“The president of the University of Ottawa said a Scientology linked anti-psychiatry exhibit on campus that has been widely condemned and protested by students is ‘outrageous’ and ‘hurtful to many members of the community,’ but ruled the school will not be removing the display.”
This display is far beyond simply outrageous and “hurtful to many members of the community”.
Mental Illness is a serious health concern, especially amongst this college age group. It has taken decades for the stigma of shame to even begin to be lifted. For so long those who suffer and struggle with mental illnesses, conditions over which they have no control, have been wary of stepping forward and asking for help due to the lack of educated support and the real potential for ridicule.
Anxiety, depression and other mental illnesses are potentially deadly conditions if not addressed and treated. Those who do not understand what it is like to live under the clouds of fear, self doubt and despair find it easy to advise the sufferer to “just stop worrying so much!” or “snap out of it! It’s not so bad!”
Mental illness, if left undiagnosed and untreated can end in violence and death for many who just cannot find it within themselves to continue living in such darkness and hopelessness.
While the psychiatric community as a whole needs to continue their research and concentrate on positive, effective forms of treatment going forward, it has already come a long way from the days of Bedlam. Still, there is desperate need for more education, more resources and certainly a kinder, more supportive understanding by the community in general towards those who live with mental illness.
Scientology categorizes mental illness (which is lumped in with insanity) as one of the three issues that need “clearing” from the planet.
Lumping insanity in with war and crime, it shows a seriously unbalanced and unkind view of psychological conditions as a whole. That someone is afflicted by depression, bi polar, schizophrenia, anxiety or any of the other myriad conditions that encompass mental illness does not make them a bad person or a criminal needing to be “cleared” so that the rest of society can be “free”.
University of Ottawa president Frémont refusing to take a stand against mental health discrimination is a clear sign of a lack of support for his students’ needs.
Scientology’s CCHR claims it is fighting against psychological abuses.
This is a bold faced lie.
Jacques Frémont is making a statement by his refusal to oppose the false and discriminatory teachings that the CCHR embraces and disseminates.
President Frémont is publicly reinforcing the idea that psychiatry is negative and shameful by allowing CCHR’s message to be spread.
If even one student at the University of Ottawa sees this exhibition and believes it, then serious damage will have been done.
This is not a simple case of religious right or free speech.
The CCHR teaches that conditions like ADHD and Autism are not real. That they are behavioral and can be treated with Scientology tech. Jett Travolta died because he was not being treated in a safe, responsible medical manner for his health issues.
John Alex Wood, Scientologist and fanatical supporter and defender of The CCHR said it loudly and clearly in his Twitter declaration;
“You claim CCHR has some sort of religious purpose. Wrong. CCHR’s overarching purpose is the total ANNIHILATION of psychiatry worldwide”. (Emphasis his)
This is the truth of Scientology’s CCHR, this is their goal and their raison d’être.
With the “complete annihilation” of psychiatry, what then will exist for the care and treatment of the many millions who are afflicted with mental illness?
No more therapists, no more medications to help people live healthier more productive lives, no more treatment.
Just millions of people left adrift in a no man’s land of hopelessness and isolation.
Jan Eastgate, President of the CCHR states “There are alternatives to psychiatric treatment. Seek out and support them for they can repair and build. They also work. Avoid psychiatry because it only tears apart and destroys. And it never works.”
Tell that to the millions of people who have found relief and stability in their lives through therapy and the proper medications. As with the Fair Game Policy, this directive encouraging people to avoid therapy and seek relief in alternative practices is exceedingly irresponsible and potentially life threatening. Anyone who is inspired to follow such advice while suffering from a psychological issue could find themselves spiraling downward into dangerous behaviors.
If Scientology is good at nothing else it seems to excel at fostering dangerous behaviors.
Further, CCHR emphatically teaches that mental illness is not real. “there is categorically no evidence that diseases such drugs claim to treat even exist—which is to say, it’s all an elaborate and deadly hoax.”
They insist that because mental illness cannot be diagnosed through a blood test or CT Scan, it does not exist. There was a time when there was no reliable test for cancer, Tuberculosis, Plague or Strep infections but that does not mean they did not exist.
Advising the public that mental health issues are not real is an outrageous and deadly practice that should be condemned not supported and encouraged.
President Frémont, on behalf of that one student amongst your ranks right now who is silently, hopelessly struggling, that one person locked inside their own shadowy place of loneliness and despair, please protect them. Do not let them hear the message that there is no help available other than Scientology.
Scientology, who teaches their children that if they are being molested it is their fault.
Scientology, who makes rape and molestation victims apologize to their attacker and then live in silence and shame.
Scientology, who left beautiful, young Lisa McPherson during a desperate psychotic break to die alone, neglected. Dehydrated and covered with insect bites and bruises, Lisa was forced to exist, isolated in silence, locked in a hotel room under the dubious “care” of unqualified staff. She was given multiple homeopathic medications all designed to sedate her but which only helped to drive her further into madness.
She was not taken to a hospital to be saved. Rather she was only driven, in someone’s car, to hospital already dead.
Lisa McPherson is the deceased poster child for everything evil that the CCHR believes in.
President Frémont, please, for the sake of all those under your care, rethink this decision to support Scientology’s dissemination of false, irresponsible and potentially deadly propaganda.
You just may save someone’s life.
Confront And Shatter 
President Fremont further justified his decision by claiming that curtailing the exhibit would have made this occurrence a national media event. In other words, instead of receiving just local Ottawa press coverage, the Canadian national media would have covered the event giving CCHR much more media exposure, thus exposing many more people to their outrageous ideas.
This is surprising reasoning from a person with obviously very lofty academic credentials. I think what really is at stake is that he is embarrassed the university got fooled into granting these lunatics prominent exhibition space on campus, and it’s best that the rest of Canada not know about it. Because making this a national issue would be much more harmful to Scientology and CCHR, because their ideas are pure lunacy and people should be more aware of this.
But Canada is a liberal society that values freedom of expression, and Fremont obviously didn’t want to be accused of being an opponent of free speech. But any deeper examination of the issues involved would tend to overrule the free speech issue in favor of the public benefit argument that such an exhibition is too harmful for Canadian society.
The only good to come out of all this is that the university will be more vigilant when it comes to granting unknown groups exhibition space. “It will certainly impact the (university) policy about welcoming organizations from outside who want to get on our campus to exhibit,” said Frémont. “It is important that our campus remains a place where there’s full freedom of expression, there’s the full expression of even ideas we don’t share … but it’s also very important that members of the community are not aggressed by that expression.”
LikeLiked by 1 person