have mutated their DNA. Kind of like green, radioactive sludge in those old Saturday morning cartoons. Real SCIENCE folks!
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“We don’t know for sure how crazy or dystopian they are planning to get or what the agenda around this “virus” thing may be; one thing for sure is that that soon there will be too many workers and not enough work to go around, so to the ruling class a number of workers will soon become…”useless eaters.” Probably just a coincidence.”
Well I don’t know if this means anything but they keep running this where I live:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z2_dhUv_CrI
Pretty sure those squiggly lines are meant to represent the effects of mass psychiatric drugging…but hey maybe I’m just a conspiracy theorist.
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Thanks much for your feedback! First, in terms of accuracy, you use quote marks around the word “acceptable” but actually I never used the word “acceptable” in my blog. My point was that a disability leader falsely claimed that MindFreedom activists were pushing verbally for someone to quit their drugs, making him uncomfortable. They did not point to any evidence that this specific incident happened, it appears to be a misinterpretation.
Honestly, of course, the vast majority of activists I know in the radical psychiatric survivor movement choose NOT to take psych drugs, and discussing the facts about those drugs can certainly lead some folks to decide not to take them.
But this is not pushing, prodding, coercing anyone falsely to quit anything. To repeat, many people I know are comfortable in our movement and choose to take psych drugs.
Quick ending story: Preparing for the MindFreedom hunger strike, we had a long dinner and at the end someone proposed “hugs not drugs” as a motto. All over the table were empty bottles and glasses from our enjoying various beverages. I think we need to refocus more than ever on the human rights aspects. If someone personally decides to take a prescribed substance, that is their personal and private right.
We all can get out the word about difficulties with these substances, we can promote alternatives, but we should be careful not to push, prod, shame.
Again, I have seen CHOICE emphasized over and over in our movement. Yes, a few folks do push, prod, shame others… But overall, folks in our movement have been very tolerant of a wide spread diversity in belief systems.
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“Shaming” people is different from responsibly and unequivocally stating that psychiatric neurotoxins are uniformly destructive, are used as tools of social control, and have no medical legitimacy.
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The problem is that they’re “prescribed”. The illegality of drugs without prescriptions, and throwing people in prison or back in the ward for such “offenses” (even if such an “offense” is to protect oneself from psychiatry and its adherents) simply ensures a person is back in the system without any escape.
There are questions associated with that of course: “If we legalise drugs, what if people misuse them? What if they don’t have apt knowledge about how they work? It HAS to be supervised”.
The problem is once that supervision has been received, the mental health system and its patient population never get out of your life. People are literally forced back into that world even if they want nothing to do with it. Everyone here knows what that means.
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Nagging someone to come off her or his drugs without a support system or decent tapering advice is a bad thing.
Even though I wish everyone could live drug free I know many won’t since going off is painful and demanding. And you need to do your homework and find a place you can hide if you’re a busy long term psych consomme.
(Psychiatric Consomme. My new word instead of their word “Consumer.” Never did like it even when I was one.)
A friend of mine is in AOT because she didn’t call me for information and just went cold turkey during lockdown before freaking out in her apartment and going to the psych ward. Again.
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Thanks. Briefly, several of the comments from psych survivors, create a distance from the disability movement. But you see, many of the leading, wonderful thinkers in the disability movement challenge “labeling” in ways very similar to us: ultimately, labels of disability have a major part created by society.
If someone in a wheelchair cannot enter a building with only stairs available, then is not the building itself “ramp disabled”? There is a lot more to say, but my main point is this:
True social change movements need to link up with other justice movements for “one big movement.”
Yes, even in the physical disability movement, each individual creates and chooses their own unique path. One person’s perspective on their own challenges, is very different from the next person.
Empowerment, choice, human rights ought to unite us all. I am proud to be a psych survivor with Mad Pride and I am proud to be a quad with Dis Pride!
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“Linking up” is different than conflating. The anti-psychiatry movement should always be open to coalitions and alliances with other movements and organizations, in this case the disability rights movement. But to call them the same thing is simply inaccurate, and probably harmful to both. From the psych side of things this lends credence to the misperception that people with psych labels are disabled, and that “mental illness” is real, which is exactly the kind of thing we are trying to expose as a myth and a lie. Psychiatry has nothing to do with medicine, or with disability (other than creating it), and should stop being regarded as though it does. We can’t fight something without a clear understanding of what it is we’re fighting.
So you are wearing two hats now, which is admirable. But there’s a reason there are two hats and not one, and it’s important both politically and analytically to distinguish between the two. I am simply trying to stay true to and advance the understanding put forth in the 1982 Toronto Principles that the psychiatric system cannot be reformed and must be abolished.
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Just a point that I got thinking about one day then my head started to hurt.
Our Shadow Minister for Mental Health was the first openly gay man to marry in this country on the steps of Parliament House. I got to thinking that this guy was old enough to remember when he would have been ‘treated’ for his ‘illness’ by psychiatrists some years ago with a chemical castration and ECTs until his head hurt. There would probably have been gangs waiting outside Parliament for him to come out who would have beaten him senseless with baseball bats, and if he had reported that to police he probably would have received a second beating and a few tazer belts to the testicles.
My how things have changed, and I was glad to see this man in the position he found himself. I don’t think he would have been as accommodating as the person who has taken over that role, and who is providing Docs with whatever they request (possibly as a result of them having a bit of inside dirt on him).
I guess what i’m saying is that certainly gay people have managed in one generation to bring the system around and now have what might be considered human rights. They used to be treated as bad as our Aboriginal population, which I know wouldn’t mean a lot to you guys because we’re really good at concealing how badly we treat these people. (see John Pilger for an expose on how bad things still are) And they have made virtually no ground in the years they have been considered human (1967 – last week).
I guess what i’d say is that while we might look to the gay pride movement and think ‘we could use that method’, I don’t feel that that is the way forward. Though it may create an alliance and allow others who have managed to rise above to positions of power to provide some assistance to us knowing who and what it is we’re fighting against. Or have they simply slowed the gravy train enough to get on as Desmond Tutu said of the ANC?
Not unlike the young woman who ensured that the ‘paper trail’ back to the Clinical Director for the fraudulent documents sent to my lawyers did. She couldn’t stand up and say anything (she would end up being ‘treated’ rather than have a job), but she could ensure that should anyone look they would know who the fraudster was. The ‘Internal Memo’ points a finger directly at him, though i’m sure the way they set it up it was meant to look like the ‘black girl in the office mistake’. It’s a rich white male thing we use on occassion, knowing that people will jump from A to C and not consider B as an option lol Blame the rich white male Doctor when there’s a perfecly good young black female scapegoat in the office glad to have a job?
Not that anyone gives a damn about a hospital Clinical Director sending fraudulent documents to a Law Centre to conceal human rights abuses. Anyone care to look? Calling all activists, and after ten years of calling to an uncaring community I find myself wondering. Is this sort of conduct really so common we don’t even give a damn anymore? How many people have documents proving this type of conduct on the part of a Clinical Director? Not rumours etc, but actual documented proof? If that’s the case then put it forward, please. Because I have put these documents in front of some people who have a duty to act, and have failed miserably in that duty. A Chief Psychiatrist who has no option but to neglect his duty under the Mental Health Act because he can’t manipulate the outcome (and conceal the offences) any other way? Happens all the time, and we have proof of those crimes coming out of our ears Boans.
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David in full support We can We will We must form a Strong Support System more so than ever confront the total madness of The Power Cabal. My personal & professional journey since January of 1971 all this has made me aware and focused to continue to address the evil forces of The Power Cabal top of the pack He is so delusional with his power and wealth he wants to vaccinate the entire planet. Love & Peace
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To oldhead: Yes, I was talking about ” psychiatric drug-induced disability “. The term “mental illness” is frequently slapped on people all the time with no medical or scientific basis. So just because I believe that mental illness is real doesn’t mean that I believe putting the label on people with no basis is O.K. It’s not. When Dr. Thomas Szaz wrote the book : ” Law, Liberty, and Psychiatry ” in 1963; he wrote that real mental illness occurs when a person has Organic Brain Damage; but that is a very rare thing. But if we fast forward to today; we now have 100 million victims of Psychiatric Assault, Worldwide, according to CCHR ( a group formed by Szaz and Scientology ) and therefore I say we have a great deal of real mental illness but for the vast majority of those 100 million; it is all psychiatric drug induced mental illness. This is THE great crime of the 20th and 21st centuries.
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When Dr. Thomas Szaz wrote the book : ” Law, Liberty, and Psychiatry ” in 1963; he wrote that real mental illness occurs when a person has Organic Brain Damage;
I’ll bet a nickel though that if you check the text Szasz didn’t use the phrase “real mental illness” to describe organic brain damage, he more likely said something like “real brain damage” or “real neurological pathology.” The point being that the “mind” is an abstraction with no physical qualities (including the possibility of disease); it is the BRAIN — a tangible, material organ — which is harmed by psychiatric neurotoxins. So they don’t create “mental” illness, they cause actual brain damage.
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TBI and Lyme’s Disease are real brain problems. But not mental.
I am sure I have real brain problems now along with several other medical problems. All iatrogenic.
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The only psychotherapist I ever had (very intelligent, much integrity, now gone) once reassured me that “we all have a little brain damage.”
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“Label jars, not people!”
I wish someone had given me a label like they put on jars, rather than the ones I received.
At least those ones can usually be removed.
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Well put TAFL.
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Thanks sam.
I think I look better with a Campbell’s Soup label frankly..
At least Andy Warhol might have made something of me then, lol, always wanted to sit for a portrait!
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A lot of shrinks are horrible “artists,” yet they must pride themselves for the portraits they create.
I remember “sitting” for that one, the humiliation that I felt. So naked. Something nasty happened there. Like incest, rape.
And at the time, I never understood how she heaped her inferior feelings into assaults.
It has made me realize how utterly harmed they must be.
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Everybody else gets a good new label, and what do I get? The Nut jar lol. Nobbys Nuts waaahahaha
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I’ve never heard of Nobby’s Nuts so I googled it…. This is the first thing that came up.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1DBhRyWD4wk
hahahahaha.
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LMAO! You “crack” me up.
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Not sure why you’re complaining boans ba ha ha
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You know it’s funny but I’ve never really been bothered by the ‘nuts’ label. My claim when I put the documents I have down in front of someone who has a high level eductaion was that I would assist these criminals in their slandering of me if they wished. But that it doesn’t change the truth.
Many of my ‘heroes’ have been called ‘insane’, ‘mad’ and what not throughout history, but time has shown who were the mad ones, and where it hasn’t then we need to wait.
Where are the voices of those who said Noah was mad for building a boat because it was going to rain? I can’t hear them, and if I did I certainly wouldn’t be admitting it.
Whats that Moses, a burning bush spoke to you? Just wait there while I get the local constabulary to have you delivered to the Voodoo doctor for treatment.
Psychiatry is God leading the mad astray, and their insanity is being projected onto others and they profit from that insanity. What happens when the lunatics take over the asylum? I’m afraid history provides an answer to that too.
I guess where I hear slanderous labels I get the feeling that there is more going on that people want silenced. People being tested as to who is best in conduct, and it can be unfortunate when those who our community has trusted are corrupted by the trappings of this world and forget about where they are heading.
I’ve found that it is not possible to make agreements with anyone as a result of it being the modus operandii these days to use trust to exploit the vulnerable. And watching that cancer spread throughout my community makes me want to leave, all the ‘organs’ now riddled.
There seems no doubt to me that slander and fraud are serious matters. And what I have seen from the authorities in my State is that is all they have to defend their disgusting behaviour towards someone who did nothing more than not wish to be tortured and kidnapped. Fine, as long as they realise the consequences of taking that path. Because the Emperor really does have no clothes, and we’re all talking about it behind his back (and so he sets up a surveillance system the likes of which we have never seen). I get it that we’re all afraid of telling him because he would likely have us unintentionally negatively outcomed so…….keep right on calling me names. It’s not my nuts people are talking about behind my back lol
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“And watching that cancer spread throughout my community makes me want to leave, all the ‘organs’ now riddled. ”
Yeah boans you need to get out of there, with the Euthanasia Act it’s far too scary…
Come to Canada, where we like to dress in forties clothing so that when the gestapo comes after us in the night we’ll fit right in with the reenactment…and did I mention we have maple syrup here?
Thought about calling the local psych holding tank when they snatched someone I know and playing Vera Lynn’s “We’ll Meet Again”…got to make sure everything is accurate
Or maybe I’ll call one of my old psychiatrists about my reparations and sing the “antipsych version” of the Jessica Rabbit version of Why Don’t You do Right ( tune here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JaeAlG-G968 ):
You had plenty money 1982
You let Peter Breggin make a fool of you
Why don’t you do right
Like you never did do…
Get outta here
And get me my money too
You sittin’ down wonderin’ what antipsychiatry’s about
If you ain’t got my money UN’ll put you out…
But though I can do the piano and the look, my singing voice isn’t great and well, I don’t want to scare the poor creature…maybe I’ll just write it on doctor review sites then instead lol
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Canada? Hey I’ve managed to get a pair of Ice Skates, but they don’t have golf courses there right?
I’d like to go where all the old Nazis went. at least there’s a chance they learned from their mistakes, rather than like this place where we rinse lather repeat.
I note today another ‘victim’ of the lawyer Nicola Gobbo has been released on bail. Imagine police thinking there was nothing wrong with using a criminal lawyer as a paid police informer. Oh well, the guy who spent 12 years in jail for a murder he didn’t do is at least home for lockdown due to cornona. Which is more than Scott Austic has despite spending 13 years in prison for a number of items ‘planted’ at the scene of the murder of his girlfriend.
I suppose that eventually someone will notice that our court system has been corrupted to this point? I mean I must admit I was shocked once I realised that the documents that the lawyers accepted were fraudulent. Even more shocked to find out they were involved in the concealment of torture and kidnapping by public officers. Human Rights Lawyers assisting in the concealment of torture, read that with care as it is a fact. With those sorts of breaches of trust and confidence occurring it really is best to get out of the place. Some people might find it pleasant to live in a sewer, and it appears no one seems to give a damn about police and mental health finding methods to torture and kidnap citizens, preferring to neglect their duty and ‘fuking destroy’ victims.
All that honorable talk amounts to nothing. Even the hypocrites can’t say anything despite them going on record as being against the use of torture. Secretly they support it, but who would vote for them with that truth being known? The “oh well, sometimes a little bit may be necessary, and i’m sure the bitch was asking for it” excuse.
I sent a letter to one of our Members of Parliament asking what cimes I was committing by having documents proving I was tortured and kidnapped? She is a lawyer and I would assume it would be an easy question to answer, but …… apparently she ignores anything that doesn’t involve pay rises for politicians due to the good job they are doing neglecting their duty to act over breaches of the Conventions signed by them. Human rights? What are they to we who don’t consider our slave class human until it’s time to vote.
They really do disgust me, and I look forward to the day when just one person is prepared to assist me in getting my belongings back so I can leave. Even my own Muslim brothers…… they think that not eating a jellybean during daylight hours during Ramadan will get them into heaven, but turning their backs on their brothers being tortured by the State and murdered for complaining won’t even come into the equation. I wonder if they have even read the same Book as me at times. Because like the Police it only seems to be found at times when the narrative suits their purpose.
How great is Allah to test them in this manner? What issues from their mouths does not seem to relate to what is in their hearts. Who am I to judge though? All I know is that I have been viciously attacked by the State, and not a soul prepared to say this is wrong. Can’t blame them, there’s plenty of room in the showers for them and their families too. We wait, because there will come a day when these people are held to account. Claiming that they did what they did because of the instructions of others (people who have demonstrated a willingness to lie and commit acts of fraud to conceal torture, are now treated as if their word can be trusted, and their non action for ten years and concealment of criminal conduct should be admired. Because they let me slip the net with the proof, and still managed to cover it up again with police threatening a psychologist to obtain information. And of course the assitance of another lawyer prepared to breach the trust of their ‘client’. Not unlike Gobbo. I think about “Shallow Grave” If you can’t trust your friends, what then? No one in this State can trust any doctor or State authority due to the fact they are breaking the law and breaching your rights to conceal their criminality)? They will be left in the lurch, and their companions in this vile conduct will be nowhere to be found.
Consider the work involved in covering up these crimes? And my wife literally went on the internet and had another man ready to move in within weeks. Police assist in the retrieval of the documents and a Violence Restraining Order is applied for (this is a problem because the matters before the court means that the perversion of justice is a fact. Despite the cancellation of this once they thought that they had retrieved the documents form me. Police once again needing lawful reason to chase me all over the State to retrieve the proof of crimes by public officers. Police detain me while my wife goes through my documents and retrieves the ones the hospital wishes to conceal before committing an act of criminal fraud.)
Still the truth doesn’t matter to a police Force that cares nothing about facts, and more about ensuring they plant the right evidence to deceive the court authorities.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-05-14/scott-austic-wins-appeal-over-life-jail-murder-stacey-thorne/12245564
“What ya gunna do when your well runs dry? I’d like to know.”
Trust is earned from doing the right thing, even when it is the most difficult to do.
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Feeling the pain of your post here today boans. Wishing I had a solution.
Yeah lots of golf courses here, they used to be skating rinks..
Lovely thing climate change, we had a whole winter not long ago with no snow at all. Never been heard of before here. I remember when it happened I was on a bus in January and I suddenly had a “the sky is falling moment” where I wanted to get up and scream “What’s wrong with all of you people don’t you see what’s going on here?” ( Probably better for my keep-your-social-and-all-other-forms-of-distance-from psychiatry policy that I don’t do stuff like that. )
I guess though people can literally hide their heads in the sand about it now.
Guess it’s not too different from where you are then too.
“Even my own Muslim brothers…… they think that not eating a jellybean during daylight hours during Ramadan will get them into heaven, but turning their backs on their brothers being tortured by the State and murdered for complaining won’t even come into the equation. I wonder if they have even read the same Book as me at times”
While I’m not in the same situation, I have been through something a bit like this too. Used to have a spiritual teacher and I’d be telling him forced psychiatry is torture, and he didn’t really take it the way i had hoped he might. Of course he’d been a therapist too so I guess that’s probably why. All of his spiritual talk and namastes, etc and what part of it is actually actionable?
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I am going through some tough times at the moment.
I mean I realise that the State doesn’t want to torture people, but there are times when ……. so they need the loophole of the Mental Health Act. that means they can sign the Convention against the use of Torture (et al) AND can torture people if they can lawfully make them into “patients” before torturing them.
I forget what the lawyers wrote about their being a “substantive” rather than “procedural” breach in my instance, but it seemed important in that high falutin kind of way. What I do know is that I was tortured and kidnapped, and they tried to legally change that narrative (and my status to “patient”) post hoc, and thought they had suceeded.
Big bother is this police thing. I mean from where i’m looking it appears they are aware of the ‘death squads’ being used by the State and are actively participating in it. And I even get that too. I mean have a look at how Deterte is dong it in the Philipines (or that doco I recommend about Suharto). They don’t get public officers to do the nasty, they get criminals to do it and then turn a blind eye. exactly what we’re doing here.
I’ve got no doubt the Premier (equivalent of your Governor) wasn’t aware that the Minister was enabling a death squad to operate in our hospitals. She obviously was though. It was when they did a body count via the Targeted Review of E. D. Admissions that the Premier started to look a little ill when facing the media. I guess given that I had slipped through the net with the proof he wasn’t sure who knew what, and if our media were going to catch him with his pants down with a question about these killings. They behaved themselves and rightly so when the State is slaughtering people to manage their corruption.
As far as my brothers go they do tend to be a little conservative. Though there are time limits put on matters such as divorce, and severe punishments for defying those limits. Many of them have come from places where the State slaughters people for convenience and probably want a rest and they look and think these guys are amatuers anyway. 16 bodies in a year is not a lot when you think about how many were turning up on the streets in Iraq once they were ‘liberated’ and the Shia started executing Sunnis. Which of course left some people in a position where they either fought back or waited for their turn. The rest history.
So all these people who are “in it together” probably aren’t aware that the State is doing this. Like I say the Premier didn’t seem to be aware from his reaction. But it happens and so when I turned up in the police station with the proof, they tipped them off and they got out of town. Couldn’t arrest them, but also couldn’t be seen to not be doing their job. Not that anyone would be surprised that the negligence of the police meant a murderer escaped to set up shop in another State. that’s how they came here after when things got a bit warm in their home State and doing a favor for some of our local crims.
Like I say, small potatoes in many ways. Not huge death squads, just a team operating out of an emergency dept doing a few for the State authorties (mainly police I would imagine) A worry for me, but not so much anyone else. they’re not trying to do any more killings than necessary.
Though I will say this. It does show what can be concealed as medicine by the State if they choose. And why it is so important for these people to be watched carefully. Glad we have all this spying technology in the end, though a bit like the Enigma Code it’s not a lot of use having the information that they are killing, if stopping the murders means you expose the fact you’ve broken the code.
I still smile thinking about the reaction when the psychologist found out I was still alive lmao. Two weeks after they thought I was killed she is telling me her husband wasn’t even at the hospital when they tried to kill me, though I think she jumped the gun because I hadn’t told her when I was talking about. Must have been the shock of speaking to the dead lol. I would have thought she might have said I was insane for making such a claim, but she was ready with an alibi? My wife and her doctor friend sure gaslighted her a bit. And I don’t know how I feel about that really, having been the victim of some vicious gaslighting myself. Though I’m not providing victims for a State sanctioned death squad and don’t really have to worry about who knows what about me. The hospital has released all of my private and confidential information to the public via my documents anyway so in some ways i’m free as a result of the slander and fraud. They can literally make anything true with their “editing”. Killings become Unintended negative outcomes, torture is ‘treatment’, slander is labelling done in ‘good faith’, and fraud becomes ‘editing’. Enjoy your time here people, because your in for a treat in the next life. I’ll say a prayer for y’all but the Boss has a tendency to know what is in your hearts, and whiloe you have concealed that from the rest of the community, He knows what you’ve been up to (and a few others who have looked, vomited and then turned their backs).
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“I mean I realise that the State doesn’t want to torture people, but there are times when ……. so they need the loophole of the Mental Health Act. that means they can sign the Convention against the use of Torture (et al) AND can torture people if they can lawfully make them into “patients” before torturing them.”
boans did they add reservations to Convention Against Torture or CRPD? (Since it deals with torture of people based on actual or perceived disability)?
In Canada I know they had used a loophole to not follow CRPD, they basically put a reservation saying that they didn’t agree with supported decision making instead were for substitute decision making when CRPD is for supported. Not sure if they changed it yet…but that essentially allowed them to violate the entire CRPD in one go since the doctor can be the one who stands in to make decisions for you…Basically it violates the entire spirit of CRPD as far as I understand it.
” Two weeks after they thought I was killed she is telling me her husband wasn’t even at the hospital when they tried to kill me, though I think she jumped the gun because I hadn’t told her when I was talking about. Must have been the shock of speaking to the dead lol. I would have thought she might have said I was insane for making such a claim, but she was ready with an alibi?”
That is more than a little alarming…
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That was one of their major problems here ThereAreFourLights.
I was not a “patient” of anyone. Otherwise they could have worked with my ‘carer’ and stabbed me in the back repeatedly. The FOI officer could have pretended to be nice to my face and got my wife to deny me access to my own medical records. Of course if I wasn’t a patient (and I wasn’t) then this is conspiring to conceal the ‘spiking’ with benzos and thus a criminal offence. The FOI officer had a meeting with my wife and told her to provide her with proof I was someone patinet, knowing that if she didn’t have that proof she was a criminal. And despite a couple of clever tricks (should see the three letters trick, that was a new one een to me a seasoned public officer who had contarctors trying to trick me every day. Learn something new every day they say lol) I would not provide them with what they required, ie the right to speak for me. Very similar to being raped, they don’t like your answer, they take what they want anyway and are prepared to lie about it later and even get assistance from police to ensure they are not prosecuted.
So they tried really hard to have me sign stuff to make me into a “patient” so that I lost my right to speak for myself. I wasn’t having it after spending a whole bunch of time and money with lawyers who had explained my rights throughout the court process (as a result of a workplace incident)
They were simply bluffing that I was a “patient” to use police for a referral and to do the kidnapping and cause the “acute stress reaction” for torture.
I didn’t need support in my decision making, I was assessed by the hospital psychiatrist who released me because he could “find no evidence of a mental illlness”.
Now consider, its a crime to procure the apprehension or detention of a person not suffering from a mental illness, and here I am 7 hours later being released beause I haven’t got a mental illness? What went wrong was my question, and so I moved forward by obtaining legal service (or so I thought, they were working with the hospital to conceal the torutre in the end but …) and made application for my documents which, after weeks of arguing with the FOI officer and proving to her she was breaching her duty under the FOI Acvt, were provided in redacted form (concealing the fact that the police were used to obtain a referral and give the appearance of lawfulness)
Dunno if that makes sense but ….
As far as the psychologist (and her psychiatrist husband) what do you think they would do if what I’m saying is true? Thats what my wifes best friends husband spotted, what they would do given their rather prickly situation. And he was waiting for them behind the curtain in the ED 🙂 I still laugh about that Docs face, and well, a change of underware may have been in order if you knew who it was saying “i’d like a word with you doctor A, NOW”. “But i’m a little bit busy just ….” Puts down the needle on a tray, which is whisked away immediately and 14 security and nurses and me are left looking at each other. (might I mention the fact that the psychologist was fully aware of my needle phobia, and that this rather large needle that was held up like a weapon by the Doc who was about to have me pinned down and then inject me? Is that how they do it? Deliberately try and induce fear in their ‘patients’ by holding up the needle like that? Certainly not hiow dentists do it, but they’re not looking to bait someone to justify their actions) Weird. Though us nut jobs tend to have weird tales to tell, its only with documented proof that …. well even then they don’t like the truth so ignore it.
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HI David! I stumbled across Mad in America today. I’m trying to get connected to people who might be able to help direct me or directly help me. Any comments or resources would be appreciated very much. I’m so thankful to have found this website!
My brother has been subject to various psychiatric diagnosis, oppression, and poly-pharmacology for over 20 years, starting back in the 90’s. I was so young then, and no one heard his cries for help and to get off of the drugs. Eventually, he cut himself off from the world, and isolated for many years. I started to try to reconnect with my brother, writing him letters and I visited him a few months ago – it was very nice! I have a calling to help him.
From what I know he got off of the drugs himself without any support. Around the same time (I think), he started exhibiting behavior that gained attention from law enforcement. Last night he got arrested by local authorities, and there might be a news story on this whole situation. He did not hurt anybody physically but was harassing people with his words and online presence. I believe with all of my heart that this is a direct result from the years of multiple psychiatric drugs and withdrawal without any personal or professional support. When I stayed with him recently, he just felt like my brother. I can see who my brother really is; he is good! There is just so much I don’t know what he is going through and need to connect with the right people now.
I’m not quite sure where to turn but am looking for resources/information and people who might be able to help my brother through this process, both Mental and Legal. Mental – to actually find real support from professionals without medications. Legal – someone to help him through the legal process. I read that there may be advocates who can be present with my brother during appointments? If he gets admitted to a facility, I do not want anyone to force him to start taking medications AGAIN. Can the courts force that? If you think you can help or direct me in any way, Please let me know and we can try to connect. If this does make the news (regardless of the intent/content), I’m just praying that it draws attention from the right people, too. Thank you for listening!
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In many parts of the US and Western world they can do whatever they want, and there’s a limit to what “advocates ” can do given the level of ignorance about the inherently fraudulent nature of psychiatry. Often “advocates” are like public defenders, getting people the “best deal” vis. a vis. length of incarceration, how much drugging, etc. The whole system is set up to reinforce the psychiatric narrative of “providing help.” And generally, at least at the institutional level, “professionals without medications (i.e. neurotoxins)” is pretty much an oxymoron.
So it’s hard to give “practical advice” for dealing with a system that’s set up to screw you. Legally, people at MIA often mention Jim Gottstein, who I’m sure is already overwhelmed but might possibly be able to provide you with a local contact. You can find him in “search.”
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oldhead – Thank you for your input. Although it isn’t great news, it is comforting to have affirmation on what I feel he has gone through and to know there is a community out there too. I have never reached regarding his situation before.
I will check out Jim Gottstein! Having an advocate there with him, even if they are not a cure-all, is the best thing I can hope for right now as he is alone out there. After so many years of not having a voice in his treatment plan, I think just having someone there with him could be very impactful to him personally and to turning the trajectory of this situation.
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Document and record everything. These people have a history of fraud and will use it to manipulate outcomes. They call this fraud “editing” though in my opinion changing legal narratives to mislead lawyers constitutes fraud. It’s been fortunate for the Clinical Director of the hospital concerned that the police haven’t been able to locate their copy of the Criminal Code for 10 years or he might have found himself living alongside some of the criminals put in prison for shoplifting to feed their families. Concealing evidence of criminal offences such as torture and kidnapping serious matters unless you have friends who can neglect their duty for you.
Be particularly careful of anyone who offers to ‘assist’ you. Hospital staff will use their ‘investigations’ to identify what proof of matters you have, and will then work with your ‘advocates’ to fuking destroy you (it’s just how administrators of these facilities put it). They lure with bait, and strike with chaos. You will find that the ‘advocates’ and the ‘administrators’ have close working relationships that see them feeding off one another in a symbiotic fashion. Your not invited, or welcome unless your prepared to go along with anything they want.
Mind you there is an advantage in knowing that they would use you to throw your brother under the bus. They have a tendency to use family members to gaslight their victims. The betrayal does so much more harm when it comes from someone the victim trusts. And it allows them to wash their hands of any responsibility should a negative outcome occur.
Also keep in mind they will deliberately poison your relationship with your brother. They will lie to him about what you are doing etc. I know in my instance they had my wife running around slandering me to every one of my friends, despute knowing that I did not have an illness, or that I had been examined and released from their ‘care’. Can’t have people listening to the victim right? People simply accept that if your snatched from you home by police to be delivered to a mental institution that something is wrong with you (despite what the documents say). Using that to slander is a highly effective weapon to be used against anyone who has proof of wrongdoing. Ask our Minister for Health who uses this type of slander regularly.
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I’m one of the lucky ones in many ways dalel.
What to document? Literally everything. Any contact you have with these people at all, document when with who and what was said or agreed to. It may seem insignificant now but …..
I’ll give you an example. I get spiked and kidnapped. I try and obtain the documents but am subjected to the ‘run around’ by the hospital FOI officer who is knowingly commiting criminal offences (conspiring to pervert the course of justice, coneal evidence of a criminal offence etc). She, with the assistance of my wife tries to have me sign a document that would release her from these offences with a little trick (its actually quite clever when you look at what she did to deceive. Three letters, one requiring a signature, remove the other two and you are off the hook should anyone ask any questions regarding your conduct) I refused to sign and eventually after 6 weeks I received my documents showing I had been drugged without my knowledge.
At this point I wrote a letter to the FOI officer explaining my disgust at what she did and detailed that I had only just been informed of the spiking on this date. That letter at the time seemed insignificant and was in some ways just a fuk you to the FOI officer, but I now realise had I not written it and detailed events, they could have claimed I was informed earlier and therefore their conduct was not criminal. They are pathological liars who will say anything to manipulate outcomes, and thus all they would need to do was say I had been informed by them and I had forgotten.
They had the opportunity to respond to my letter to correct any errors and failed to do so (as what I had said was true and correct). Any later claim would certainly be questionable, and the Courts would certainly have to accept what was written before any verbal statement made after the fact with motive to lie.
So if someone makes a verbal agreement with you, confirm that agreement in writing with them.
Keep good records despite the fact it is a lot of work because you simply can not trust these people. They have an outcome in mind and will do whatever is necessary to achieve that outcome, including criminal fraud. They will receive assistance in those offences from police. And believe me no one will believe you even when you put the proof in front of them, so document that as well. They are so used to manipulating situations that they openly stated to me that they would fuking destroy me for complaining about their misconduct, and they meant it. Torture and kidnapping and they are receiving assistance from police to retrieve documents? REALLY? Sounds insane, care to see the proof? I can give you the names of two people threatened by police who ran away wetting their pants.
They will though, I believe, eventually be exposed. And if they’re unlucky and get the short straw, they might be the one who ends up in prison as a token to all the people who have been harmed over many years. It’s a raffle, but the more tickets you have in the draw, the more likely you are to be pulled out of the hat.
Good luck and please keep us informed. Though also consider that what you say becomes public knowledge and can be used to ‘fuking destroy’ by the likes of the Operations Manager whose investigation was a cover for gathering information to do precisely that. Machiavelli would be proud of her.
P.S. if you do make any noise don’t be surprised if your medical records become public knowledge. An ‘accident’ will possibly occur and they will be released, and with the ability to “edit” them you might be surprised at how they paint you in a bad light. People here who speak inconvenient truths tend to appear on cctv pics on tv being sought by police over sexual assaults that never occurred. Despite police knowing who it is in the cctv pictures, and that the person they caught with some meth is merely saying what they want to hear (and is not charged over their possession). Nasty, but effective. same method as having my wife ‘spike’ me and then forgiving her the crime, despite not having the discretionary power to do so. The ends justify the means they tell me.
Our Courts have become places where false narratives are presented by police, and accepted without question by the courts.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-05-14/scott-austic-wins-appeal-over-life-jail-murder-stacey-thorne/12245564
This case was really like a childrens story where a ‘trail’ of evidence was planted and an innocent man went to prison. I could list a load more that have been exposed, though it’s the ones that haven’t been shown that are the concern to our community. The police here do more planting than the State Forestry Dept.
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Sitting alone at home all day can lead to messed up thinking. Especially visiting certain sites online. Speaking from personal experience.
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P.S. Dalel
Make sure you use hard copies of letters etc. On paper. The electronic copies of records can be manipulated and changed. If you receive emails print them out, and put them away in an archive. And ensure that with important items even you don’t know where they are as police may decide to use ‘coercive’ measures on you to find out “who else has the documents”.
Once the State becomes the criminals your in for a wild ride. Because they really don’t care who they hurt, and nor do the people who claim they are ‘advocates’ who will leave you in the lurch for a few sheckles.
They hate the truth and will conceal it with falsehoods. What one needs to realise is that they hate the truth that what they are doing is torturing people, and thus they conceal it with the falsehood that what they are doing s medicine. Consider deeply what can be done to a citizen is limited, what can be done to a “patient” is not. And in my State a citizen can have their status changed post hoc. Torture by police can be concealed post hoc by a doctor prepared to sign fraudulent documents. Care to see the ‘prescription’ signed for the drugs I was spiked with post hoc?
Spiked with benzos, detained against my will, tortured during interrogation and kidnapped and then delivered to a doctor to make me into a “patient”, and phew it’s all now lawful. That’s not what i’d call procedural fairness lol. Any wonder police can’t find their copy of the Criminal Code?
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Polypharmacology may not be the correct word, sorry about that…I am still learning terminology! 🙂
I meant being prescribed multiple psychiatric drugs at various times. Medication on top of medication.
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Polypharmacy is the usual term, but I think polypharmacology works just fine! Or we could just call it “masses of drugs tossed together willy nilly with no idea how they’ll interact.”
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I believe the latter is the proper scientific terminology.
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Thanks for your reply Steve! Haha, I like how you put that…its funny and not funny at the same time. I will check out your other posts, it looks like you have a wealth of knowledge and testimony for me to tap into.
I’ve been reading more about the psychiatric survivor movement on the imhcn.org website. There are multiple law enforcement agencies involved in this thing with my brother. Regarding the news segment, they told my dad they want to “make an example” of my brother. To be honest, I have my doubts about the intentions of it, and the politics behind it. I have hope that this might be an opportunity for some real change. If they want to expose my brother for what he is doing, I hope it also exposes the extensive history of psychiatric medications. I think I might be over my head, though! But figured getting my voice out there was a start. 🙂
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To dalel:
Sorry to hear about your brother. One good person who can help is Dr. Rima Laibow, a naturopathic doctor who is also a psychiatrist who has never used psychiatric drugs on a patient in 50 years of her career ! Although one on one treatment would probably be expensive; it’s free to see her website: ” Dr. Rima Truth Reports ” has a lot of useful information on all of the harmful agents of the drug companies: drugs, vaccines, genetically engineered food, etc. .
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Thanks to David for, however inadvertently, helping fuel a discussion of whether activist survivors should be working to abolish psychiatry or to try to “reform” it. These two opposite goals should not be conflated or confused, no matter what one’s position is, and this sort of discussion needs to take place more frequently among survivors of psychiatry.
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I say we burn it down, but I have one demand… We throw any “psychological” healing for profit on the bonfire while we are at it.
radical talk therapy? haha
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justsayno86
Thank you!! I will look into Dr. Rima Laibow and her costs. Starting points is all I’m looking for right now; I appreciate it so, so much.
He goes in front of a judge today, and I hate that he is doing this alone. I’m urging my family to take my views into consideration and try natural psychiatry. They love him so much. I just don’t want them to rely on the legal system for their answers. Hoping to open them to a whole new array of resources and options to help him through this.
I was told the news special will air Monday night on my local news station in the midwest, which is weird because my brother is located in the northwest. I’m not sure how they will portray him or what it will be about. After I see it, I can share the information if anyone is interested in tuning in. I’m hesitant to post the details now as I’m fearful of the attention it might bring. (Although I don’t like making decisions out of fear)
Thanks!
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