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NAMI StigmaBuster alert: October 9, 2005
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www.nami.org/stigma

Contact: smarch@nami.org

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Halloween Horrors
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Unfortunately, it's the time of year when some
Halloween "haunted house" attractions are cast as insane
asylums. If this is the case in your community, we
recommend the following actions:

*Contact the sponsors personally. They may be commercial
proprietors or service clubs. Explain the meaning of
stigma and the fact that the U.S. Surgeon General and
President Bush have made its elimination a public health
priority. (See December 2004 alert). Educate them.
Ask them to modify the attraction to remove offensive
parts.

*If the initial dialogue fails, have NAMI members and
others in your community -- such as the PTA -- phone, send
letters, or e-mail the main sponsor, and any companies co-
sponsoring the promotion. (This might be a local fast-
food franchise or soft drink distributor.)

*Contact local newspaper editors and television news
directors. Educate them about stigma and your concerns.
Offer consumers and family members for personal
interviews.

*If the sponsor is a service club, ask to be allowed to
make a presentation on stigma and mental illness at their
next meeting.

*Build partnerships. Sponsors may not be willing or able
to change attractions now, but did not intend to offend.
If so, ask for a written promise to use a different theme
next year -- and then work to recruit them into sponsors
of NAMIWalks or other events.

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Head Cases Chopped
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After only two episodes, Fox TV cancelled the show, Head
Cases, about two lawyers living with mental disorders.
StigmaBuster reviews were mixed over whether the show's
premise represented stigma. The bottom line: it was a weak
show. Ironically, the infamous Wonderland, about a
psychiatric hospital, which ignited protests in 2000, also
was cancelled after only two episodes.

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Bridezilla
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The Web site and advertising for the show, Bridezilla , on
the WE: Women's Entertainment cable television network is
highly offensive. Since 2002, brides on the reality show
have revealed incessant demands and frazzled emotions in
the weeks leading up to their weddings.

http://games.amctv.com/bridezillas2005/

Unfortunately, the Web site shows a progression of three
pictures of a bride in a wedding dress: from "Engaged"
to "Enraged" to "About to Be Committed." The final
picture shows her wrapped in a straitjacket. Brides on
the show, the site declares, go from sweet to certifiable.

Please contact the show and the president of WE's parent
company, Rainbow Media, Inc. Send them these messages:

*Change the Web site. Remove the straitjacket and any
suggestion of mental illness.

*Straitjackets are extremely offensive symbols,
representing the pain and deaths of people with severe
brain disorders.

*Straitjackets also are unfair symbols of violence that
perpetuate stigma condemned by the U.S. Surgeon General.

contactwe@rmhi.com

Charles Dolan
President
Rainbow Media
200 Jericho, NY 11753
516-803-3000

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The NAMI Connection: Lincoln's Melancholy
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The latest issue of NAMI's newest electronic newsletter,
The NAMI Connection, includes a review of Lincoln's
Melancholy: How Depression Challenged a President and
Fueled His Greatness by Joshua Wolf Shenk, a consumer who
has struggled with depression. It carefully documents
Lincoln's history of mental illness and helps strike a
blow against stigma. Mention it in talks before public
audiences or letters to editors. If you don't already
receive The NAMI Connection, you can subscribe at
www.nami.org/subscribe.

http://www.nami.org/Template.cfm?

Section=20054&Template=/ContentManagement/ContentDisplay.

cfm&ContentID=27041

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Kudos to Stella and All Who Walked
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Stella March, NAMI StigmaBusters' coordinator, is too
humble to mention this bit of news, so we are sneaking it
in. Last week, a Los Angeles Times column profiled her in
a story promoting the Los Angeles County NAMIWalk.

http://www.latimes.com/news/columnists/la-me-

lopez28sep28,1,763653.column?coll=la-news-columns

The last NAMIWalk for 2005 takes place on October 29, in
Washington, D.C. Congratulations and many, many thanks to
all who walked to raise awareness against stigma and for
recovery.


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