Today, May 4, 2014, MindFreedom and other groups held a protest of American psychiatric corporations. To read about the protest click here. For MindFreedom’s Facebook, click here. Below please find my statement of support. You may download a 2-page PDF of this statement here: oaksprotestapa2014
Thanks for the Deck, Movie, and Everything!
Thank you again everyone for your support. This blog entry is by my good friend David Zupan. He is a videographer, and you must see this short video online. The famous group Habitat for Humanity has a special initiative that can help people with disabilities. My friend Sue Barnhart told us about it, and my brother Tony did a lot of the sweat equity that is required.
Many people helped out with a hammer or food. The result is a beautiful deck and ramp that helps me enjoy our wild backyard, and with Debra I know I am home!
thank you for the van!
Hey everyone, this is Debra and David talking. Thank you everyone for the van. It arrived the other day. It is a 2013 Dodge with low miles and it is fully accessible. Thanks to everyone who donated and supported this goal. We pledge to use this van for many good trips, including challenging the climate crisis!
My Event on February 21, 22, 23 in Eugene Oregon
If you have a contact who is within driving distance of Eugene Oregon…or if you are local…please support donate to and attend the below fundraising sale to help me.
Here is the announcement from Friends of David Oaks (FODO):
Her is a PDF color poster you may download or view of the event:
If you are on Facebook, get out this Facebook event to your contacts and say you will attend: https://www.facebook.com/events/188931397984319/
The Friends of David Oaks fundraising committee invite you to a Living Estate Sale in North Eugene, starting Friday, Feb. 21 through Sunday, Feb. 23rd.
WHAT: Living Estate Sale to raise money for David Oaks’ medical/rehabilitative care needs
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You are a leader in the IAACM, if you want to be.
In his speeches and essays for more than a decade, MLK referred to the idea of Creative Maladjustment. He in fact said the world is in dire need of a new organization: International Association for the Advancement of Creative Maladjustment or the IAACM. MLK talked like this more than a dozen times in ten years.
We have a Facebook page for the IAACM here:
https://www.facebook.com/IAACM
Her are some MLK quotes about IAACM:
http://www.mindfreedom.org/kb/mental-health-global/iaacm/MLK-on-IAACM
Eugene Oregon’s Daily Newspaper Publishes Major Article Today About David W. Oaks
The Sunday, Jan. 5, 2014, Register-Guard daily newspaper ran a huge piece by journalist Randi Bjornstad about me, my fall, my broken neck, activism, our supportive community, changing the mental health system, and even the Chamber of Commerce protest on climate crisis. There are two great photos by professional photographer Paul Carter, plus how to give to my irrevocable trust fund.
You can read, download, print a PDF of the article here: R-G-DavidWOaks-1-5-2014
You may wish to write a letter to the editor about this excellent article, contact information is here: http://registerguard.com/rg/opinion/#letter
For news about the protest of the Chamber of Commerce, see the next blog entry below:
I Help Organize a Peaceful Protest About Climate Crisis at Eugene Area Chamber of Commerce
On December 5, 2013, about 5 groups united together to hold a nonviolent protest about the pivotal role of the Chamber of Commerce blocking progress addressing the climate crisis. For several years, I held an email dialogue with the director of the Eugene Area Chamber of Commerce, Dave Hauser. This last summer several of us held a street theater event at the Eugene Saturday Market and together we nominated the local Chamber for a Golden Ostrich Award.
We used humor to point out that our local Chamber should join 56 other local Chambers that have said “No” to the horribly Earth-damaging U.S. Chamber of Commerce in Washington, D.C. We gave the award plaque to our local Chamber just before weird lingering snowy weather in Eugene, which scientists predict will be an indicator of the climate crisis.
Below is a brief 5 minute video of our award presentation, in which I become a bit emotional. Below that is more info about our campaign.
Our Golden Ostrich Award to the Eugene Area Chamber of Commerce because of the climate crisis.
Action you can take from anywhere in the world to help our campaign:
1. Please contact our local Chamber by email or phone (541-484-1314) with your peaceful, civil, but strong message. Your sample message: “Please say ‘No!’ to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which is one of the main blockades to addressing the climate crisis.”
2. For extra credit, you may contact the Eugene Chamber Board: http://www.eugenechamber.com/contact/leadership.aspx
MFI and David W. Oaks Get an Archive
I have good news to report: The big medical school in Portland, Oregon Health Sciences University, has taken the material from MindFreedom while I was director for twenty-five years. For many years I have encouraged archives for our movement, but there are very few.
We have compiled posters, newsletters, journals, letters, photos, etc. I would like to give a lot of credit to my mother Violet Oaks, who volunteered eight years in the office often three days a week. Mom must have gone through almost every piece of paper in the office applying her seventy-plus years of office experience and changing our messy office to one that had a very good filing system, thank you Mom! Mom is now 96 years old so she is working from home by doing thank you notes for gifts to my trust fund. (more…)