A-Infos (en) [Fwd: DENDRITE: Counterprotest to Resist Forced Psychiat]

[Graeme Bacque <gbacque@arcos.org>]

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     A - I N F O S  N E W S  S E R V I C E
           http://www.ainfos.ca/
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DENDRITE ALERT: human rights in "mental health" system
 Feb. 9, 1998 -- please copy, re-distribute & post
 for more info e-mail: Protest@madnation.org
 
      Support Coalition International Organizes
      COUNTERPROTEST to Resist Forced Psychiatry
 
      Saturday, May 2, Washington, D.C., Freedom Plaza
 
 WASHINGTON, D.C. -- When the U.S. government, the National Alliance
 for the Mentally Ill, and the American Psychiatric Association all
 unite to "hit the streets" of Washington, D.C. on Sat., May 2, in a
 taxpayer-funded march for psychiatry, they may be in for a surprise.
 
 Many of the people they are "honoring" are not happy about the march.
 
 An alliance of 60 groups in eight countries promises a COUNTERPROTEST
 against forced psychiatry at the same time and place. Support
 Coalition International and allies will be in Washington, D.C."s
 "Freedom Plaza" from 9 am to 1 pm with signs saying "NO FORCE!",
 reports Counterprotest organizer Vicki Fox Wieselthier of St. Louis.
 
 The Counterprotest is being outspent 100 to 1. The U.S. government is
 spending $200,000 on their event, which is called "Walk the Walk."
 
 To have the U.S. government itself fund a political march on
 Washington is said to be unprecedented, and politically delicate for
 the Administration. Tipper Gore is a march co-chair. The National
 Alliance for the Mentally Ill (NAMI) is on the steering committee. A
 government news release for "Walk the Walk" said one goal is a push
 to quadruple the number of Americans who use psychiatric treatment.
 
 Counterprotesters are counting on grassroots support, especially via
 the Internet, where they say they've already uncovered a scandal:
 
 The federal agency sponsoring "Walk the Walk" is the Center for
 Mental Health Services. CMHS is paying much of the taxpayer's
 $200,000 directly to a large public relations firm, "Hayes, Domenici
 & Associates," to spin-manage the event. The name "Domenici" refers
 to one of the PR firm's co-owners, the wife of Congressperson Pete
 Domenici. Congressperson Domenici is one of the most fervent
 supporters of funding CMHS, and traditional "mental health" system.
 
 A focus of the Counterprotest is NAMI. While some individual members
 of National Alliance for Mentally Ill (NAMI) support liberty concerns
 of "psychiatric survivors," the leadership of NAMI has recently
 decided to escalate their own campaign for more forced psychiatry.
 
 Three months ago, NAMI announced the launch of a major campaign,
 called the "Treatment Advoacy Center" [NAMI-TAC] to greatly increase
 the number of Americans who would be subject to forced psychiatric
 drugs, both inside institutions, and even those living in their own
 homes out in the community. NAMI-TAC is the brain child of U.S.
 National Institute of Mental Health psychiatrist E. Fuller Torrey.
 More than half of NAMI's major corporate donors are drug companies.
 
 Other "NO FORCE" events are also happening before and after the
 Counterprotest, as part of a "Million Mad March" organized by
 MADNESS, a network of Internet forums.
 
 The co-coordinator of Support Coalition International, Janet Foner,
 will give a workshop the next day, Sunday, May 3, about alternatives
 to forced psychiatry. The title of the workshop is: "Take Back Your
 Mind: Crisis Prevention & Listening Skills for Community Leaders."
 
 ACTION YOU CAN TAKE NOW:
 
 * To find out more about the Counterprotest against forced
 psychiatry, and workshop the next day, e-mail:  Protest@madnation.org
 
 * Check out web site for "NO FORCE" graphic and for protest
 logistics:  http://www.madnation.org
 
 * To reserve a bed at D.C. American Youth Hostel, you can call
 24-hours a day to: 1-800-909-4776 and then enter extension "04." They
 take credit card to reserve, or mail in check for first night. More
 low-cost housing info available via http://www.madnation.org
 
 * See the new winter issue of Support Coalition's newsjournal,
 _Dendron News_, including a poster about opposing NAMI's "Chemical
 Crusade."  If you oppose forced human rights violations in
 psychiatry, you can request a sample copy of _Dendron News_ by
 e-mailing your postal address to:  dendron@efn.org
 
 * Those off the Internet can contact Support Coalition by writing: PO
 Box 11284; Eugene, OR 97440 USA. Or phoning: (541) 345-9106.
 
 * For general info on resisting the rise of forced psychiatry, see
 the web site for Support Coalition: http://www.efn.org/~dendron
 
 * DENDRITE is a free "read only" announcement e-mail list of Support
 Coalition International, a non-profit independent alliance united to
 WIN human rights campaigns in the "mental health"  system. To receive
 DENDRITE, e-mail ListProc@efn.org with these two words:
 
 subscribe dendrite

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