BrotherLadies.

NY FRIENDS - THIS IS TODAY! COME & JOIN: I Am Because We Are

maydaychoir:

As many of you know, on May 1st, Occupy, labor unions, faith groups, the immigrant justice coalition, and the NYC artists coalition among others, are working together to organize a day off from work, consumption, banking, and debt; a day dedicated to the infectious spread of community, mutual aid, art, music, and activism through the streets. A temporary gift economy will emerge, and self expression will be encouraged: public performances of art will proliferate and beautify our city streets.  

To participate in the spirit of this day, we are mobilizing a large group of singers to perform a new song based on the Ubuntu phrase “I am who I am because of who we are together.” We’re hoping to involve several hundred people in this singing action on May 1! The idea is that groups of 20-30 singers will meet at 5:30 in several set locations near Madison Square Park and begin singing the melody while making their way to the central location. Once we are all together, the song will explode into harmony and body percussion. This will go on for a minute or two, and then each individual will disperse, repeating the song until they can no longer hear any other individual who is singing the same song. We expect that it will be gorgeous. Anyone and everyone is invited to join the large gathering in Union Square afterwards, if they feel comfortable doing so.

Would this be something in which you and/or your choir and/or any choirs or singers you know would like to participate? If so, we’d be honored to sing with you! The commitment is minimal: we ask that singers spend a few minutes familiarizing themselves with the simple song beforehand, (see both recorded track and sheet music here) and then join us from 5:30-6 at set locations near Madison Square Park on May 1st.  For sheet music, click here.

May Day is an invitation to create the world we want to see - a world of solidarity in struggle, and overwhelming, freely available creativity. Whether or not you would like to join us for the choir action described above, please join us for May Day. If you have another art project you’d like to see on that day, check out call2create.org for all the resources to realize your dream.

If you’d like to participate in the choir on May Day, email us at: maydaychoir@gmail.com

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Terrible excuses for being non-compliant with your psych medication/psych treatment

1. Occupy ______.*

Not that everyone who takes psych meds is dangerous, or would become a complete psychotic basket case sans-meds. And no, I’m not saying that everyone involved in Occupy _____ needs psych meds (or meds in general). However, if you do need medicine, and are non-compliant, at the very least, you are putting yourself and possibly those around you in an extremely uncomfortable situation (yeah, you might just have mild, yet constant depressive symptoms, but please take your mild SSRI…just to avoid that fun irritability that accompanies serotonin discontinuation syndrome). And at the other end of this spectrum, by not taking you medicine, you could be putting yourself and others in actual danger. You are doing yourself and others an extreme disservice by getting all weird, paranoid, grandiose and otherwise aberrant in your behavior. All of those people who think Occupy is nothing but weirdo hippies? Yeah, you’ll be confirming that. Take your meds, go to therapy, do both (if that’s what you’re supposed to do anyway), or else, you’re just ruining it for everyone. You’ll be that one plane crash that everyone remembers, while they conveniently forget that cars are much more lethal.

2. “I’m waaay better when I sleep less, talk more at meetings (I’m better when I’m speaking all the time, actually), and have an inflated sense of self-worth!”

Sure, but you actually need to sleep. Also, half of the pressured speech coming out of your mouth is nonsense. You don’t realize it, and most people are too polite, or stupid to say anything. Your inflated self-confidence will get you in trouble. Trust me, in a few months when you come down, you’ll be kicking yourself “why did I tell them I knew what I was talking about?!”

3. “I tried the meds they gave me once, they made me feel (insert bad feeling here), and now I think psychiatry, psych medication, and the whole mental health planet can go be dumb somewhere that is not close to me.”

Yeah, TELL YOUR PSYCHIATRIST** about all “bad” or “uncomfortable” feelings IMMEDIATELY. This shit can be adjusted EASILY. Also, sometimes it takes a few days for that feeling to wear off…that’s normal. Don’t be such a baby about it. I may be wrong here (or just speaking for myself), but those  few days of mild discomfort are preferable to a lifetime of crazy. Also, if you jump to conclusions that quickly/make sweeping generalizations (MAKED HED HURTY. PSYCH MEDS=BAD), guess what? That’s a symptom. They make pills for that.

*for those who don’t know what “Occupy” means, just google “99%” or ” Tony Bologna„” or find a nice, friendly Occupy-related forum, where you should start a thread called “What the fuck are you hippies talking about?” Yeah…that’ll go over well.

** please go to a real psychopharmacologist, your “Primary Care Physician” is usually wrong…not always…but, just get a second opinion…at least from the nerds on the Mayo Clinic website.