8 Ways I Am Celebrating July 2019 as Mad Pride Month. How will you celebrate next July 2020?
Leonard Roy Frank, one of the main heroes of the psychiatric survivor movement! Mad Pride! Leonard especially fought electroschock. Today is 15 July 2019, and we honor the birthday of the late great Leonard Roy Frank, one of the main psychiatric survivor leaders of our modern era, and a good friend (his photo is on the left). I have blogged about Leonard before, and Mad Pride Month needs to celebrate Leonard: https://davidwoaks.com/my-friend-leonard-roy-frank Leonard supported grassroots activism wherever you are. Our local group,...
read moreThis Friday, 7/5/19, MindFreedom Oregon Invites You: MAD PRIDE!
You are very welcome, if you support human rights and nonviolent revolution in mental health, to our monthly grassroots meeting of MindFreedom Oregon. If you live in the Eugene, Oregon area drop on by to our free 2 pm meeting downtown. If you live out of this area or unable to attend in person, you can now participate for free via the web: computer video or even just phone. This July meeting we celebrate Mad Pride Month! Folk singer David Rogers will expertly play a few tunes on his guitar, including “The Thoughts Are Free.”...
read moreAmazon movie problem: I’ve asked them, do you have answer?
For several months, my Amazon movies have had a problem: About every second, there is a little hiccup in the video, a short pause of action. Movie-lovers who watch with me have noted the problem. This only has impacted the visual part of the movie, not the audio. I informed Amazon of the problem using live chat. We provided a bunch of information. First challenge I noticed that the Amazon helpers would often repeat the questions, wish they had read what had already happened. Second, I was handed off to several helpers at Amazon. I think this...
read moreNEWS RELEASE: Disability Activist Launching New Consulting Business. Aciu!
David W. Oaks, community organizer with more than four decades of experience in nonprofit advocacy, is launching a for-profit consulting firm, oriented towards green accessibility and empowerment. In 2012, David experienced a major accident, and he is “quad” (or “tetra”) in a power chair, with disabled voice and fingers. With the support of Vocational Rehabilitation (VR), he prepared a business plan to launch this business, with a focus on disability. Now VR has given a green light to support this launch. This firm, Aciu...
read moreEco-Crisis Means Disability Movement Must Help Lead Global Revolution, Now!
This year, 2019, is my 43rd year working for human rights in disability. Based on sheer numbers, we are one of the largest social change movements in Earth’s history. Let us act like it now, and help lead a world-wide revolution. Sound crazy? Well, the odds are indeed against us. However, this is not a question of what can be done, this is a question of what must be done. Here are three reasons I feel we must pour our souls into this endeavor, now: 1. Creative Disorder We in the disability movement are extremely diverse. Some of us reject...
read moreHomecare Worker in Eugene? Take Our Survey!
David Oaks and his wife, Debra, welcome you to their Mad Swan Ecohome. Mad Swan is a green 1/4 acre in the southwest Eugene Churchill neighborhood. UPDATE 17 December 2018: We have just filled all shifts. Home care workers are encouraged to fill out our online, brief, private survey, link below. We will keep answers on file for future openings and sub positions, plus you can indicate that we can share your interest with other disabled consumers. Below is our original entry: Living with severe disabilities, I have a great team of six homecare...
read moreHow Goes the “Revolution” in Mental Health?
The United Nations Special Rapporteur on the right to health, Dainius Pūras, a medical doctor and professor at Vilnius University, Lithuania. Maybe you missed it, like I did. But this weekend I finally read the little report, about 20 pages, by the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the right to health, Dainius Pūras. Wow! It is amazing! The official UN news release actually calls for a “revolution” in mental health. The actual report is here, 21 pages that reads like we psychiatric survivors wrote it, see...
read moreDouble Deck Memorization by David W. Oaks, Perfectly! But Why? Go Extinction Rebellion!
Update 12 April 2019: Here is a brief video by my good buddy David Zupan from Summer of 2018 showing me, David Oaks, perfectly memorizing the order of two shuffled decks of cards (108 cards counting the jokers). As of April 2019, I have done this nine times perfectly, faster and faster. But why? For one thing, even those of us with extreme disabilities have something to offer. I love this new group Extinction Rebellion, which uses peaceful direct action to resist the climate crisis. They call for global rebellion this Monday, 15 April 2019....
read moreThere is Now Mainly Only ONE (1) Mental Health Issue: Climate
For more than four decades I have worked as an independent activist for human rights in the mental health system. This independence is rather rare. Many of my good friends and colleagues in the mental health advocacy field work for nonprofits that are funded mainly by the government, local state or federal. My friends often do great work, but several of us have warned about dependence on money from the very system we are trying to change. As many readers know, I worked as executive director of MindFreedom International for more than 25 years,...
read moreFour Great News Items About MindFreedom & Winning Human Rights in Mental Health
David W. Oaks, psychiatric survivor, speaks a few years ago in Oslo, Norway at a protest. I do some consulting for the independent nonprofit, MindFreedom International, which is one of the main coalitions focusing on human rights in mental health. Here are four positive news items about MFI: 1. MindFreedom will be doing another free webinar later this Summer 2018, on choice in mental health. On August 19, 2018, MindFreedom will be holding a new free online webinar about empowering options for people needing mental and emotional support. The...
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