Imagine my surprise when I discovered early (middle of the night) February 15, 2011 that a comment I made in response to DJ Jaffe's http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dj-jaffe/aftermath-of-tucson column, had actually been published and responded to by the outspoken proponent of forced medication and coercive treatment for those diagnosed with "serious mental illness," Huffington Post columnist, DJ Jaffe.
Mr. Jaffe's response to my comment was laughable in it's ignorance about how these play out in real world practice. Mr. Jaffe's statement that people keep coming back to "forced drugging," which he claims is irrelevant, not an issue since AOT, Assisted Out Patient treatment, does not allow it. Civilly committing a person who is seeking to be hospitalized, is not allowed according to the law, that does not mean it is not done. Submitting perjured testimony to a Court of Law, is not allowed, by law. It is also not legal for a mental health professional to lie on court documents, it is also illegal to limit a person's freedom, or infringe upon a person's liberty without the individual's rights to Procedural Due Process of Law being protected. For an individual's Constitutional Rights to be protected, Effective Assistance of Counsel needs to be available, Rules of Evidence and Standard Court Procedure need to be followed.
Apparently, Mr. Jaffe does not understand that if there is no investigation when crimes are alleged and dutifully reported; and no one is held accountable when laws are broken by mental health professionals, or when a Defense Counsel fails to mount a defense at all. What the law says is and is not allowed does not mean all that much when these protections are ignored. In REALITY, the mentally ill who are court ordered have been denied their Constitutional Rights to Procedural Due Process; and have been victimized by mental health professionals who are aided and abetted in their crimes by Prosecutors, Defense Attorneys, and the Court.
Calling coercion something else does not change the nature of the act. Using coercion in mental health treatment does not change the nature of a coercive act. Coercion is a tool to gain control of another individual. Using coercion in "Assisted" or "Assertive" treatment for those who have been labeled with a particular diagnosis, when the facts about the "treatment" are what they are; is more than a little suspect. Specifically, there are a significant percentage of people, between 30-40 %, who do not benefit at all from the drugs that are used to treat schizophrenia. The drugs can cause: diabetes, obesity, brain damage, tardive dyskinisia, and both sudden and premature death. These facts are ignored by DJ Jaffe, and his hero, E.Fuller Torrey both of whom insist that we must make sure that those labeled are "medically treated," against their will and in spite of the deleterious effects of the "treatment."
I would laugh at the utter ignorance of this guy; but it is not funny when this level of bigotry and bias against those who have been diagnosed with a mental illness is evident in an individual who masquerades as an "advocate for the seriously mentally ill." Apparently, Jaffe thinks being published makes him an authority. His latest endeavor is forming the "Mental Illness Policy Org." whose mission is to provide unbiased information for Policy Makers and the Media. A quick look at the website shows it is pretty obvious that Mr. Jaffe does not know what unbiased information is.
Knowing that comments are frequently removed from Mr. Jaffe's column on the Huffington Post, I included them in their entirety here.
Becky Murphy 11:31 AM on 1/21/2011
Mr. Jaffe,
This column is the most ignorant one I've read yet. Your comprehensive plan to further limit the protection of those you "advocate" for is fundamentally flawed. By focusing on the forced drugging, you are ignoring any other contributory cause for violence. 1. Where is your effort to call for the end of the pharmaceutical, psychiatric research and Medicaid and Medicare fraud? to wit: The US company that manufactures one of my son's drugs charges US citizens up to 5 X more than any other country on the planet. Stating that history of drug compliance needs to be used in commitment hearings, because it is important to know if patients deteriorate is flat out ignorant; since it is well documented in the literature by that antipsychotics cause chronic psychosis and rebound psychosis when withdrawing from them! This is because of the brain damage caused by them. It is also why the recovery rate for psychosis has DECLINED since the drugs were introduced. The suggestion that one of the few safeguards for protecting the "seriously mentally ill" against what are in fact widespread Civil Rights violations, you propose Protection and Advocacy be done away with. P&A only occasionally actually acts to preserve the Constitutional Rights of those you claim to advocate for. You actually suggest that the commitment i.e. medical decisions be made by judicial or quasi-judicial bodies?! You are no "ADVOCATE!" http://involuntarytransformation.blogspot.com/2011/01/advocacy-extremists-aided-by-lack-of.html
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DJ Jaffe 43 minutes ago (12:02 AM)
Ms Murphy:
Thank you for your comment, but medication over objection ("forced drugging" as you say) is not allowed in Kendra's Law. Decisions to medicate over objection can only be made if they comply with the existing standards as layed out Rivers v. Katz. I know some keep coming back to this issue, but it is irrelevant in the discussion of AOT which does not allow for it. I share your concern about marketing practices of pharmaceuticals (See http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dj-jaffe/does-the-national-allianc_b_716331.html ). THank you.
This is the email I received on Feb 11 notifying me that Jaffe had made a comment.
Feb 11 (3 days ago)I wonder why the Huffington Post posted it midnight on the 15th?
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Blogger DJ Jaffe made 1 comments:
What Harry Reid and John Boehner Should Do in Wake of Giffords Shooting
"Ms Murphy: Thank you for your comment, but medication over objection ("forced drugging" as you say) is not allowed in Kendra's Law. Decisions to medicate over objection can only be made if they comply with the existing standards as layed out Rivers v. Katz. I know some keep coming back to this issue, but it is irrelevant in the discussion of AOT which does not allow for it. I share your concern about marketing practices of pharmaceuticals (See..." read more
Mr. Jaffe's response to my comment was laughable in it's ignorance about how these play out in real world practice. Mr. Jaffe's statement that people keep coming back to "forced drugging," which he claims is irrelevant, not an issue since AOT, Assisted Out Patient treatment, does not allow it. Civilly committing a person who is seeking to be hospitalized, is not allowed according to the law, that does not mean it is not done. Submitting perjured testimony to a Court of Law, is not allowed, by law. It is also not legal for a mental health professional to lie on court documents, it is also illegal to limit a person's freedom, or infringe upon a person's liberty without the individual's rights to Procedural Due Process of Law being protected. For an individual's Constitutional Rights to be protected, Effective Assistance of Counsel needs to be available, Rules of Evidence and Standard Court Procedure need to be followed.
Apparently, Mr. Jaffe does not understand that if there is no investigation when crimes are alleged and dutifully reported; and no one is held accountable when laws are broken by mental health professionals, or when a Defense Counsel fails to mount a defense at all. What the law says is and is not allowed does not mean all that much when these protections are ignored. In REALITY, the mentally ill who are court ordered have been denied their Constitutional Rights to Procedural Due Process; and have been victimized by mental health professionals who are aided and abetted in their crimes by Prosecutors, Defense Attorneys, and the Court.
Calling coercion something else does not change the nature of the act. Using coercion in mental health treatment does not change the nature of a coercive act. Coercion is a tool to gain control of another individual. Using coercion in "Assisted" or "Assertive" treatment for those who have been labeled with a particular diagnosis, when the facts about the "treatment" are what they are; is more than a little suspect. Specifically, there are a significant percentage of people, between 30-40 %, who do not benefit at all from the drugs that are used to treat schizophrenia. The drugs can cause: diabetes, obesity, brain damage, tardive dyskinisia, and both sudden and premature death. These facts are ignored by DJ Jaffe, and his hero, E.Fuller Torrey both of whom insist that we must make sure that those labeled are "medically treated," against their will and in spite of the deleterious effects of the "treatment."
I would laugh at the utter ignorance of this guy; but it is not funny when this level of bigotry and bias against those who have been diagnosed with a mental illness is evident in an individual who masquerades as an "advocate for the seriously mentally ill." Apparently, Jaffe thinks being published makes him an authority. His latest endeavor is forming the "Mental Illness Policy Org." whose mission is to provide unbiased information for Policy Makers and the Media. A quick look at the website shows it is pretty obvious that Mr. Jaffe does not know what unbiased information is.
Knowing that comments are frequently removed from Mr. Jaffe's column on the Huffington Post, I included them in their entirety here.
Becky Murphy 11:31 AM on 1/21/2011
Mr. Jaffe,
This column is the most ignorant one I've read yet. Your comprehensive plan to further limit the protection of those you "advocate" for is fundamentally flawed. By focusing on the forced drugging, you are ignoring any other contributory cause for violence. 1. Where is your effort to call for the end of the pharmaceutical, psychiatric research and Medicaid and Medicare fraud? to wit: The US company that manufactures one of my son's drugs charges US citizens up to 5 X more than any other country on the planet. Stating that history of drug compliance needs to be used in commitment hearings, because it is important to know if patients deteriorate is flat out ignorant; since it is well documented in the literature by that antipsychotics cause chronic psychosis and rebound psychosis when withdrawing from them! This is because of the brain damage caused by them. It is also why the recovery rate for psychosis has DECLINED since the drugs were introduced. The suggestion that one of the few safeguards for protecting the "seriously mentally ill" against what are in fact widespread Civil Rights violations, you propose Protection and Advocacy be done away with. P&A only occasionally actually acts to preserve the Constitutional Rights of those you claim to advocate for. You actually suggest that the commitment i.e. medical decisions be made by judicial or quasi-judicial bodies?! You are no "ADVOCATE!" http://involuntarytransformation.blogspot.com/2011/01/advocacy-extremists-aided-by-lack-of.html
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DJ Jaffe 43 minutes ago (12:02 AM)
Ms Murphy:
Thank you for your comment, but medication over objection ("forced drugging" as you say) is not allowed in Kendra's Law. Decisions to medicate over objection can only be made if they comply with the existing standards as layed out Rivers v. Katz. I know some keep coming back to this issue, but it is irrelevant in the discussion of AOT which does not allow for it. I share your concern about marketing practices of pharmaceuticals (See http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dj-jaffe/does-the-national-allianc_b_716331.html ). THank you.
This is the email I received on Feb 11 notifying me that Jaffe had made a comment.
Feb 11 (3 days ago)I wonder why the Huffington Post posted it midnight on the 15th?
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Blogger DJ Jaffe made 1 comments:
What Harry Reid and John Boehner Should Do in Wake of Giffords Shooting
"Ms Murphy: Thank you for your comment, but medication over objection ("forced drugging" as you say) is not allowed in Kendra's Law. Decisions to medicate over objection can only be made if they comply with the existing standards as layed out Rivers v. Katz. I know some keep coming back to this issue, but it is irrelevant in the discussion of AOT which does not allow for it. I share your concern about marketing practices of pharmaceuticals (See..." read more
2 comments:
Becky,
D.J. Jaffe wouldn't know the truth if it bit him in the buttocks.
The "treatment" he advocates has been an abysmal failure, and he knows it!
Way down where he lives, he knows it.
His comments back to you have no substance, because the "medication" he promotes has no scientific backing.
None.
And he knows it!
His "advocacy" is based on a lie.
Not a small lie, but a big one!
"The people will more easily fall for a big lie than a small one." - Adolph Hitler, Mein Kampft, 1925
Thank you for rattling his cage!
If you're reading this, D.J., I have a comment for you:
"The American people are waking up.... You're on the wrong side of history. And you know it!"
Duane Sherry, M.S.
discoverandrecover.wordpress.com
"Medication Over Objection" lol - falling on the floor laughing with that one. How about using the acronym "MOO" to further disguise his intention. lol
His post is political psychobabble. I guess he is afraid to use just plain English.
This guy is dangerous and just plain evil. He pretends to be an advocate for the mentally ill but in fact he has a political agenda of the worst kind.
Just off the top of his list he would force medication on all the people carrying weapons to defend themselves in the battlefields of American cities. No only is that plain nuts but actually that's a civil rights political argument about self-protection rather that an argument about mental illness.
But going on and on with the "list" you can see he wants to force medication on an entire class of people who he believes are the enemies of his class of people or needs to be controlled to conform to the standards of his social class or his class lifestyle beliefs. So they all need to be medicated - the poor, the homeless, the disadvantaged, the rebels, the non conformists, people who don't think "correct" thoughts and say the right things and on and on etc, etc.
It's disgusting - everyone who is a threat to a fascist political order needs to be medicated. And force medicating this class will further enslave the population making it even easier for the rich to harden their mechanisms of fascist economic control over the masses.
Make no mistake this guy's "mental health agenda" is disingenuous , he has a political agenda. In fact his is using the philosophy of the Untermensch to justify fascist control and oppression and oppression in society. His inferior races are the "emotionally ill".
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