Psychiatric survivor activist for more than 40 years, who is now very disabled after a fall, now focusing on challenging global warming. Lives in Eugene with his marvelous wife Debra.
I will be participating in this important free webinar THIS Friday, August 19th, 2022. Please spread the word!
Friday, 19 August 2022 at 2 pm Pacific, 5 pm Eastern
Students with mental health needs across the USA are being shamed by educational institutions and professors. Join us for a powerful conversation as we explore the path forward for real change!
Please pre-register to attend this free webinar on Zoom, by clicking this link and submitting your email: https://tinyurl.com/yszch7hw
This event is being held by MindFreedom International & Youth Era.
Special guests:
Martin Rafferty, CEO of Youth Era, former MFI staff member
Madison Eldrige, university student, Intern at MFI & Aciu! Institute
Arnicia Gillyard, university student, Program Manager at Youth Era
David W. Oaks, consultant with Aciu! Institute & MFI co-founder
As promised in my blog, below are some tools you can use to build Mad Pride and Disability Pride.
This is not meant to be a comprehensive directory, but to provide you with inspiration and tips. Please comment on both my Mad In America blog, and at the bottom of this resource blog, with your views, suggestions, ideas… and I will respond as I’m able.
When I broke my neck one decade ago, I drew upon the lessons I learned about empowerment from decades in the psychiatric survivor movement. I am proud of applying these skills when I needed them most. There are many other reasons to have Disability Pride: Our resilience, the amazing global disability community, the uniqueness of every human being…
Mad Pride Resources
Background on Mad Pride
Mad Pride logo by artist Sarafin. Text at the bottom reads: “The right to be free, the right to be me.”
MindFreedom Oregon has voted to support Mad Pride Month as July. Part of July is Creative Maladjustment Week. Martin Luther King, Jr. utilized this concept of creative maladjustment many times in his speeches. You can read about that week here: https://mindfreedom.org/mfi-taking-action/creative-maladjustment-week/
Who are the leaders of Mad Pride and Disability Pride? You, if you choose. I consider both Mad Pride and Disability Pride to apply to anyone and everyone that chooses to take leadership in a positive sense.
You can be in touch with MindFreedom Oregon in promoting Mad Pride July by emailing to: MadPrideWorld@gmail.com.
It was surprising to me how much information I could find about Mad Pride simply by searching for it in Google, Twitter, etc.
Mad Pride Switzerland
Mad Pride Switzerland official website: https://madpride.ch/ Several language options are offered on their website.
Wikipedia has reported that there have also been Mad Pride events over the last few decades in Australia, Canada, Ireland, USA, Portugal, Brazil, Madagascar, South Africa, and France.
Korea: Mad Pride Seoul in Korea usually picks 10 October, World Mental Health Day, for their parades and creative activities. Glad to see a song devoted to honoring their work: https://youtu.be/e1vEeQaCXNc
This is only meant to be a partial listing. If you know of any Mad Pride events, please share this news with others. You can find a discussion about Mad Pride on Reddit at: www.reddit.com/r/madpride. Also, you will find an email address at the end this blog to be in touch with World Mad Pride, as supported by MindFreedom Oregon.
Disability Pride Resources
Background on Disability Pride
The Disability Pride Flag was a collaborative design by Ann Magill, a disabled woman, with feedback within the disabled community.
Surviving Race: Intersection of Injustice, Disability & Human Rights–Savannah Dialogues 2022 on August 28, 2022: https://fb.me/e/1YCHJCV7K
On Twitter, it was gratifying to see the hashtag #madpride was in use. Other hashtags to consider using are: #MadPrideMonth #MentalHealth #Disability #DisabilityPride #DisabilityPrideMonth
Please leave your comments, ideas, questions, and leads below!
First, let’s talk about Mad Pride Month, which MindFreedom Oregon has launched. Why July? The month of July has many connections to the movement for mental health consumers/psychiatric survivors (C/S), here are a few:
Several decades ago, some activists in New York State were looking for a day to hold an annual protest in Albany of the mental health system. At first, they were about to choose July 4, but psychiatric survivor Myra Kovary encouraged them to choose a non-US-centered date, Bastille Day, July 14, 1981. C/S movement groups still often choose events on July 14.
Past Mad Pride Switzerland event.
When MindFreedom International looked for a week to celebrate the concept, invented by Martin Luther King, Jr., of “creative maladjustment,” they chose a week from July 7 to 14.
By happy coincidence, the birthdate of one of the most amazing psychiatric survivor activists in history, Leonard Roy Frank, is on July 15.
As we learned more about our history of the Mad Pride Movement, Wikipedia carried an interesting fact about one of the first known psychiatric survivor groups: “On 7 July 1845, Richard Paternoster, John Perceval and a number of others formed the Alleged Lunatics’ Friend Society.”
David Oaks & Patch Adams search for meaning at the Oregon Country Fair.
And in Oregon, of course, the infamous Oregon Country Fair is always shortly after the 4th of July. MindFreedom has held events in the heart of OCF, the Community Village, for many years. Dissident physician/psychiatric survivor Patch Adams has often spoken. In the past, the late dissident psychiatrist, Carl Hammerschlag, has also joined Patch.
So, when MindFreedom Oregon, a small affiliate of MindFreedom International, discussed having a Mad Pride Month, July was the obvious choice.
But Why is July Disability Pride Month?
Meanwhile, the disability movement was engaged in a wonderful simultaneous action: Naming July as Disability Pride Month. Because the Americans with Disabilities Act was signed into law on July 26, 1990, when the disability movement created a month to celebrate disability pride, they chose July.
As an individual with quadriplegia and several additional extreme disabilities, the concept of “disability pride” resonates with me. But at first, I can easily imagine someone thinking, “What is there to be proud about when you have a disability? Proud to lose a leg? Proud to go blind?”
Disability pride does not mean every impairment one might experience is somehow splendid. Here is the description of disability pride from the organization, AmeriDisability: “‘Disability pride’ has been defined as accepting and honoring each person’s uniqueness and seeing it as a natural and beautiful part of human diversity.”
In other words, my applying the lessons I learned from decades in the psychiatric survivor movement, to empowerment after I broke my neck one decade ago, is indeed one thing to be proud of. Resilience, the amazing global disability community, uniqueness of every human being… are a few more of the many reasons to have disability pride.
Why Mad Pride?
As a psychiatric survivor, I know that I spent many years rebelling & resisting the bizarre, ridiculous, unscientific, goofy, demeaning labels found in the Diagnostic & Statistical Manual of the American Psychiatric Association (DSM).
So, some might ask, “If you rebel against labels, then isn’t ‘mad pride’ hypocritical?”
No. The psychiatric establishment generally runs away from the use of words like “mad” and “crazy.” Whole books could be written on the topic of language, but just let me say that the only love that I would consider real is being “madly in love.”
We know that social change movements of marginalized people must build bridges to other communities of disenfranchised, such as LGBT and BIPOC. What about the disability movement, one of the biggest in the world? One of the surest connections between the psychiatric survivor movement and the disability movement, is that we human rights activists claim that every type of psychiatric oppression and goofy label, result in disability. For example, electroshock causes massive head injury and memory loss. Sounds like a disability to me.
I am ashamed that a few of my fellow psychiatric survivors have a kind of “brain bigotry” on the issue of disability, also known as ableism. These psychiatric survivors say that because their label is fictional, they cannot and should not be oppressed and forcibly treated. Hey, here’s a concept for you: Whether or not your label is true or goofy, you do not deserve oppression!
Many of us psychiatric survivors point out that many psychiatric labels are fictional, like the unicorn. But folks, even if you are missing a limb and are obviously disabled, you deserve human rights, choice, dignity, support, healthcare.
Yes, you can be a Leader in Both Mad Pride Month & Disability Pride Month!
It is totally OK if you personally choose not to celebrate Mad Pride Month or Disability Pride Month. Perhaps there should be a “Normal Shame Month”? Let me know if anyone organizes that, I’m too busy.
However, many of us do want to celebrate our differences, Mad Pride, and Disability Pride. I will not impose a psychiatric label on another person unwillingly. But please do not try to impose the label of “normal” on me. What is generally called “normal” is wrecking the planet’s environment and threatens life on Earth. What is generally called “normal” is actually, from my perspective, the worst, most dangerous altered state ever.
Mad Pride Events
Mad Pride is currently alive and well:
Bern, Switzerland, poster for Mad Pride event.
Bern, Switzerland held a lively and large march on 18 June 2022. The website is not in English, but you get the idea: https://madpride.ch/. You can get a flavor of these events on YouTube: https://youtu.be/G6XyX6un6MQ and https://youtu.be/THiuPTziyBg. It was very impressive to see hundreds of people participating, with signs, balloons, and whistles.
Mexico City had a Mad Pride March on 28 May 2022 (Marcha del Orgullo Loco en la Ciudad de México). The sponsors were: Redesfera Latinoamericana de la Diversidad Psicosocial & la Red Orgullo Loco México. You can email the organizers here: orgullolocomx@gmail.com
Mad Pride Seoul in Korea has held events for years. Glad to see a song devoted to honoring their work: https://youtu.be/e1vEeQaCXNc
Wikipedia has reported that there have also been Mad Pride events over the last few decades in Australia, Canada, Ireland, USA, Portugal, Brazil, Madagascar, South Africa, and France.
This is only meant to be a partial listing. If you know of any Mad Pride events, please share this news with others. You can find a discussion about Mad Pride on Reddit at: www.reddit.com/r/madpride. Also, you will find an email address at the end this blog to be in touch with World Mad Pride, as supported by MindFreedom Oregon.
On Twitter, it was gratifying to see the hashtag #madpride was in use. Other hashtags to consider using are: #MadPrideMonth #MentalHealth #DisabilityPride #DisabilityPrideMonth
Personally, as a psychiatric survivor with extreme physical disabilities, I love the idea of building bridges between Mad Pride and Disability Pride. Think of one of the key leaders in fighting the climate crisis: Greta Thunberg. When Greta was younger, she and her family wrestled with many severe mental and emotional problems, including periods of not eating, isolating herself with just a few close family members, screaming and crying for long lengths of time, etc. Greta personally accepts the diagnosis of “autism.” But Greta’s perspective is that being “on the spectrum” is her “superpower,” because her uniqueness helps her see through the web of lies that seemingly control “normal people.”
More Information on Mad Pride?
If I were to look up Mad Pride info, I would do a google search with quote marks around the phrase: “mad pride”.
Off hand, over the years, I would say Toronto has had the most Mad Pride events. I believe you can find a number of recordings on YouTube. COVID slowed them down, but they may start again.
Ireland had the absolute biggest Mad Pride events, because of the poet John McCarthy. He died a few years ago, but you can find videos on YouTube about Mad Pride Ireland events. I hope Ireland has more Mad Pride events in the future. This would surely make my friend’s spirit soar! John often talked about the “normality of madness and the madness of normality.”
I consider both Mad Pride and Disability Pride to apply to anyone and everyone that chooses to take leadership in a positive sense.
You can be in touch with MindFreedom Oregon in promoting Mad Pride July by emailing to: MadPrideWorld@gmail.com. And please leave your comments below.
David Oaks and wife Debra Nunez, 2017, back deck, Eugene, Oregon.
Friends of David Oaks (FODO) have made a matching challenge of $4,000 to support my independent living as a long-time activist quadriplegic. Below is a one-minute video about this $4,000 challenge.
After my disastrous fall 10 years ago, one of my main difficulties has been extending all the Thanks to all the folks who have assisted me. This new challenge of $4,000 is one more example of this community uplift.
A network of my friends & relatives will match 50¢for every dollar you give to replenish the David Oaks Irrevocable Trust (not tax-deductible) for 2022.
Update 6/29/2022: So far, since the matching challenge, $2,588.21 has been raised. That means the Challenge will match this with $1,294.11. So the total so far is $3,882.32. When the campaign raises $8,000, it actually has $12,000.
More info about the Unleash The Oaks campaign to support my trust, why & how:
Unitarian Universalist Rev. Suzanne Fast from Florida identifies as “disabled, chronically ill, and neurodivergent.”
On the one hand the idea of “invisible disabilities” is pretty simple: For example, if someone is impaired by cancer, no one may see their challenges, but their impairments may be very real.
On a deeper level, fascinating questions arise in this topic of “invisible disabilities.” For example, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) has a very wide definition of “disability,” so that in certain circumstances being “regarded” as disabled — even “erroneously” regarded — can at times fall within the legal definition. In other words, in some situations, experiencing discrimination because of a fictitious diagnosis can be seen as disabling.
I will be one of the moderators for a free, public webinar, and you are invited. The special guest is Rev. Suzanne Fast, who I have personally seen lead some wonderful peer support groups for Unitarian Universalists who are disabled. Everyone is welcome to join the discussion, please spread the word. We’d love to line up questions in advance:
Invisible Disabilities
Free Public Zoom Webinar
Sunday, 29 May 2022 at12:45 pm PT
Unitarian Universalist Church in Eugene Community Accessibility Task Force
Co-moderated by Rev. Jen Youngsun Ryu & David W. Oaks
ASL Interpreting by Patrick Galasso
Join Rev. Suzanne Fast for a discussion on “Invisible Disabilities,” and how understanding the concept is important to accessibility & inclusion, the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend, 29 May 2022.
The Reverend Suzanne Fast (she/her) is a Unitarian Universalist community minister focusing on disability justice, advocacy, education, and pastoral ministry, primarily through UU Association’s EqUUal Access.
She is one of the creators of the Accessibility and Inclusion Ministry Program for congregations and serves on its Coordinating Committee. Rev. Fast is disabled, chronically ill, and neurodivergent. She is affiliated with the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Greater Naples, Florida.
We’d like to line up questions in advance. Interested? Email access@uueugene.org
We’d especially like to hear from vets who identify as having invisible disabilities.
For information about invisible disabilities, see:
Early last month, January 2022, I developed a cough and fatigue. At first my doctor suspected pneumonia, but tests were negative. My nurse suggested a COVID test, and unfortunately this was positive. For two years, I have been very concerned about getting this pandemic virus, because I have only 27% breathing capacity. In addition to being quadriplegic, this is a vulnerable combo.
The good news is that I fully recovered. My lung specialist, Dr. Ameen, was able to get me in to receive a monoclonal antibody infusion, one of only 18 available that week. This, along with having been vaccinated and boosted, may have saved my life. After 46 years of challenging the pharmaceutical industry, I do appreciate this incredible assistance. Thanks, everyone, or as my ancestors said in Lithuanian: Aciu!
I’m fine right now, but today got sad news: A positive COVID test. Symptoms are mild, but I’m quadriplegic with 27% lung capacity so must have an abundance of caution. After 3 Moderna jabs, this is a “breakthrough case.” For decades I’ve opposed Big Pharma fraud, but these vaxes may have saved my life! I’m conserving my voice, but I will read all messages. I’ll post updates occasionally on my personal blog, and you can get notified automatically when I publish a new entry:
Deadline VERY SOON for Mind Justice Survey: This Thurs. 23 Dec 2021. Unite Mental & Physical Disability Movements. Have you taken? So far 325 have replied. Takes less than 5 min. Click below NOW, take survey & share:
As a wheelchair-riding psychiatric survivor, I’m in both physical & mental disability movements. But this survey is for EVERYONE whether you’ve ever been disabled or not. MindFreedom International co-sponsors. We’ll ONLY report anonymous & aggregated results.
If you’ve taken the survey, please copy the above blurb & link, for your friends & colleagues on e-mail & social media.
Did You Miss The Deadline?
Please take the survey anyway, you can use the same link. Our first report will not include your data, but your response will still be helpful for the future.