From: "David M James" <shddemon-AT-concentric.net> Date: Sat, 22 Jul 2000 21:42:57 +0000 Subject: (Fwd) Open Lrtter to Bill Ellis of the U.S. Green Party Here is yet another example of the Green Party's hypocrisy. If you're going to vote at all, vote for Michael Moore's other brilliant idea, the Ficus Tree (www.ficus2000.com) ------- Forwarded Message Follows ------- Date sent: Sat, 22 Jul 2000 15:12:48 -0700 To: "Bill Ellis" <tranet-AT-rangeley.org>, twbounds-AT-pop.mail.rcn.net From: David Oaks - Support Coalition International <dendron-AT-efn.org> Subject: Re: [pf] Ralph Nader stays silent about one consumer issue: forced outpatient psychi Copies to: positive-futures-AT-igc.topica.com OPEN LETTER TO BILL ELLIS Thanks much to Bill Ellis for dialoging about the issue of FORCED PSYCHIATRY, and why it's an important issue this election year (he doesn't think it is, we do). Bill is concerned about our publicizing the fact that Ralph Nader has refused to take a position on forced psychiatric drugging, especially the rise of forced outpatient psychiatric drugging. . Below is our dialogue (I'll copy this to the places Bill copied it, plus to some of our members). At 6:09 AM -0400 7/22/00, Bill Ellis wrote: >Tom and David, why blame Nader. >What response have you gotten from George "W", or Al Gore? We're asking all candidates. George W is pro-forced psychiatry -- his state is one of the worst. We have a whole CAMPAIGN to get an answer from Al Gore -- that's where we're mainly putting our energy. If you are truly interested in what we're doing, I'd recommend our newsjournal which covers this topic. Al and Tipper Gore's chief counsel agreed to meet with us, and on May 2 I was in the White House with a dozen other disability leaders DEMANDING -- and we used that word -- DEMANDING that Tipper and Al speak out. So believe me, we're campaigning on this issue with all candidates. And remember, I'm a Green, I've promoted Ralph -- my hero -- for years. But he's NO SAINT. What happened to everyone's "Question Authority" button when it comes to Ralph? Aside from Ralph staying SILENT for a decade on this issue, there's a deeper problem -- Ralph's MAIN advisers on mental health are among our main opponents: Drs. Wolfe & Torrey. We think his close affiliation with them is a red flag that we all need to know where he stands. But you know who has been good on our issue? And I'm a Green so this is strange to say: The Libertarians have been fantastic! They've compassionately heard our concerns, and have a PLANK in their new platform specifically on this!!!! If you're going to vote against both Gore and Bush, and Ralph stays silent on this disability issue....it's time to take a serious look at the Libertarians..... >You cannot expect Nader to take on every issue of the world. For decades the progressive movement has IGNORED psychiatric disabilities. When do we have a chance to speak out? The psychiatric survivors movement has been working for THIRTY YEARS, and our sisters and brothers in other social change movement have -- like the rest of society -- treated us with silence, silence, silence. In the family of transformation movements, we are the aunt in the attic who has been ignored. But I've been a paid activist in the peace and environmental movements, and I want to tell you this: The disability movement is huge, it has more than 40 million VOTERS, and they care about the psychiatric rights movement. Progressives ignore this issue just hands it over to the right wing. When it comes to Ralph -- we've written to him for YEARS about his close affiliation with Drs. Wolfe & Torrey. He hasn't responded -- he didn't have to, because he was just in a think tank (a law firm). But now he's running for office. This is the BEST TIME to raise these issues. And finally, I know you wouldn't have said what you did if Nader was anti-choice on abortion. But our pro-choice issue impacts people's lives too. Have you ever seen the autopsy reports following forced psychiatric drugging? I have. And we're saying FORCED PSYCHIATRIC DRUGGING IS ON A MASSIVE INCREASE. Why is it our group is expendable? Could it be our people are among the most powerless? We are not going to stand for the silence in the family of progressive movements any longer. Our board considers this an emergency time for people with psychiatric labels, whose rights are being targeted. This is similar to what Japanese Americans faced during World War II. What should we wait for.... how bad does it have to get..... until aerial spraying of Prozac starts? >How about the issue of parents having their own children kidnapped and >put awat in island boot camps. Or how about TV advertising of drugs in >general. Or how about....(you name your favorite issue). Those are important. But over and over groups representing psychiatric survivors and mental health consumers have identified FORCED DRUGGING ESPECIALLY IN OUT IN THE COMMUNITY IN OUR OWN HOME, as the number one issue. No offense, but you don't speak for us -- psychiatric survivors identify their own priorities. > >Nader's, and our, job right now, is getting out the votes for >Progressives and Greens. Nader has zero chance of winning, so don't tell us to silence our message about human rights. > Important as it is "outpatient drugging" will not win many >votes. No, but I'm a Green and I know this: Raising this issue will show exactly which Greens really believe in GREEN VALUES when it comes to the most powerless of people. We are watching, we will remember. >Hot issues are: preventing George "W" from packing the suprene court, >making abortion illegal, giving more tax breaks to the rich, back >tracking on environmental laws, and a host of other topics with >significant voter appeal. Really? How about George Bush's connection to the right wing, and his visits to their churches? Our members are meeting personally with the Libertarian party candidate. They have a whole plank on forced outpatient drugging, they consider it important. And believe me -- they're very interested to hear how close Ralph has been with Drs. Torrey and Wolfe, and how silent he's been -- for a decade -- on this key disability issue. If we were totally unimportant, why even bother to e-mail us? > >Vent your criticism where is is most needed. We will speak out EVERYWHERE about what is happening to our people. It breaks my heart as a radical left organizer for 24 years that the right wing is way ahead of many people on the left. The right wing is doing more to speak out, for instance, about the rise of Ritalin in the schools. Unfortunately, many compassionate people on the left have been hired to work in the human services, where more and more psychiatric jargon and psychiatric drugs -- it's kind of a macro co-optation. By the way, we've contacted the Gores, etc. many many times, but have not received many personal responses. The fact that a Green would take time to respond is evidence we are complaining in EXACTLY the right place. We are a small movement, so bringing this up with the Greens is apparently a good idea! Thanks for the encouragement! > >Bill Ellis > >---------- >>From: Tom Wheeler <twbounds-AT-pop.mail.rcn.net> > David Oaks - <dendron-AT-efn.org>, >> Subject: >> >> Ralph Nader is staying silent about "mental health's" number one >> controversy: Those interested should ask us for a copy of our newsjournal and/or check out our web site. Don't wait until a family member is in emotional crisis, and you're desperately searching for something other than forced psychiatric drugging and electroshock from a huge corporation..... BREAK THE SILENCE ABOUT THIS OPPRESSION -- it impacts a huge number of people, but there is silence about it!!!! David Oaks, director Support Coalition International 454 Willamette, Suite 216 PO Box 11284 Eugene, OR 97440-3484 USA e-mail: davidoaks-AT-post.harvard.edu general info: office-AT-MindFreedom.org web: http://www.MindFreedom.org phone: (541) 345-9106 toll free: 1-877-MAD-PRIDE fax: (541) 345-3737 Support Coalition International is a non-profit federation of 88 groups in 13 countries winning human rights and alternatives for people diagnosed with mental disabilities. Mad Pride Celebration 2000: .... 10 years of Support Coalition International! .... 30 years of the psychiatric survivors movement! --- By his heretical views on ... soma, ...he has proved himself an enemy of Society, a subverter, ladies and gentlemen, of all Order and Stability, a conspirator against Civilization itself. -- The Director, from Aldous Huxley's _Brave New World_
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