Nexus - 1106 - New Times Magazine-pages

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"Globalisation is exporting this model to the rest of the world." He seemed agitated, but I had to finish. "This can only mean that corporate health care creates sickness, disability and death, and profits from it," I said. "You can't say that," he hissed. "Yes I can," I answered. "No you can't," he repeated more grimly. "Why not?" "Because..." classified." A long silence came between us. He sipped the last drop of red from his plastic airline cup. I sat back in my seat, trying to look relaxed. Perhaps it was foolish of me, I thought. But at least I found out who "they" are. He hesitated, searching for the right words. "It's movements are gathering around the world, addressing social, litical and judicial injustice. One such movement was started in Australia by Malcolm McClure, who has frequently challenged statute laws successfully. He now conducts seminars and classes around the country which assist and support persons who stand up for their rimary human rights. Malcolm McClure refers to his common- aw movement as UPMART, a fellowship of "like-minded electors, united in common causes, who uphold, protect and live their inalienable human rights". He emphatically states that under common law, natural law, constitutional law and the tenets of asic human rights, "No statute law can come between you and your primary rights". The movement has found kindred spirits in the thousands who have subsequently been emboldened to stand up for their rights in diverse areas. ap frre rrr ee oe But that's the whole point of corporatisation: to try to remove the public from making Exposing Violations in the Mental decisions over their own fate, to limit Health System the public arena, to control opinion, to Of all the forms of inequality, injustice make sure that the fundamental in health is the most shocking and the decisions that determine how the world most inhumane. is going to be run—which include production, commerce, distribution, Whenever the legislators thought, social policy, foreign policy, endeavour to take away The repressive mental health laws being everything—are not in the hands of the and destroy the property put in place around the world reduce public, but rather in the hands of highly of the people or to accountability and transparency, seemingly concentrated private power. In effect, y empowering the corporate state to incarcer- tyranny unaccountable to the public. reduce them to slavery ate individuals indefinitely in order to force — Professor Noam Chomsky, under arbitrary power, drugs and treatments upon them that can interviewed in Corporate Watch they put themselves cause permanent brain damage." . : Mandatory mental health screening into a state of war with has recently been introduced in some the people, who are US states, and activists fear it will also thereupon absolved from lead to more involuntary drug any further obedience." — Martin Luther King, Junior NEW SOLUTIONS FOR A SICK SOCIETY Taking on Social Justice Issues Each day the silent, global epidemic of official crimes of brutality escalates. Such crimes are seldom reported, but citizens’ groups now track their numbers. On my return from overseas, I was determined to track the people's response to the emerging global police state and its volumes of oppressive statute legislation. I soon discovered a rising tide of activism that already far exceeds the 1960s decade: citizens' grassroots a treatments.'''? Increasingly, where statute laws abound, more health conditions are being included under the "mental health" umbrella. The result has been a shocking betrayal of trust. Increasingly, children and teenagers who once needed treatment merely for a drug or alcohol problem are being funnelled into the mental health system and often end up on psychiatric drugs for the long term. The Citizens ctivism, social Commission on Human Rights" and other watchdogs investigate — John Locke justice and human rights activism, student activism, scientist and expose psychiatric violations of human rights. All report a activism, consumer activism, democracy in action, truth in media, significant increase in complaints of psychiatric abuse. truth in medicine, corporation watch, even Islamic activism. The A seventeen-year-old Australian boy" had been smoking mari- global trend is steeply on the rise. And it is changing to suit the — juana on a regular basis during his final year of school. He was a times. well-liked, straight-A student. The boy and his mother sought There has been an increasing shift to personal empowerment, help from staff at a nearby drug and alcohol treatment centre, but whereby ordinary persons create the changes they would like to they said that pot "won't hurt him". Still concerned, the mother see in the world. Surprising numbers are emboldened because the took her son to the local doctor. The GP referred him to a visiting level of systemic corruption has become blindingly obvious and psychiatrist, who then began to prescribe psychiatric drugs to the almost all voters now know that politicians undemocratically pass boy. Within weeks, the psychiatrist placed the boy into the men- laws without their consent. Increasing numbers of people are tal health system. Once there, he was heavily drugged. Within finding it impossible to acquiesce to repugnant laws that deny two years, the boy was permanently institutionalised and given human rights. Social justice groups are rediscovering the dozens of shock treatments without his mother's consent. Later he principles of natural law and the community traditions of was found to have paddle-shaped electrical burns on his upper common law (defined by the Oxford Dictionary as "that which abdomen from the shock treatment. derives its force and authority from the universal consent and For the past seven years he has been institutionalised and immemorial practice of the community"). Common law drugged into a stupor with strong psychiatric drugs. Now a man "Whenever the legislators endeavour to take away and destroy the property of the people, or to reduce them to slavery under arbitrary power, they put themselves into a state of war with the people, who are thereupon absolved from any further obedience." — John Locke 14 = NEXUS www.nexusmagazine.com OCTOBER — NOVEMBER 2004