MAD PRIDE:schedules for Canada, England,France and the USA
Jake
Psychiatric Survivors Celebrate
Mad Pride 2005 in Four Nations.
by Krista Erickson and David Oaks
MindFreedom International
A parade, vigil, theater, fasting, food,
music, art and more create Mad Pride 2005.
Mad Pride 2005 is in at least four nations
this year! You are invited to join in
where ever you are! Below you will find
. At the bottom find
more info about schedules for events in Canada, England,
France and the USA
Mad Pride, MindFreedom,
and how you are invited to participate.
WHAT IS "MAD PRIDE"?
Mad Pride celebrates the creativity,
strength and resilience of the human
spirit and is open to ALL. Mad Pride
provides an opportunity to educate the
public, empower psychiatric survivors and
consumers of mental health system, and
raise consciousness through various
activities such as art, theatre, music,
poetry, protests, vigils and more.
Mad Pride counteracts discrimination and
prejudice towards people who have
experienced mental distress or have been
labeled by the mental health system.
Mad Pride also promotes economic, social,
environmental and cultural integration of
users/survivors into mainstream society.
Mad Pride is about celebrating "Mad
Culture." Observances of Mad Pride are
often used to call attention to past and
ongoing human rights violations in the
mental health system.
YOUR MAD PRIDE 2005 UPDATED SCHEDULE!
Below is the latest news we have of Mad
Pride celebrations/events taking place in
four countries this month, July 2005. If
you have an event to add, please contact
the MindFreedom office at
off...@mindfreedom.org.
For more information, photos of past Mad
Pride events and how to get your official
flying-brain Mad Pride t-shirt go to:
http://www.mindfreedom.org/mindfreedom/madpride/
AN EASY WAY to celebrate Mad Pride is
simply to forward this news far and wide!!
~~~~~~~~~~~~
JULY 2005 MAD PRIDE
CELEBRATIONS and EVENTS:
~~~~~~~~~~~~
* NEW YORK MAD PRIDE 2005
July 8 to 14, 2005
The Mental Patients Liberation Alliance
25th Annual Bastille Day
Demonstration/Celebration.
Celebrate the Human Spirit, Break the
Silence About Psychiatric Oppression!
Join in a week of camping-out with a
teach-in, vigil, and more! For 25 years
this wonderful group has been using
Bastille Day -- July 14 -- to speak out
about human rights in mental health! The
legendary psychiatric survivor and shock
survivor George Ebert is one of the main
organizers.
This event is once again directly on the
East Lawn of the State Capitol Building
in Albany, New York! Watch for the
camp-out vigil and their huge signs.
Says George, "We are 'mental patients'
setting up a temporary asylum in the
State Capitol lawn. Some Alliance members
and supporters will begin a fast at the
event to call attention to and help stop
forced shock treatment."
George said the event will also oppose
President Bush's new "universal mental
health screening" of all Americans.
George said, "President Bush has revealed
his mandate to have every American,
starting with our 52 million students, to
undergo 'mental health' tests.
Pharmaceutical companies have been
actively involved in designing,
implementing, and promoting the plan,
tests, and evaluations."
A special focus is to end a horrendous
practice that continues in New York State
of forcing electroshock involuntarily over
the expressed wishes of the subject. This
abuse is well documented, but --
incredibly -- Governor George E. Pataki
vetoed a bill passed by the State
Assembly that would have begun to control
this horrible violation.
Mental Patients Liberation Alliance is
one of the founding groups of
MindFreedom. For more info: Phone
The Alliance at (315) 947-5888,
1-800-654-7227 or e-mail:
AllianceBa...@yahoogroups.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~
* ENGLAND MAD PRIDE 2005
July 12 - 14, 2005 from Bradford to
Manchester, UK.
Activists in England are pushing a
psychiatric bed on wheels from Bradford
to Manchester -- a distance of approx.
33 miles! On the psychiatric bed they are
strapping a manequin in four point
restraints, to symbolize abuse by
psychiatry! Brilliant!
This group is very effective in reaching
the public in visual ways, such as their
wonderful Valentine's Day protest march
of forced psychiatric drugging. They are
looking for people to join the bedpush
team -- you don't have to walk the whole
distance, only as far as you feel
comfortable walking. More details and
photos of their great past events go
to http://www.kissit.org
~~~~~~~~~~~~
* PARIS, FRANCE MAD PRIDE 2005!
July 14, 2005 - The Bastille, Paris,
France.
Activists from MindFreedom's sponsor
group in Paris will once more gather at
the actual Bastille on Bastille Day. As
they have done for years, they solemnly
lay a wreath at the Paris Bastille to
remember the uncountable number of people
who have been killed and harmed by human
rights violations in the psychiatric
system. For more information contact
Alain Wache at alain...@hotmail.com.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
* TORONTO, CANADA MAD PRIDE 2005!
July 14 to 17, 2005
The Friendly Spike Arts and Information
Festival of Human Rights and Wrongs!
In recognition of Psychiatric Survivor
Pride Day and Mad Pride Worldwide!
In 1993 Toronto Psychiatric Survivors and
local community organizations began
holding a yearly event to educate the
public, bring attention to Psychiatric
Survivor issues, and empower themselves.
Beginning in the year 2000, Psychiatric
Survivor Pride Day aligned itself with
Mad Pride Day that is celebrated globally
on July 14th. The Friendly Spike Theatre
Band proudly acknowledges local
Psychiatric Survivor Pride and
International Mad Pride day with an
annual grassroots festival.
This year's event has a decidedly "human
rights and wrongs" theme because human
rights and wrongs are something we all
share in. Friendly Spike is a sponsor
group of MindFreedom International.
An incredible array of creative events
will take place this year in this
Toronto. All events are FREE however
donations are accepted. All events are
wheelchair accessible, however the
theatre is accessible via freight
elevator and reservations are advised.
-- THE OPENING!: Toronto City Hall, 100
Queen Street West, Committee Room Two,
July 14, 2005 - 1pm - 4pm.
Greetings from Human Rights Activist Anna
Willats and Special Guest - Velma Demerson
author of INCORRIGIBLE.
Featuring: Poet and writer - Leah Lakshmi
Piepzna-Samarasinha, Writer and Director
-Darren O'Donnell, Singers and
songwriters Honey Novick, Roger Ellis,
and Mamma D. (Marchand). Presenters will
discuss how various art forms and
disciplines may be used to strengthen
human rights and bring attention to human
wrongs. Friendly Spike Hosts will pay
tribute to the activism of Bonnie Burstow
and Don Weitz.
-- A PASSION FOR LIFE: Philosopher's
Walk, July 14th 2005 - 5pm - 6pm. (behind
Royal Conservatory of Music, 273 Bloor St.
West):
Members of "Women Won't Forget" lead a
tour of the vigil site at Philosopher's
Walk. Through their own stories of
survival, through the stories of murdered
women, and through poetry and music they
will demonstrate how art can keep alive
the spirit of women who have gone before
us, and bring renewed energy and a strong
voice to those of us who truly want to
change the world.
-- PATIO B.B.Q. : The Friendly Spike
Warehouse Theatre Patio - 2466 Dundas
Street West; July 14th 2005 - 6:30 PM -
8pm.
Friendly Spike serves up FREE
mouthwatering burgers, dogs, and veggie
kabobs!
-- HUMAN RIGHTS MATTER: The Friendly
Spike Theatre Band - 2466 Dundas Street
West - 210, Toronto; July 14th 2005 -
July 16th 8pm - 9pm.
Premiere of "Human Rights Matter," a new
play by The Friendly Spike Theatre Band!
The play uses a make-believe Human Rights
Commission to review complaints. The play
is designed to encourage people to speak
out against human wrongs.
-- CABARET and Open Stage - The Friendly
Spike Theatre Band - 2466 Dundas Street
west, 210, Toronto, Ontario; July 14 to
July 16, 2005; 9pm - 11:30 pm.
Hosted by Mikel Renout, featuring the
groovy improv band Michael Holt and Kids,
and Open Stage.
-- RIGHTS FORUM, Parkdale Community
Legal services. July 15th 2005 - 2pm -
5pm. (Contact Friendly Spike for location
info.)
-- CAPA (Coalition Against Psychiatric
Assault); July 16th 2005 -1pm - 4pm.
CAPA PRESENTS ANTIPSYCHIATRY IN FILM AND
VIDEO: The Peace lounge, seventh floor,
Ontario Institute for Studies in
Education (OISE).
The afternoon will begin by a screening
of "Still Sane" made by Brenda Ingratta
and Lidia Patriasc featuring our very own
Sheila Gilhooly and Persimmon Blackbridge.
Next will be the premiere showing of a
video by Jeffrey Myers on "Inquiry into
Psychiatry 2005" - the public hearings
into electroshock and drugs, which CAPA
held this April 2005. This video shows
both the planning that went into the
inquiry and testimony itself. After the
event CAPA members will answer questions
about the public hearings process.
-- HISTORICAL PATIENT BUILT WALL TOUR -
Queen and Shaw (outside Center for
Addiction and Mental Health, 1001 Queen
Street West); July 17th 2005 6 pm- 8:00
pm.
Historian, and author of "Remembrance of
Patients Past: Patient life at The
Toronto Hospital for The Insane, 1870
-1940" Geoffrey Reaume will lead a
walking tour featuring the strengths and
achievements of the psychiatric captives
who built the wall, and lived and died in
it's shadow. A HAPPENING, on the site will
follow.
For more information contact: Ruth Ruth.
Phone: (416) 516-4740 or e-mail
friend...@globalserve.net
~~~~~~~~~~~~
* OREGON MAD PRIDE 2005
Sunday, 10 July -- 3 pm, Veneta, Oregon, USA
Since 2000, Mad Pride has been celebrated
annually inside the enormous Oregon
Country Fair near Veneta, Oregon, USA.
You are invited to Mad Pride Oregon 2005
on the intimate stage of the Community
Village. You also may find Mad Pride
folks during the fair in the Village at
the Doors of Expression Booth. Come by to
Mad Pride Oregon 2005 for music,
sing-a-longs, "normality screenings" and
a group photo. For information on how to
attend Oregon Country Fair go to
http://www.oregoncountryfair.org/
~~~~~~~~~~~~
CHICAGO MAD PRIDE 2005!
MindFreedom once more is an official
participant in major Disability Pride
events in Chicago, USA.
-- The 2005 Disability Pride Parade
presents The Community Open Mic. Friday,
July 22, 2005, 6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m.,
University of Illinois at Chicago
Auditorium, 1640 West Roosevelt Road.
Join parade organizers, Grand Marshal
Steve Brown, participants and friends for
an evening of essays, poetry and stories
the day before the disability community
kicks-off Chicago's Second Annual
Disability Pride Parade. To reserve a
spot on the program, e-mail
martin...@yahoo.com or call (312)
253-7000 ext 199 (voice), 312-253-7002
(TTY).
-- Disability Pride Parade; July 23, 2005, Chicago, Illinois, USA.
MindFreedom will again have a contingent
marching in the Chicago's second annual
Disability Pride Parade. The Mad Pride
brigade will be led by Krista Erickson,
board member of MindFreedom
International, and a blind
cross-disability activist.
Come celebrate Mad Pride and build
bridges between our movement and the
disability community. Parade step-off is
at noon followed by a post-parade
celebration at Union Park -- 1:00-3:00.
If you want to be in the MindFreedom
Disability Pride Parade contingent,
please e-mail kri...@intenex.net by July
22.
General information about Disability
Pride (including a link to MindFreedom's
page on Mad Pride) can be found at
http://www.disabledandproud.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~
* VANCOUVER, CANADA - MAD PRIDE 2005!
July 16, 2005
Mad Pride Cabaret!
Gallery Gachet, located in Gastown at 88
E. Cordova St. (at Columbia) in
Vancouver B.C., is hosting a Mad Pride Cabaret
on Saturday, July 16, from 7 to 10 pm.
This informal cultural evening will bring
together mental health survivors and
friends to share an open mic, music,
spoken word, speakers, and video.
Refreshments will be served, and
admission is by donation.
Gallery Gachet is Canada's only
artist-run centre operated by and for
mental health consumers.
For more information -- Media Contact:
Valerie Elchu, Promotions Director, ph:
604.687.2468 (office) or visit the
website at http://www.gachet.org
Francesca Allan of MindFreedom will
also attend, cover the event, and network
with those who wish to start a new
affiliate MindFreedom British Columbia.
E-mail Francesca at luna...@shaw.ca.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
FREQUENTLY ASKED MAD PRIDE QUESTIONS!
WHAT'S THE BACK STORY ABOUT MAD PRIDE!
THE ABOVE MAD PRIDE EVENTS are just a
sample of the activities that have been
held for these past decades to celebrate
the human rights and spectacular culture
of people considered very different by
our society.
Mad Pride may be celebrated anytime but
is most often observed in the month of
July, usually on or around July 14,
Bastille Day. This year is the 25th
anniversary of psychiatric survivors
using Bastille Day to celebrate Mad Pride.
The tradition of using Bastille Day as
Mad Pride Day was started in New York by
the Mental Patients Liberation Alliance
and has since spread around the world.
The 14th of July marks the anniversary of
the storming of the Bastille in Paris,
France in 1789. For over the past two
centuries, the storming of the Bastille
has been a universal symbol of
liberation. In addition, when the
Bastille was stormed, two prisoners with
psychiatric labels being detained there
for that reason were freed.
The Mad Pride celebrations have grown
directly out of an historic but little-known
international social change movement led
by psychiatric survivors and mental
health consumers that began in about
1970. MindFreedom International is one
of the groups in this movement.
Mad Pride got its start in London
when activists there saw a Gay Pride
event and got madly inspired.
IS MAD PRIDE ONLY FOR PSYCHIATRIC SURVIVORS?
This movement is open to ALL, whether or
not you have personally been labeled by
the psychiatric system. Mad Pride is
really about Human Pride. Yes, given
humanity's track record, Human Pride may
seem daunting. Mad Pride celebrates how
each person's eccentricities, passion,
uniqueness and freedom makes you truly
human. Do not allow our very humanity to
be pathologized by a corporate mental
health system that has gone out of
control! Celebrate YOUR Mad Pride!
IS USING "MAD" STIGMATIZING?
About the use of the word "mad": Yes,
when MindFreedom International's great
team is in the United Nations -- as it has
been for four years -- we tend to use
more "widely-acceptable" language. But
once in a while, we feel one has to do as
Gay Pride has done, and reclaim language
for our own creative and fun use! The
origin of the word mad is simply "changed."
If you choose not to say "mad," that's okay.
HOW CAN I BECOME A LEADER OF MAD PRIDE?
YOU ARE INVITED to be part of helping to
network, promote and organize future Mad
Pride events! It's easy. Just join the non-profit
organization MindFreedom International at
http://www.MindFreedom.org, and then
apply to be on the MindFreedom Mad Pride
Organizing Committee. Or e-mail for more
info to off...@mindfreedom.org. Include
your postal address if you'd like a sample
of MindFreedom's newsjournal.
BUT WHAT CAN I DO RIGHT *NOW* FOR MAD PRIDE?
You may celebrate in your own way
wherever you are this month.
PLEASE REMEMBER: One way to show your
MAD PRIDE right *now*, is simply to
forward, copy and post this to appropriate
places on and off the Internet!
And please TALK ABOUT THIS, break the
silence with your friends, relatives,
colleagues. Ask them, "Did you know this
is Mad Pride month"? Point them to the
web site http://www.MindFreedom.org.
- end -
~~~~~~~~~~~~
This news alert is a free public service
of MindFreedom International. If you
would like to be on this occasional e-mail
list of news about actions for human rights
and alternatives in mental health go here:
http://www.intenex.net/lists/listinfo/mindfreedom-news
To remove your e-mail address from this list,
see the very bottom this alert.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Promotion of Mad Pride 2005 "in a spirit
of mutual cooperation" is provided by:
MindFreedom International
454 Willamette, Suite 216 - POB 11284
Eugene, OR 97440-3484 USA
http://www.mindfreedom.org
email: off...@mindfreedom.org fax: (541) 345-3737
phone: (541) 345-9106 toll free in USA: 1-877-MAD-PRIDE
MIND YOUR FREEDOM: United Action for Human Rights.
join here: http://www.mindfreedom.org/join.shtml
MindFreedom Support Coalition International is an
independent non-profit uniting 100 sponsor groups
to win human rights & alternatives in mental health.
Accredited by the United Nations as a
Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) with
Consultative Roster Status.
"Human salvation lies in the hands of the
creatively maladjusted." - Martin Luther King, Jr.