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CHRUSP on the Tragic Shootings in Arizona
Thursday, 13 January 2011 15:49
The following is a press release issued by the New York-based Center for the Human Rights of Users and
Survivors of Psychiatry (CHRUSP). The views expressed in this press release, which was sent to JollofNews for publication, do not necessarily reflect our opinion. It could be recalled that the Center for the Human Rights of Users and Survivors of Psychiatry (CHRUSP) provides strategic leadership in human rights advocacy, implementation and monitoring relevant to people experiencing madness, mental health problems or trauma. In particular, CHRUSP works for full legal capacity for all, an end to forced drugging, forced electroshock and psychiatric incarceration, and for support that respects individual integrity and free will. The Center for the Human Rights of Users and Survivors of Psychiatry (CHRUSP) joins in the call to disavow political rhetoric that draws on violent images or promotes the use of weapons as a means to settle disputes. We offer our solidarity and heartfelt concern to Gabrielle Giffords, the other wounded individuals, and the families of those who died. We feel strongly that this tragedy needs to serve as a wakeup call to America, to set aside all forms of hatred, xenophobia and bigotry as well as all incitement to violence, to re-unite as an inclusive society committed to nonviolence in the spirit of Martin Luther King Jr.’s vision of this country’s possibilities.
CHRUSP asks all people of conscience to reject an easy pigeonholing of the perpetrator based on an alleged mental illness. Disability profiling does not work to make anyone safer, and it further divides our body politic – making those on the receiving end more vulnerable to scapegoating, discrimination and violence in all its forms, including the kinds of violence masked as help in the mental health system.
CHRUSP does not support discriminatory gun regulations – we do support gun control laws that affect everyone equally. We do not support segregation of prisoners labeled with mental illness in “treatment” programs that amount to medical control – we believe that human dignity includes responsibility for what we do. We support a moratorium on the death penalty for all people – not selective application of any kind.
CHRUSP believes that there is a need to look at the social roots of crime and violence, and to reach out compassionately to those who might benefit from support to turn their lives around before they reach a point of desperation. We do not believe that the mental health system as currently constituted offers such support. Instead it takes an aggressive approach to thoughts, feelings and behavior theorized as being caused by imbalances in the brain – to be eradicated using weapon-like modalities that destroy healthy brain tissue, such as electroshock (ECT), psychosurgery and neuroleptic drugs. Due to laws that allow compulsory treatment and compulsory hospitalization, people who value the gifts of all their thoughts and feelings do not have the freedom to protect themselves and are rendered powerless. This is not conducive to individual or collective well-being, and it is not compassionate.
CHRUSP invites all people of conscience to join together in exploring what it means to live non-violently, and to create opportunities for diverse communities to be heard in these conversations.
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Comments
Hope the Gambia's replica of TEA PARTY lunatics are listening carefully.
Very thoughtful and above all very considerate.
I watched with horror as these events unfolded..through the night.The stories of personal sacrifice and bravery were incredible.
I am certain we all send our personal and sincere condolancies and prayers to all.
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