Updated 21 September 2015:

If you live on Earth and breathe, then you must overthrow what is mistakenly called “normal” and the mental health industry. Why?

Today, our planet is faced with an unprecedented emergency, according to the vast majority of scientists, wise people and just about everybody else. Smart folks tell us that we have the technology, smarts, and economy to address these urgent crises, but do we have the will? It seems that the general public is paralyzed, and as our leaders continue to procrastinate, we are collectively entering into the beginning of chaos.

As my friend “the real” Patch Adams, MD has explained to me for 23 years, one of the most effective ways to reach people is their sense of humor. Yes, the feature movie in 1998 about Patch is a bit syrupy-sweet, but you have to admit the power of wearing a red nose! Seriously, laughter is of course powerful. And we may need a touch of comedy to even look at the absurd reality around us now. That is why some folks are sticking out their tongues (see the photo here of Jillian for example); jokingly, maybe our leaders are waiting for us all to show some signs of distress such as the Qsign!

(rest of entry below)

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Updated 21 September 2015:

Please feel free to post a selfie of you sticking out your tongue (known as a Qsign face) to Facebook, Twitter, or both. Please add the hashtag #qsigncrisis to whatever you post wherever. If you post to Facebook, please add your selfie to my Timeline! (If you are not yet a friend, please email me with your Facebook name at: [email protected].)

You are invited to take a selfie doing a “Qsign,” which I will explain in a moment. But first I need to beg for your help, especially if you are one of these young whippersnappers. You see, this week, September 16th, I will turn 60 years old, and I have never been able to start something online that goes viral.

A few weeks ago, I developed pneumonia. My wife and I had to wait in the emergency room for six hours to get an x-ray. To pass the time and show our frustration in a fun way, we stuck out our tongues to the side and took this photo. Later, a person who worked for many years as an ER nurse told us that we showed an actual face that they watch for in the ER as a sign of distress. The face is called the “Qsign” because the tongue sticks out at an angle, which kind of looks like a Q.

So I would like to ask you to take a selfie of you and maybe your loved ones, doing a Qsign. Why?

1. The planet is one big emergency room, but our leaders are ignoring things like the climate crisis. The least we can do is all show our Qsigns, and maybe that will get our leaders’ attention?
2. Hey, I am about to enter my 60’s, and I have spent decades working for human rights in disability, specifically mental health. Come on, show your appreciation, dammit!
3. You can post your photo on Twitter like we did using the new hashtag #qsigncrisis
4. I actually went viral by having pneumonia which I have recovered from. Now I am simply asking you to metaphorically go viral, which sounds a lot healthier. If you want to read about my pneumonia, go here.
5. Showing your Qsign just is not normal! Since what is mistakenly called normal has some of the worst behavior ever to visit Earth, then your Qsign is a blessing!
6. A group of us had a little contest to see who could make the best Qsign and my friend Dale won. Maybe this contest will go global and be the start of a game that will save the world. I have a name for this: Ultimate Wacko!

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Wednesday, 26 August 2015

Today a documentary about 10 ½ minutes long, by my good friend David Zupan, airs on statewide TV and you can see it online for free, details below.

You can see:

• Me tear up my psychiatric label “psychotic”
• Martin Luther King call for us all to be “creatively maladjusted”
• A re-creation of my big fall that broke my neck
• What screwing up your vocal chords can sound like  
• Support from my amazing wife and community
• Us protest for global revolution because of climate crisis

Yes, making revolution visible now all over Earth is a great way to be creatively maladjusted to global warming, and this documentary shows that if I can do it, then so can you!

Here is an actual movie-trailer about one minute long for this documentary:

Producer David Zupan said, “Creatively Maladjusted shows how human rights activist David Oaks and his wife, Debra Nunez, creatively respond to tough realities with the help of courage, community and humor.” The piece will be shown on the Oregon Lens series. (Please see the next page of this blog entry for the links to the 10 and a half minute documentary.)

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Make Your Climate Crisis Revolution Visible!

A Free, Easy Poster You Can Download & Post in Your Home, Today

A radio personality distorted and verbally attacked the work of Associate Professor Kari Norgaard, a world-acclaimed expert on global warming denial, then kept a transcript of this falsehood-filled show on his website for the past three years, where it still lingers to this day.

His show called Kari a “Wacko.” Rather than dwell on his incivility, here’s something fun, free, and positive we did and you can do, too!

You may print out a simple poster so that your family’s support for a “Revolution,” as Pope Francis has encouraged, is undeniable. Sound crazy? Perhaps, but that is no coincidence! Prof. Norgaard points out that denial of climate crisis is a collective act by us all. One antidote is to make our resistance visible. Talk about this in your daily conversations!

You can also just click and print out this one-page, black-and-white, 8.5 x 11 inch poster:

home-love-revolution-poster (Use the link on the left for the black-and-white PDF.)

You or a child may color it if you choose. Post this by your door or some other place people will see it. While a poster may not win a revolution, at least a reasonable person would agree your home is in a revolution, now!

Why Break the Silence?

I often hear some of these metaphors used about humanity today:

• Our combined ability to think and act are paralyzed.
• We the public seem suicidal.
• We are addicted to oil and consumerism.
• We are blind to alternatives.
• We are deaf to the cries of the poor and planet.
• We hallucinate, such as believing that money and technology are more important than our values.

Paralyzed suicidal addicted blind deaf hallucinating. Sure sounds like a disability to me. So maybe the social change movement led by people considered disabled have something to offer now? We, one of largest movements on Earth, are not all about curb cuts! (Please read the rest of this post on the next page.)

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Update 28 July 2015: Tony is open to even doing a good volunteer job, such as a bike coordinator in Eugene. Plus, while I do not want to take up his busy time, even a one-time note  of encouragement to him would be great. His email address is below.

Do you know anyone in Oregon? Maybe you live in Portland or Eugene or in between? My brother, Tony, who has an amazing range of talents, is looking for a job here and if he finds one, he will relocate from Texas!

I sure am glad the economy is stronger here than it has been in years, because that means that Tony may find the job of his dreams here soon, and I truly love my only sibling!

Quick story: I was in the emergency room back in December of 2012 and my neck was badly broken because of a fall. The first call I made was to Tony, and within hours he flew from Houston, and was by my side for much of the time since then. Tony is a great ally for those of us with a disability, learning my rehab needs, helping to build our accessibility with Habitat for Humanity, raising money for my trust account for my independent living and much more.

A few months ago, Tony came back to Eugene and helped our mom during her departure from our planet at the age of 97. Mom, Violet Oaks, had us two children and definitely treated us as loving as any parent on Earth. Our dad, also Tony Oaks, died back in 1988, but along with our mom, raised us with tender loving care on the south side of Chicago.

To quote his Linkedin page, Tony is “Looking for Project Management Opportunities in the Pacific Northwest.” Tony has many skills beyond his MBA, computer wizardry and Project Management certification. Bicyclist, wilderness first aid, improvisational theater humor, parent with the amazing Charlene of four wonderful adult children, great chef, lover of film and so much more! Nora, Tony’s youngest, makes her dad so proud as she excels at Oregon State University, developing champion solar cars, saying “yes” to Ethan’s proposal, planning their departure next year for the PeaceCorps, etc.

Those who would like more info, especially with any leads about northwest jobs that might lead to bringing this fantastic Texan to Oregon, please see his Linkedin profile here:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/tonyoaks

Tony has told me about some interesting ideas about his career, and is very open to changes beyond his IT work. A smart employer would ask him about that. In fact a good employer anywhere with a fast Internet would inquire about hiring him in Oregon wherever they are located.

Something that anyone can and should do for me would be to thank Tony for being such a wonderful brother for me. You may email Tony: [email protected]

You may also leave a public comment with your encouragement and/or glowing praise here on this blog entry. Lead on, Tony!

 

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