Violet Oaks, Mom, Would Be 100 Years Old March 29, 2017!
Dear friends, relatives, and readers! If you ever met my mother, Violet Oaks, you know that she almost always smiled. Wednesday, March 29, 2017, she would have turned 100 years old. She died just short of her 98th birthday, apparently in her sleep over at the Eugene Hotel, an active retirement center that she lived in her last decade here in Eugene, Oregon. If you did not know my Mom, her smile may reach you somehow. At bottom is a little letter that I shared with some friends and relatives. You will find links with bio info, still photos,...
read moreRuby Rogers Center in Danger of Being Defunded by Massachusetts
One of the very first community centers run by and for psychiatric survivors is at risk of losing its funding from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. I know about the roots of this user-run space, because as a senior at Harvard College back in the 1970’s, I was placed at Mental Patients Liberation Front as an intern by Phillips Brooks House, Harvard’s social service group. MPLF, with the leadership of the late Judi Chamberlin, author of a book on empowered mental health centers, created the community gathering locations that...
read moreMy Return to Sam Bond’s: Stand-up Comedy (Or Should I Say Lean-back) This Saturday
You can download free one-page flier here: oaks-flier-20170225 Free! This Saturday: David Oaks, stand up comic …or should we say lean back comic One of many at Bleepin’ Funny, Sam Bond’s, 407 Blair, Eugene, OR Saturday, February 25, 2017, 5 pm – 7pm. Get there early and eat, drink, and tip well! More info...
read moreDisability Movement Tips About Supporting Each Other During Crisis (Like a Trump Presidency)
A Gold Lining: People Are Finally Using the Word, “Revolution”! More Than Ever, Let Us Support MindFreedom International By David W. Oaks Stand up now & fight back! “Now” in Lithuanian, my heritage, is “Dabar”! Dabar! Last month we watched my nation’s presidential inauguration. The reality of the USA’s catastrophic election started to sink in. Even if you voted for Donald Trump, my intuition is that your disappointment has already started, dabar. But I notice a number of gold linings,...
read moreWinona, Water Protectors, Kogi & Gold Thread: My Newest Letter in Eugene Weekly
Here is my brief letter to the editor this week in Eugene’s main alternative newspaper. So far, I am in dialogue with the editor of the University of Oregon Emerald, and he does not see any reason to publish it. LISTEN TO ELDER BROTHER Winona LaDuke, Native American environmental leader and executive director of Honor the Earth, spoke to many hundreds of us in Eugene in November. Before the program, attendees might have noticed a spool of golden thread was unraveled person-to-person, starting near the front and reaching individuals in...
read moreLetter to Editor of Eugene Weekly: Dakota Access Pipeline & Chamber of Commerce
The local alternative paper, Eugene Weekly, published my letter to the editor today, 12/15/16. At the end, please see a way you can email a peaceful, strong note to Mandy Jones. Climate Crisis The Native American Water Protectors’ victory over the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) may seem remote, but there is a way this climate crisis issue is directly in front of me, and all Americans. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, based in Washington, D.C., is one of the main groups championing DAPL and the petrochemical-industry rape of Earth. The climate...
read moreOur “Tour” to the Office of Our Congressperson, Rep. Peter DeFazio, Opposing Forced Psych Drugs
We are hearing a lot about how the Democratic and Republican parties are so separate. But when it comes to psychiatric survivors, both parties have been willing to throw our folks under a bus. The US Congress simply does not represent us. Our local alternative newspaper, Eugene Weekly, described our event this way: International Association for the Advancement of Creative Maladjustment says it hosts a “little peaceful Speak Out Against Psychiatric Dosing” event in Kesey Square 1:30 pm Friday, Nov. 4, 2016. Organizer David Oaks says,...
read moreMy Debate With My Congressperson In the Letters to Editor
Here is my most recent letter, published by the Eugene Weekly, November 3, 2016. Below that is Rep. Peter DeFazio’s note about my concerns, published by the Eugene Weekly on October 20. Below that is my original letter published by EW October 6. As part of a tour, “Keep Eugene Weirdest,” I will visit the office of Rep. Peter DeFazio tomorrow, Friday, November 4, 2016. For more info, and to join us, click here. MENTAL HEALTH BILL In Eugene Weekly, Rep. Pete DeFazio (D-OR) and I have been debating a bill he is co-sponsoring,...
read moreI, David Oaks, PsychoQuad, 1st “Stand-Up Comedy” July 30, 2016, “Bleepin’ Funny” Sam Bond’s Garage, Eugene, Oregon (Both 5 & 10 min versions)
UPDATE: Both a five-minute edited version and a ten-minute full version of my Sam Bond’s Summer 2016 comedy can be found below now for your viewing pleasure. In a while we will post the February 2017 return to the stage, thanks David Zupan, you are a real friend! We have also updated additional info after the videos, including links. Below, you can watch the both a five-minute and ten-minute video of me, David W. Oaks, getting laughs and a standing ovation, with captions, of my stand-up comedy, Summer 2016. Before I broke my neck in...
read moreKeep Eugene Weirdest! “We’re the Crazy Ones?”
You can download a PDF flyer about this event here: 11-4-2016-keep-eugene-weirdest On Facebook, find this event: https://www.facebook.com/events/360892380927309/ This Friday, Nov. 4, 2016 — Free Walking Tour Keep Eugene Weirdest! “We’re the crazy ones?” Your tour guides: Slug Queen Mark Roberts (wearing Donald Trump mask), David Oaks, Michael Hejazi, Ian McTeague, R. Drake Ewbank and David Zupan. 1:30 pm: Intro & icebreaker start at Kesey Square. 2 pm: Tour walks east on Broadway to office of Rep. Peter...
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