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Ontario Tory Psychiatric 'Clean Up'
By A.J. Rhomer One strand of Ontario Premier Mike Harris' media campaign to 'clean up' the province has been his promise of "communities treatment orders" (CTOs) for the "mentally ill". A CTO is simply double-speak for "prison without walls" and means that regardless of unavoidable circumstances, such as grinding poverty and/or homelessness, anyone who displays non-conforming behaviour or expresses intense frustration or upset publically risks being labeled and held against their will. This isn't as simple as it sounds, the Tories and some "health professional" groups want to broaden the definition of "mentally ill" to sweep the streets clear of the homeless and the poverty stricken. If "mental illness" is defined as "inability to care for oneself", this can produce a wide range of frightening scenarios: an agent of the Ministry of Social Services visits a single persin on Welfare Allowance (GWA) who has very little food in the cupboard. Ignoring the fact that $195 isn't enough to feed a sparrow for a month, they declare s/he is unable to take care of him/herself. Another example example: a homeless persin can be taken to a psycho-prison for acting agitated or frustrated, declared unable to care for themselves because they're sleeping outdoors, and so on. These scenarios are not fictional, they already happen from time
to time, especially to people who show non-conforming behaviour,
or who live in unavoidable dire personal circumstances, such as
homelessness. Most of the so-called "mentally ill" are
ordinary people pushed over the brink by circumstances, such as
neglect, abuse, or traumatic events. There is no "us versus
them". Anyone who has been given a psychiatric label needs
empathy, support, and understanding, not routinely administered
mind-numbing drugs that can eventually lead can eventually lead
to brain-damage and physical disability. The effects of many of these drugs are devastating. Drugs such
as Prozac have been linked to suicide and sudden irrational bursts
of violence; Haldol and Thorazine have been repeatedly proven
to cause permanent brain-damage, loss of short term memory, and
Tardive Dyskenesia, the loss of muscular control which leads to
a constant slur, shaking hands, trembling limbs, drooling, massive
ticks and twitches, and a disoriented, shambling gait. Olanzapine
has been proven to cause Neural Malignant Syndrome. Furthermore,
it's worth our time to consider the "coincidence" of
this sudden "epidemic of mental illness" that just seems
to coincide a little too neatly with the 22 percent cuts and abolition
of rent control that have devastated Ontario in the past five
years. Yes, many people on the street do appear to be "mad"; they yell at themselves, or at things only they can see, they gaze wildly into space, or basically just express a constant motion or monologue. This is an entirely human reaction to harassment, violence, insults, verbal/physical abuse, hunger, heat exhaustion/heat frustration, extreme cold, and sleep deprivation. Sleep deprivation causes intense hallucinations, and I invite anyone who thinks differently to spend a night at the Armoury trying to sleep while 150 people snore, talk in their sleep, argue, and pick fights, then go out into the world on three hours of sleep, try to find work (with bloodshot eyes and five o'clock shadow) then panhandle so you can at least buy your own food and try to keep your temper while obnoxious people sneer at you, insult you, pick fights with you, and wave money at you while jeering and taunting. If you get angry about that, if you fight back, you're likely to be labeled as "mentally ill" because of your "inability to control your aggressive tendencies." Are you frightened yet, fellow workers? For the Harrisites, CTOs are a way to sweep dissenters and poor
people off the streets, while simultaneously trying to create
the impression that the government is being helpful and compassionate
to the most vulnerable members of society. So don't be taken in by the lies; with the Tories seriously eroding workers' rights, most workers are only a pay cheque or two from unemployment and homelessness-- and therefore only a step from falling into the psychiatric wringer. home / QSPC
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