July is Mad Pride Month

MindFreedom International

July is Mad Pride Month

"We Are The 100 Percent!"

2012 Events in More Than Five Nations

Show "Creative Maladjustment"

Did you know Martin Luther King expressed pride in psychological "maladjustment" to oppression? He called for an International Association for the Advancement of Creative Maladjustment (IAACM) more than a dozen times.

MindFreedom International invites you to tell us how you will make MLK's vision real this July! Celebrate 20 years of Mad Pride!

SAMPLE ACTION: Honor friends and colleagues who are unique by forwarding the below exciting Mad Pride 2012 News with a few words like, "Thank you ______ for your IAACM leadership!"

BELOW are recent and upcoming Mad Pride events in five nations celebrating individual and global creative maladjustment, and peacefully challenging the mental health industry's futile cheerleading for what is falsely called "normal."
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MAD PRIDE COMING UP JULY 14, 2012!

You heard of Gay Pride... Black Pride... What is Mad Pride? A movement that celebrates the human rights and spectacular culture of people considered very different by our society. You!

Mad Pride isn't just for the 1 percent... or the 99 percent... Every human is uniquely different, so this is a celebration that 100 percent of humanity can be part of!

July 14 -- Bastille Day -- is the traditional day for Mad Pride, since among those freed from the Bastille in Paris were two held because of psychological labels. For 31 years our movement for nonviolent revolution in mental health has rallied around 14 July, and the whole month. Join in the fun!

You can celebrate Mad Pride Month whenever and wherever, but here are a few Mad Pride events in Toronto, Vancouver, Oregon, Italy, UK, Ireland....
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TORONTO: *INSANE* NUMBER OF MAD PRIDE EVENTS!

Activists in Toronto have always been strong on Mad Pride. This year they are crazy strong. Toronto is organizing more than a dozen amazing events over five days from July 10 to 15, 2012!

The Toronto festival has everything from arts and music to panels and parties to a parade including a Bed Push! (You push a gurney through the streets, chased by guerilla theater psychiatrists!)

Here's a link to all Mad Pride Toronto 2012 events. Click event title links to see the fantastic posters:
http://www.madprideto.com/events.html

Find the link there to their Facebook, which has more complete event info.
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VANCOUVER 'MAD' ART GALLERY

In Vancouver, Canada on July 14, 2012, the West Coast Mental Health Network holds a Mad Poets & Krazy Cases Fundraiser for Mad Pride Day.

There will be artwork, pizza, drinks, and a cabaret with an open mic for "poets, visionaries, singers, strummers and hummers with something to get off their chests and who are in the mood to celebrate our human bio-diversity and unparalleled tenacity in the face of persistent challenges and barriers." Gallery Gachet, is dedicated to psychiatric survivor art!

For info about how you can participate (for example by painting eyeglass cases!):
http://bit.ly/madpride-vancouver-2012 (scroll half-way down, to Mad Poets and Crazy Kases)


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YOU CAN HONOR PATCH ADAMS AT OREGON COUNTRY FAIR

At this year's Oregon Country Fair -- a mad event in its own right (Google some images!) -- MindFreedom International will celebrate Mad Pride on July 14 in the Community Village by awarding clown / physician / psychiatric survivor Patch Adams, MD for decades of Lunacy Promoting Leadership in MLK's IAACM!

Since 1992, Patch Adams has also helped provide 20 years of support for MindFreedom International, and his "Gesundheit Institute" has been a proud sponsor in the MFI coalition. Find us in OCF:
http://bit.ly/patch-adams-iaacm-award
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MAD PRIDE IRELAND LIVES ON!

Mad Pride Ireland held a Mad Pride Family Fun Day Ballydehob on May 27, 2012, with over 1,500 people and a balloon release in memory of John McCarthy, their founder who just passed away recently. They followed that up with a June 3 fourth annual event in Cork. These events featured numerous musical groups, a market, and clowns and other performers, see a video:
http://bit.ly/madpride-ireland-2012

MindFreedom asks all Mad Pride 2012 participants to hold a "Moment of Loudness" to remember inspiring global Mad Pride poet leader, John McCarthy, founder of Mad Pride Ireland. Whether or not you knew John, check out inspiring videos about his Mad Pride legacy:
http://www.mindfreedom.org/campaign/madpride/john-mccarthy-rip
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BOYCOTT NORMAL SUPPORTS MAD PRIDE!

Seen the "Label Rip" at the protest of the American Psychiatric Association Annual Meeting?

Now you can see this and many of the videos, photos and coverage, plus listen to audio, about the successful MindFreedom protest in front of thousands of psychiatrists in Philadelphia:
http://bit.ly/apa-2012-protest

The Mad Pride theme was "Boycott Normal: Occupy APA!" Our folks may have tough days, but what is mistakenly called "normal" is wrecking a whole planet's ecosystem. Normal... isn't.

MindFreedom International and allied organizations united for a successful, peaceful march and protest of the 2012 APA Annual Meeting, questioning the dysfunctional over-labeling, over-drugging and forced psychiatric treatment all too common in psychiatric practice today. Hundreds of psychiatric survivors and allies made our voices heard.

You can now see a collection of a variety of mainstream media, and of course our own media as well, of this historic event. To see video, photos, articles, hear a BBC broadcast, as well as news and blog coverage, see:
http://bit.ly/apa-2012-protest

Thanks to everyone in making the protest a success! Our peaceful surprise weapon: Mutual support! MindFreedom's emerging resistance community is not letting up on the APA -- a peaceful protest of APA's smaller fall conference in New York City is already planned. To learn more about the event, see:
https://www.facebook.com/events/417279764959510/
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BASTILLE DAY AT HOME: NEW YORK STATE!

New York State is also where the first Bastille Day protest in support of our movement took place, 31 years ago. On 13 July 2012 in Albany, NY the theme of this year's event is, "Everyone is at risk! Celebrate the human spirit. Speak out against psychiatric oppression." More info here:
https://www.facebook.com/events/397831000235813/

And check out the new Occupy Psychiatry Facebook page, to help coordinate similar peaceful resistance:
https://www.facebook.com/OccupyPsychiatry
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GO MAD PRIDE ITALY!

You need a little Italian for their Facebook page, but Torino, Italy held a Mad pride event last month:
https://www.facebook.com/madpride.torino

Their promo video has special creative maladjustment:
http://vimeo.com/44320101
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MAD PRIDE UK

Worcestershire, UK didn't just name sauce. They are holding "guerilla" Mad Pride events throughout 2012, see:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Mad-Pride-Festival-Worcestershire/228316700594125

While a psychiatric survivor group in UK was formed back to 1848, their first known "Mad Pride" event was 1993, so way to go on the 20th anniversary! Wikipedia has a bit of Mad Pride history here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mad_Pride

Info on the psychiatric survivors' movement is here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychiatric_survivor

Mad Pride's message to all human beings is inclusive: "Hey... you're one of us!"

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DID WE MISS YOUR MAD PRIDE EVENT?

Inspired to take action? Even one person can show Mad Pride, such as by forwarding this!

Let MindFreedom know about you are celebrating your Mad Pride at news@mindfreedom.org. MFI will try to announce events on the web:
http://bit.ly/madpride-2012

Those organizing Mad Pride events can chat on a free and open email list:
http://lists.mindfreedom.org/mailman/listinfo/madpride-talk_lists.mindfreedom.org

Too busy to chat? There's a one-way public news list just for Mad Pride activities here:
http://lists.mindfreedom.org/mailman/listinfo/madpride-news_lists.mindfreedom.org

To see some past Mad Pride events for inspiration, follow the links here:
http://www.mindfreedom.org/campaign/madpride/
and browse 100's of items here:
http://www.mindfreedom.org/search?SearchableText=%22mad+pride%22

For info about Boycott Normal go here:
http://www.boycottnormal.org

For quotes from MLK's speeches and essays over 12 years about "creative maladjustment" and calling for an IAACM, click here:
http://www.mindfreedom.org/kb/mental-health-global/iaacm

To see other events, conferences, etc. related to the movement to change the mental health system, click here:
http://www.mindfreedom.org/events_sf
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Saturday Survivor: MindFreedom International member Frank Blankenship

This week's Saturday Survivor is long-time MindFreedom International member and Human Rights activist, Frank Blankenship.  Frank is an outspoken critic of psychiatric oppression whose articulate writing and social activism are inspirational.   

Frank is involved with MindFreedom's campaign, Boycott Normal which is  protesting the APA's DSM 5 for stigmatizing those whom it labels in a discriminatory manner; and not in anyone's best interest.  Those who are subject to being labeled under it's questionable method of classifying normal human behaviors as symptoms of disease.  People are told they have a disease, when there is in no basis in fact for this claim.  Then they are told there is no cure, but that their "disease" can be "treated" with drugs which can disable or kill them, but must be taken for the rest of their lives.  Those who do not agree to the diagnosis, and refuse to comply with treatment, find that they are at risk of being Court Ordered to locked facilities and forced to comply.   Some are Court Ordered for the remainder of their life, even if they return to their home in the community. 

Frank actively works to inform the public and to offer assistance to those who wish to free themselves from this type of abuse of authority which is perpetrated under the guise of benevolent assistance to those in distress.  Individuals who are labeled by psychiatry's DSM can find they have lost their autonomy. Many find themselves effectively de-voiced; their own opinion is not heard or heeded while their liberty and freedom to choose how to deal, and who will help them, is stripped from them; without Procedural Due Process of Law.  

Frank Blankenship

in his own words:

I am a survivor of psychiatric torture and imprisonment.  I have made it my life's mission to help other people avoid the harmful mistreatment and indignities I have suffered at the hands of the mental illness/health establishment and system if they so choose. It is my belief that taking this position represents proof positive of my continued sanity.

Frank is President of the Board of MindFreedom Florida

here he is with Peter Lehman at Alternatives Conference 2011 in Orlando, Florida

  

Frank Blankenship (chair of MindFreedom Affiliate Support Committee), physician Larry Plumlee (MindFreedom DC), psychologist Al Galves on MindFreedom board, and David Oaks, director of MindFreedom International.

via Lunatic Fringe Frank's Blog:

1. They are silenced while strangers presume to speak for them 

2. They are lied to and about 

3. They are given inadequate legal counsel 

4. They are harassed by the police and locked up for piddling offenses 

5. They are subjected to kangaroo hearings and rigged court proceedings 

6. They are prevented from voting or holding elected office 

7. They are removed from environments they are familiar with 

8. They are expected to fail at every task they take on 

9. They are treated like children beyond the age of consent 

10. They are harmed by people who claim to be helping them 

11. They are mistaken for the symptoms of “disease” 

12. They are expected to work for nothing and this slavery is called rehab 

13. They are officially stigmatized through the records kept of their hospital stays 

14. They are the victims of violent crime more often than they are the perpetuators 

15. They are not allowed weapons with which to defend themselves 

16. They are discriminated against by employers, educators, and the general public 

17. They are stereotyped in the media 

18. They are humiliated and disrespected as a rule 

19. They are criticized for showing any pride or self-respect, and for telling the truth 

20. They are rewarded for lying, for betrayal, and for parroting the words and deeds of their oppressors 

21. They are deprived of opportunities most people take for granted 

22. They are ostracized, segregated and isolated 

23. They are imprisoned in state hospitals 

24. They are restrained to beds and chairs by leather straps 

25. They are placed in solitary confinement (seclusion or quiet rooms) 

26. They are sexually and physically abused, and the perpetuators of this abuse get off with little more than a knuckle rap 

27. They are shocked 

28. They are drugged 

29. They are injured by shock, drugging, restraint, and physical abuse 

30. They are killed

Please consider becoming a MindFreedom International Member if you are not already... Human Rights are for everyone!