April 13, 2012

Media Image of Disability As Cause of Violence

For hundreds of years persons accused of mental illness were believed to be dangerous and violent. In this alleged era of enlightenment, the Information Age in American history, that false belief remains pervasive.

Some forum each day brings more "reports" of persons accused of mental illness committing heinous crimes. In April 2012 in New York City, a 19-year-old college student allegedly beat his writer mother to death in their midtown home.

The next day journalists revealed that he was taking anti depressants and epilepsy medications. One problem with the delicious psychiatric medications is that no one knows a proper dosage to "heal" mental illness. More problematic is that they are often prescribed with other medications. No one knows the effects of the drug cocktails on human brains.

[from article]
"Fordham student Henry Wachtel, 19, was on the epilepsy drugs Keppra and Lamictal, the steroid prednisone, an unnamed anti-depressant and other meds when he pummeled Karyn Kay to death in their Midtown apartment, the sources said."

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/manhattan/son_killer_meds_pAw7YGzyoIlzaxgrjJr9kM

Even the drug company controlled FDA requires a warning label on some psychiatric drugs, saying they may cause violent thoughts and suicidal thoughts. That is an improvement over the the industry's vigorous denial that drugs are in any way connected to violence.

The psychiatric industry promotes its mentor's interests saying that if one stops taking the drugs it is dangerous and may cause violence. But if stopping taking drugs causes violence why start? The same can be said about alcohol, cocaine, meth, LSD and other recreational drugs.

Journalists demonize the victims of the psychiatric abuse as violent due to the diagnoses of the perpetrators. But it is getting more and more apparent that the psychiatric industry is the cause of violence by encouraging vulnerable, troubled, harmless people to take dangerous chemicals.

[Press release]
Harvard University's Graduate School of Education’s (HGSE) student organization on International Higher Education and Disability (IHED) is hosting a symposium entitled The Power of Portrayal: A Panel Discussion on the Image of People with Disabilities in the Media. The panel will address the impact of media images of disability on the educational, psychological, and social development of students. As students with disabilities are increasingly included in classrooms with non-disabled peers, the need for a candid conversation on the influence of media and popular culture on students’ perception of disability becomes increasingly necessary. We are excited to explore this important topic with a panel of distinguished guests.

Panelists will include:

DR. TOM HEHIR, Pascucci Professor of Practice in Learning Differences at HGSE
PROFESSOR JOE BLATT, Senior Lecturer in Education and Director of the Technology in Education Program at HGSE
DEAN TOM FIEDLER, Dean of the College of Communications at Boston University
DANTE DI LORETO, Executive Producer of the Emmy and Golden Globe Award-winning television show GLEE

The panel will take place on Friday, April 13 [2012] at 2pm in the Eliot Lyman Room in Longfellow Hall, Harvard Graduate School of Education.

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