Friday night at 1 a.m. (yes, I know, it’s really Saturday- relax, it’s only radio) will be the usual night of lunacy on KBOO 90.7 FM (or streamed at KBOO.FM).
Mental Health consumer-talk-radio
Friday night,
1 a.m. to 2 a.m.-
Archived shows are available at
https://rickpdx.wordpress.com/mad-liberation-by-moonlight-archives/
Remember: Call in at 503-231-8187 to be on the radio
(or show up at the studio).
Filed under CS/X movement, Mad Radio, Mental Hell Treatment
Announcement: The Mad Liberation by Moonlight radio program for this month is cancelled- pre-empted actually. Our radio station, KBOO (90.7 FM in Portland, OR, or at kboo.fm on your internet dial). The annual John Lennon Birthday Marathon is happening on Friday, 10/9/09; coinciding with John’s birthday. KBOO will be playing (and streaming) Lennon music from 9 pm Friday evening to 8 am Saturday morning, thereby taking our slot for October.
Sadly, this is the Harvest Moon, here in the US and it’s a doozy. Ah, but I don’t care. John L. deserves our respect if for no other reason than John Lennon – Working Class Hero. Or even this: John Lennon – Beatles Breakup Interview 1970.
We will be back on the air next month on the Friday night following the full-moon. Consult your looner calendar for showtimes (looks sorta like the dark night of November 6th at 1 am, or really the morning of 11/7 if you want to be picky; you don’t want to be picky do you??)
Truth
Lots of things are true. Maybe everything, depending on perspective. These are some sources of perspective I would like to share.
First from my own personal spiritual tradition- the Society of Friends. Following are excerpts from a pamphlet by Thomas S. Brown, what we would call a “weighty Friend”. After the short excerpt is a complete download of the publication, free to share. I had to convert from PDF because, well, WordPress doesn’t seem to like PDF and the formatting becomes a bit jerky. Thomas Brown:
To know the Truth is not to accept it by an act of the
intellect, as a man may know the Greek alphabet, or as a
man may know his neighbor across the street. To know
the Truth is, rather, like the way in which man and wife
know each other, a life of wholly shared commitment, of
utter trust, of freedom from fear. Indeed, there is no
knowledge of the Truth where there is no commitment
which results in significant action, for the living root
produces living fruit after its own kind. We know the
presence of love, not by sighs and simpers, nor even by
desire, but by its power to lift men and women outside
themselves and to live beyond themselves. Honor is known
by honorable actions. Beauty is known by its creation among
us. Truth is not a group of intellectual concepts to be
manipulated at will like the symbols in mathematics or
the notes in music: Truth is living and life-giving, and those
who have welcomed the Truth have life.
This is crucial: it is not that we discover the Truth
and make it our own for our own purposes as men might
harness a mountain stream to light their houses or run
their machines. We are, rather, discovered by the Truth,
and are given power by the Truth to light our souls. We are
besieged by the Truth, who stands knocking at the door,
the Hound of Heaven, our Imperious Lover and Tyrannical
Servant, who would give us our hearts’ desire if we would
only throw our selfish desires away, and who longs to release
us from the folly of the “freedom of choice” we seem to think
so important even on matters of life and death.
Download: ThePersonalRelevanceOfTruth
Not exactly on the same page but an interesting find: Words of Truth by HH Dalai Lama. This is more of a prayer for Tibet and all others who suffer. Excerpt follows:
O Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, and disciples
of the past, present, and future:
Having remarkable qualities
immeasurably vast as the ocean,
Who regard all helpless sentient beings
as your only child;
Please consider the truth of my anguished pleas.
Buddha's full teachings dispel the pain of worldly
existence and self-oriented peace;
May they flourish, spreading prosperity and happiness through-
out this spacious world.
O holders of the Dharma: scholars
and realized practitioners;
May your ten fold virtuous practice prevail.
Humble sentient beings, tormented
by sufferings without cease,
Completely suppressed by seemingly endless
and terribly intense, negative deeds,
May all their fears from unbearable war, famine,
and disease be pacified,
To freely breathe an ocean of happiness and well-being.
And particularly the pious people
of the Land of Snows who, through various means,
Are mercilessly destroyed by barbaric hordes
on the side of darkness,
Kindly let the power of your compassion arise,
To quickly stem the flow of blood and tears.
Download (with legal rights to share included): WORDS OF TRUTH
I apologize for the tiny font. Dagnabbit!
I can't get the post editor to make 'em bigger. Get out your spectacles.
Rumi chimes in here:
Christian, Jew, Muslim, shaman, Zoroastrian, stone, ground, mountain, river, each has a secret way of being with the mystery, unique and not to be judged.Everyone is so afraid of death, but the real sufis just laugh:
nothing tyrannizes their hearts. What strikes the oyster shell
does not damage the pearl.
If in thirst you drink water from a cup, you see God in it.
Those who are not in love with God will see only their own faces in it.
He is a letter to everyone. You open it. It says, 'Live!'
In truth everything and everyone
Is a shadow of the Beloved,
And our seeking is His seeking
And our words are His words...
We search for Him here and there,
while looking right at Him.
Sitting by His side, we ask:
'O Beloved, where is the Beloved?'
God turns you from one feeling to another and teaches you
by means of opposites, so that you will have two wings to fly - not one.
Remember, the entrance door to the sanctuary is inside you.
For more Rumi, go here: http://www.scribd.com/doc/18791792/THE-MATHNAWI-Book-1-2-RUMI or look around my blog.
Miscellaneous Truth:
Peace and Nonviolence 01
text of above: peace
God offers to every mind its choice between truth and repose. Take which you please - you can never have both. ~Ralph Waldo Emerson
Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you mad. ~Aldous Huxley
Truth, like milk, arrives in the dark
But even so, wise dogs don't bark.
Only mongrels make it hard
For the milkman to come up the yard.
~Christopher Morley, Dogs Don't Bark at the Milkman
It is error alone which needs the support of government. Truth can stand by itself. ~Thomas Jefferson, Notes on Virginia
I never dreamed of being Shakespeare or Goethe, and I never expected to hold the great mirror of truth up before the world; I dreamed only of being a little pocket mirror, the sort that a woman can carry in her purse; one that reflects small blemishes, and some great beauties, when held close enough to the heart. ~Peter Altenberg
The greatest enemy of any one of our truths may be the rest of our truths. ~William James
Men ardently pursue truth, assuming it will be angels' bread when found. ~W. MacNeile Dixon
There is no god higher than truth. ~Mahatma Gandhi
Just for the heck of it:
A Century of Recorded Poetry, Vol 4, 32, Li-Young Lee - My Father, in Heaven, Is Reading Out Loud
Filed under Free Audio Books, Mad Radio, mp3, Mystic Poetry, pictures, Spirituality
Re: Full Moon Radio 9/4/09
Mental Health consumer-talk-radio
Friday night, 1 a.m. to 2 a.m.- September 4th, 2009
Look outside- the moon is full!
KBOO 90.7 FM or streamed on the web: kboo.fm
Call in at 503-231-8187 to be on the radio (or show up at the studio).
(click below for full size)
Please set your alarm if you aren’t up at that time- we need your voice.
There are people listening
(all over the world, by internet)
Call in at 503-231-8187
How will I know it’s time for Mad Lib Radio???
Archived shows are available at the tab above that says “MLBM”.
KBOO 90.7 FM or on the web at kboo.fm (note the repetition)
Be well,
Rick
p.s.- oh, here are some pictures I took this morning on the way to work:
Go here.
Fun. Yeah. That Friend speaks my mind.
Oh, yes. And it’s time to announce
Mad Liberation Radio 8/7/09
Mental Health consumer-talk-radio
Tonight, 1 a.m. to 2 a.m.-
August 7th, 2009
KBOO 90.7 FM or streamed on the web: kboo.fm
Call in at 503-231-8187 to be on the radio (or show up at the studio).
Please set your alarm if you aren’t up at that time- we need your voice.
There are people listening
(all over the world, by internet)
Call in at 503-231-8187
Extra Special Announcement!
Stay up until 11 the next morning and you
can take part in Internet Madness Radio!
Click http://www.blogtalkradio.com/davidwoaks
and/ or call in at (646) 595-2125.
MATTHEW MORRISSEY will co-host a special
live free Internet call-in show on humane,
empowering alternatives to
the conventional mental health system.
All three guests are actively involved in providing mental health
alternatives:
JESSICA ARNELLA, JAYME LYNCH, LYLE MURPHY
But I digress…
Mad Liberation by Moonlight
This Friday night, 1 a.m. to 2 a.m.-
August 7th, 2009
(yes, it’s really Saturday morning; relax, it’s only radio)
KBOO 90.7 FM or streamed on the web: kboo.fm
Call in at 503-231-8187
Archived shows are available at
https://rickpdx.wordpress.com/mad-liberation-by-moonlight-archives/
KBOO 90.7 FM or on the web at kboo.fm (note the repetition)
Be well,
Rick
(click below for full-size)
Filed under Mad Radio, Spirituality
Re: Looney Radio 5/15/09
Mental Health consumer-talk-radio
Tonight, Friday night, 1 a.m. to 2 a.m.-
May 15th, 2009
KBOO 90.7 FM or streamed on the web: kboo.fm
Call in at 503-231-8187 to be on the radio (or show up at the studio).
Please set your alarm if you aren’t up at that time- we need your voice.
There are people listening
(all over the world, by internet)
Call in at 503-231-8187
Archived shows are available at
https://rickpdx.wordpress.com/mad-liberation-by-moonlight-archives/
KBOO 90.7 FM or on the web at kboo.fm (note the repetition)
The next Full Moon is June 7th.
With any luck at all next month’s show will be June 12th- the Friday following the full moon.
Be well,
Rick
Filed under CS/X movement, Mad Radio
Re: Looney Radio 4/17/09
Mental Health consumer-talk-radio
This Friday night, 1 a.m. to 2 a.m.-
April 17th, 2009
KBOO 90.7 FM or streamed on the web: kboo.fm
Call in at 503-231-8187 to be on the radio (or show up at the studio).
Please set your alarm if you aren’t up at that time- we need your voice.
There are people listening
(all over the world, by internet)
Call in at 503-231-8187
Archived shows are now available at
https://rickpdx.wordpress.com/mad-liberation-by-moonlight-archives/
We’re running a week late again this month due to my son’s birthday (this time)
last weekend.
KBOO 90.7 FM or on the web at kboo.fm (note the repetition)
With any luck at all next month’s show will be May 8th- not following the full moon, but within 24 hours of it (the moon is actually full on the 9th, which is technically when the show happens- don’t worry about it).
Be well,
Rick
Filed under CS/X movement, Mad Radio, Mental health recovery
The usual lunar cycle of Mad Liberation by Moonlight radio is suspended this month. Instead of tomortrow night, the show will be broadcast/ webcast on the night of March 20th at 1 a.m. There will be a regular announcement next week. Note, however, that the recording of last month’s show (and others) is on this site on it’s own tab above.
Filed under Mad Radio
Mad Liberation By
MoonLight
This Friday! On KBOO Radio 90.7 FM
1- 2 a.m. Late Friday night
(yes, I know that it is technically Saturday morning-
relax, it’s just a radio show)
February 13th, 2009
This show is dedicated to Everyone
*who has ever been given a psychiatric label *who experiences mental health challenges
And, of course, to
*anybody who has the misfortune (or good fortune) of being awake at that hour
You can participate!
Call in at (503) 231-8187
Special guests are anticipated! How about you?
Aren’t you special? Better call in.
(Set your alarm if you aren’t usually up at that time or write an email to fullmoonradio@yahoo.com)
Friday nights from 1 am to 2 am usually following the full-moon, will be a segment on KBOO radio (90.7 on your fm dial, to the left of NPR), also streamed on the internet on their website, http://www.kboo.fm/index.php will be time for of Mad Lib by Moonlight. The program is part of the usual Friday night show, The Outside World. Shows are no archived in mp3 format at
https://rickpdx.wordpress.com/mad-liberation-by-moonlight-archives/
Updates and archived shows can also be found on this site and also 
http://fullmoonradio.wordpress.com/
This month’s poster:
Filed under Mad Radio
Forced Electroshock-
Question: Is “forced treatment” really “treatment” or is it “Torture”?
This is an interview on NPR (click on link):
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=98273451
Background (mostly from MindFreedom):
Ray Alerts
(I apologize for repetitive information)
MindFreedom International – 16 November 2008
Ray Human Rights Alert #3: Please Forward
Now see a photo of Ray here:
http://www.mindfreedom.org/shield/ray
Media ought to ask, “What is Minnesota Governor Pawlenty’s
position on Involuntary Outpatient Electroshock (IOE)?”
Ray gets a one week reprieve.
First the good news.
Within days of MindFreedom launching its campaign on 7 November 2008
to stop the weekly involuntary outpatient electroshock of Ray
Sandford, his doctor has decided to “skip a Wednesday.”
Ray says that this coming Wednesday, 19 November 2008, for the first
time in months, Ray will not be escorted against his will, under
court order, from his Minnesota home out in the community to his 34th
involuntary outpatient electroshock.
So there’s a reprieve for Ray.
For one week.
The bad news is that Ray’s doctor said Ray’s forced outpatient
electroshocks will resume on Wednesday, 26 November 2008, the day
before the USA holiday of Thanksgiving.
Ray said his involuntary shock will then continue every other week.
We don’t know if the one-week reprieve is because of the MindFreedom
campaign, but we know MindFreedom News readers are having an impact.
Since the MindFreedom first alert went out nine days ago, on 7
November 2008:
*** Many people from all over the world have e-mailed and phoned
the offices of the Governor of Minnesota, along with social service
agencies, media, and the hospital where Ray receives his electroshock
against his expressed wishes.
*** For the first time, thousands of people are now aware of the
existence of IOE — Involuntary Outpatient Electroshock.
*** A few national and local media are now actively investigating.
*** Several advocacy agencies and human rights organizations are
expressing concern and getting involved.
*** Several volunteer attorneys are now in touch to provide
assistance.
*** Volunteers are visiting Ray and sending him their support,
and Ray tells us he is grateful. One volunteer took the photo of Ray
shown on the web version of this alert:
http://www.mindfreedom.org/shield/ray
*** MindFreedom’s “Zapback” e-mail list is coordinating the
campaign.
*** A disability professor and her class of students have called
up Ray and are taking on his campaign as a project.
*** And more.
Thank you, everyone.
Keep up the pressure and the support!
KEEP IT UP!
First, keep phoning and e-mailing, especially if you have not so far.
Show there is national and international concern!
Here are the links to the original two MindFreedom alerts, which have
information about how to e-mail and phone the Governor of Minnesota,
and how to write or visit Ray:
7 Nov: Alert #1:
http://www.mindfreedom.org/shield/ray-sandford
12 Nov: Alert #2 – Governor Phone-In Campaign:
http://www.mindfreedom.org/shield/pawlenty-electroshock
16 Nov: Alert #3 – Link to this alert with photo of Ray:
http://www.mindfreedom.org/shield/ray
SOLVE A MYSTERY!
Second, help MindFreedom answer the main mystery.
Despite all this public interest the question remains, “What is
Governor Pawlenty’s position on Minnesota laws allowing involuntary
outpatient electroshock?”
Is this Governor, who campaigns for “limited government,” for such
laws or against them?
Unfortunately, the Governor’s office has not responded to any of the
many e-mails or phone calls requesting his policy position. The
Governor’s office is immediately forwarding citizen inquiries to a
voice mail, and then not replying to the voice mail.
We need media to ask the Governor for us. Please forward this alert
to all media, small and large, from newspapers to bloggers.
Media can direct questions to:
Brian McClung
Director of Communications for Minnesota’s Governor
phone: (651) 296-0001.
Media ought to ask, “What is Governor Pawlenty’s position on
Minnesota laws allowing involuntary outpatient electroshock?”
Sometimes the Governor’s office is re-directing calls to the
Minnesota Department of Human Rights. At first that sounds good. But
this office says it is only focused on determining whether narrow
discrimination complaints are legally valid. A spokesperson said this
department makes no statements about policy.
This Minnesota agency said they are planning a major one-day human
rights conference and forum on 5 December. One barrier is the “forum”
costs $200.
For information on this Minn. Dept. of Human Rights, and their
“forum,” click here:
http://www.mindfreedom.org/shield/ray/minnesota-human-rights-conference
or use this link:
http://tinyurl.com/mn-human-rights
You can also keep up with some of the latest developments about the
Ray Campaign on the MindFreedom blog by MindFreedom director David
Oaks, here:
http://www.mindfreedom.org/mfi-blog
Disclaimer: Because the State of Minnesota won’t reply, portions of
these alerts are based on Ray’s personal statements. By Ray’s own
admission, he now has severe memory problems. Therefore, journalists
may want to find a second source to confirm accuracy.
MindFreedom International – 24 November 2008
Ray Human Rights Alert #4: Please Forward
You Can Ask: Thanksgiving Reprieve?
MindFreedom Filing Complaint with UN Claiming “Torture” in Minnesota
The next forced outpatient electroshock of Ray Sandford is
scheduled for this Wednesday morning, 26 November 2008, the day
before the USA holiday of Thanksgiving.
Join an international campaign *NOW* to phone Minnesota Governor
Tim Pawlenty today and tomorrow, before the shock:
1) Ask the Governor to give Ray Sandford a reprieve from his next
forced electroshock.
2) Ask the Governor — who claims to believe in limited government —
if he supports laws in Minnesota allowing this torture: the
involuntary administration of electroshock therapy (ECT) of people
living out in the community?
A MindFreedom investigation revealed that Ray Sandford, 54,
complained of being escorted every week for months from his supported
living home in Columbia Heights, Minnesota to Mercy Hospital for
another course of electroshock over his objection.
After the first MindFreedom News international alert, Ray’s doctor
let him skip his forced shock this past Wednesday, 19 November.
This Wednesday morning, 26 November, Ray expects to be woken up early
once again to be escorted the 15 miles to what he is told will be his
34th involuntary outpatient electroshock under special Minnesota laws.
Meanwhile, MindFreedom is filing a official claim with the United
Nations calling Minnesota’s abuse of Ray “torture,” using a new
process and expanded definition by the UN.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
** ACTION ** ACTION ** ACTION **
Join in a MindFreedom international phone-in campaign!
Telephone Governor Pawlenty’s office *NOW* — and insist on talking
to a staff person.
Call any day, but especially call today and tomorrow, *before* Ray’s
scheduled electroshock this Wednesday.
From anywhere in the world phone (651) 296-3391.
From inside Minnesota phone toll free (800) 657-3717.
You have the best chance of reaching staff from 8:00 am to 4:30 pm
Central Time weekdays.
NOTE: Staff is directing many of these calls into voice mail.
MindFreedom is not aware of anyone actually getting a response to
this voice mail.
DO NOT GIVE UP! Politely but FIRMLY insist on on talking to a staff
person.
If you get redirected to voice mail leave a message, but call back
until you get an answer from a live person.
If you do receive any helpful information, e-mail it to
news@mindfreedom.org.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ray Campaign News Updates:
MindFreedom Filing Complaint with United Nations Alleging
“Torture” by Minnesota
This past Friday, 21 November, disability advocates met with Ray at
the Minnesota Center for Independent Living. Ray told advoctates he
very much supports this campaign.
During the meeting a teleconference was held with MindFreedom
President Celia Brown in New York City and MindFreedom Director David
Oaks in Oregon. Celia interviewed Ray so that MindFreedom may file a
human rights complaint under a new process with a United Nations
Special Rappateur. Because of recent developments, some types of
severe psychiatric abuse may now be considered torture by the UN.
Involuntary outpatient electroshock (IOE) is part of a trend to bring
the power of forced psychiatric procedures out into the community,
from the back ward to your front porch.
Mind your freedom: Your home is no longer your castle… it can
become your ward.
Electroshock itself has made a comeback throughout the USA, and
internationally, without adequate human rights protection.
You may read some of the many public comments that have been e-mailed
to the Governor at tim.pawlenty@state.mn.us here:
http://www.mindfreedom.org/shield/ray/sandford-support-letters
For a full-sized photo of Ray click on his image here:
http://www.mindfreedom.org/shield/ray
MindFreedom International – Ray Alert #5
Win Human Rights in Mental Health – Please Forward!
http://www.mindfreedom.org/shield/ray/alert-5-sandford
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ray’s Next Scheduled Involuntary Outpatient Electroshock is:
10 December — International Human Rights Day!
by David W. Oaks, Executive Director, MindFreedom International
This Wednesday, 10 December 2008, human rights activists all over the
world will be celebrating the 60th anniversary of the signing of the
United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
10 December is the UN’s official International Human Rights Day.
10 December is also the day that Ray Sandford is scheduled to receive
his 35th involuntary outpatient electroshock.
NEW ON WEB: Learn Ray’s story — Frequently Asked Questions About Ray
Sandford Campaign, click here:
http://www.mindfreedom.org/shield/ray/sandford-faq
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Latest News on Ray Campaign
Unless action is taken swiftly, then this Wednesday morning, as he
has been for most mornings in the last few months, Ray will be
awakened early by staff in his room at the group residence Victory
House near Minneapolis.
Once more an escort will bring him against his will the 15 miles to
Mercy Hospital, where once more — under court order — doctors will
place electrodes on his head for another electroconvulsive therapy
(ECT), or electroshock, that can and has wiped out precious memories
and cognitive abilities from Ray.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Good News About Ray Campaign:
Because of MindFreedom’s campaign to support Ray Sandford:
* The Minnesota Governor’s office reports receiving “hundreds” of
complaints. Thank you everyone!
* Three agencies are now working to replace Ray’s non-responsive
court-appointed attorney with a new attorney.
* National media has finally interviewed Ray for an upcoming broadcast.
The Bad News: It is Not Enough! Speak Out Now!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
** ACTION ** ACTION ** ACTION **
It is time to take the Ray Campaign up a notch, peacefully but strongly!
Let this become a top issue in the Governor’s office.
Telephone Governor Pawlenty’s office *NOW*:
Call any day, but especially call *before* Ray’s scheduled
electroshock next Wednesday, 10 December 2008.
Call from anywhere in the world phone (651) 296-3391.
From inside Minnesota phone toll free (800) 657-3717.
You have the best chance of reaching staff from 8:00 am to 4:30 pm
Central Time weekdays.
WHY WON’T GOVERNOR PAWLENTY REPLY? Find out! Ask!
Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty has completely stone-walled!
* His office refuses to issue any statement on the policy of forced
electroshock.
* He claims he can do nothing, that the courts are in charge, when he
could at least make sure Ray gets better legal representation for a
stay or appeal.
* His office operators have been instructed to immediately redirect
calls about Ray into a voice mail. No one we know of has ever heard
back. Some operators have hung up on callers.
* Meanwhile, the Governor is sponsoring a $200-a-head luxury hotel
conference about International Human Rights Day!
It is time to get creative!
* Ray will not give up!
* We will not give up!
* Don’t you give up!
Please be peaceful, but be CREATIVELY MALADJUSTED in your next
phone calls to Governor Pawlenty’s office.
First, get the name of the operator and write it down. Then start by
asking polite but firm questions about advocacy…
* about citizen input…
* about who to talk to about mental health policy…
* about the names and phone numbers of the Ombudsman office
* about mental health policy and the mental health division…
* about how poor people can have adequate legal representation…
And only then ask about why the Governor is refusing to speak out
about Involuntary Outpatient Electroshock (IOE)?
Insist on speaking to a live real person about this issue.
If you do not get a real person with a real reply, CALL BACK.
If an operator hangs up on you, call back and ask to speak to a
manager and complain.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
REMEMBER:
Telephone Governor Pawlenty’s office *NOW*:
Call any day, but especially call *before* Ray’s scheduled
electroshock next Wednesday, 10 December 2008.
Call from anywhere in the world phone (651) 296-3391.
From inside Minnesota phone toll free (800) 657-3717.
You have the best chance of reaching staff from 8:00 am to 4:30 pm
Central Time weekdays.
If you do receive any helpful information or leads, e-mail it to news-
at-mindfreedom.org.
Other Ray correspondence:
November 15, 2008
Attention:
Chair, Human Rights Committee
Office of the High Commission on Human Rights
United Nations
Dear Chairperson,
I am forwarding the letter below, initially addressed to Mr.Tim Pawlenty, Governor of Minnesota, for your information and possible action. It concerns the forced electroshocking of Mr. Ray Sandford, a psychiatric outpatient in Minnesota. Despite his repeated refusal, Mr. Sandford has been court-ordered to submit to the memory-destroying, brain-damaging psychiatric procedure of electroshock (”electroconvulsive therapy” or “ECT”). Together with many other psychiatric survivors and human rights activists, I am absolutely convinced that the health, safety and human rights of Mr. Sandford and thousands of other citizens are being seriously and repeatedly violated by physicians, particularly psychiatrists, as well as Governor Pawlenty and the State of Minnesota.
I would appreciate knowing if the Human Rights Committee considers electroshock, particularly forced electroshock, a form of torture, a serious human rights violation. Many of us psychiatric survivors and human rights activists believe it is. For over twenty-five (25) years, hundreds, if not thousands, of electroshock survivors, other psychiatric survivors, human rights activists, health professionals including several psychiatrists and neurologists, and concerned citizens have publicly and frequently protested against electroshock. We have repeatedly urged a total and immediate ban on electroshock in Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Ireland, and New Zealand.
To date, I have not received a reply from Governor Pawlenty. Please acknowledge receipt of my letter, I look forward to your reply.
Sincerely,
Don Weitz
Executive Member, Coalition Against Psychiatric Assault – http://capa.oise.utoronto.ca
1401-38 Orchard View Blvd., Toronto,Ontario M4R 2G3 Canada
November 12, 2008
Governor Tim Pawlenty
State of Minnesota
tim.pawlenty@state.mn.us
Dear Governor Pawlenty,
As an antipsychiatry activist and psychiatric survivor of insulin shock treatment many years ago in Massachusetts, I am writng to strongly protest against the forced electroshock (”ECT”) inflicted on 54-year old Ray Sandford in Minnesota. I understand Mr. Sandford is being forcibly taken (”escorted”) to Mercy Hospital (”Mercy”?) where he is being shocked against his will or without consent every Wednesday morning. Given the fact that psychiatrists and other doctors do not inform patients about the common and severe risks of permanent memory loss and brain damage, and given the fact that psychiatrists and other doctors frequently use blackmail or threats and intimidation to get “ECT” patients to consent, no person can possibly give “voluntary and informed consent” to electroshock. Informed consent in the “mental health system” is a compete myth, a sham
Electroshock itself is a traumatic and horrific psychiatric procedure (not “treatment”); it always causes some degree of brain-damage including permanent memory loss. After having listened to the personal and public testimonies of numerous shock survivors in Canada and the United States and after having read many independent studies of electroshock in the medical-psychiatric literature during the last 30 years, there is absolutely no doubt that electroshock is inherently destructive, inhumane and unethical; the use of force is particularly torturous. State-sanctioned use of police powers to inflict electroshock on Mr.Sandford against his will – and inflicted on any other US citizen for that matter – is a serious violation of his constitutional and human rights, a serious violation of the United Nations’ Convention Against Torture, and a serious violation of Article 5 of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights that specifically prohibits any “cruel and unusual treatment or degrading punishment, or torture”.
Thousands of shock survivors, including myself, advocacy and human rights organizations and several psychiatrists and neurologists in the United States and other countries have advocated a total ban on electroshock. Some states in your country have restricted the use of electroshock – for example, Texas, California and Oregon. Why not Minnesota?
I am copying this to the United Nations’ Committee Against Torture, other international human rights bodies, advocacy organizations of psychiatric survivors, several concerned psychiatrists and neurologists, and the media.
In the interests of Mr Sandford’s health, safety and human rights, I urge you to use your office and power as Governor to stop electroshocking Ray Sandford now.
Stop state-sanctioned torture in Minnesota!
I look forward to your reply.
Sincerely,
Don Weitz
Executive member, Coalition Against Psychiatric Assault – http://capa.oise.utoronto.ca
1401-38 Orchard View Blvd., Toronto, Ontario M4R 2G3
c: MindFreedom International
United Nations, Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights
Committee Against Torture
Amnesty International
Coalition Against Psychiatric Assault
National Association for Rights Protection and Advocacy
Editor-in-Chief, The New York Times
I’ve added a radio archive for Mad Liberation by Moonlight, starting for this last show (1 am 12/13/08, to be technical).
Filed under Mad Radio, Mental health recovery, mp3
 | Luf on Red light runner |
 | rick s on The world is so full of a numb… |
 | Whitney Decker on The world is so full of a numb… |
 | andtiggertoo on There is nothing wrong with… |
| andtiggertoo on I find it hard to believe |
moon soup 