About Mad Pride   |   Aims   |   That Mad Pride Name Again   |   Consultation with Survivors

A Report of the Consultation into Survivor Event 2000 "Mad Pride". By Mark Roberts – for Survivors Speak Out Newsletter - Autumn 1998 Ninety-two People respond Many thanks for all those survivors who responded to the Survivors Speak Out Questionnaire. The response was quite magnificent. Ninety Two responses in all were received to a questionnaire. Why we did the consultation – was the name too strong? We put the questionnaire out, partly to inform survivors what was going on, but also despite there being a lot of enthusiasm about the name MAD PRIDE, some of this enthusiasm was not coming from survivors themselves but from allies. Some of us were a bit nervous about this name. Was it too strong? Was it too denigrating? Would it play into the hands of all those Harry Enfield characters round the Country, who with blind prejudice are all to ready to say "She or He's..a Nutter!" And even more salient, would it split the survivor movement, and leave many out who would like to contribute to a celebration...but not with a name like that? Is there enthusiasm for survivor led celebrations in the Year 2000? The answer is a resounding yes. Eighty seven respondents agreed there should be an event, whereas five disagreed. Of these, reasons given included "What's the point" and a couple disagreed with the overtones of Christianity that Millenium celebrations have. What were people's reaction to the name MAD PRIDE? Here views diverged far more and in fact went through a spectrum of opinion. Eighteen people really hated the name, so much so that they might be unlikely to get involved. Many of these did not like the word Mad, and if they understood how the intention was to reclaim the word - they did not feel the word was worth reclaiming. A further sixteen people were "not keen" on the name. They felt it was over the top, denigrating or unoriginal. Another four people liked Pride but did not like Mad. So, on the one side, there were 38 people who did not like it. And ranging from Brilliant, Great, Good, down to Okay and Would not oppose it, were 45 people. Many thought the name was strong, but had to be if it were going to capture the imagination of the press. There were five people who did not like Pride, thinking it was too derivative of the Gay Pride movement.   So that gives Event 2000 organisers something to think about, at the very least. Which Name was Preferred? Of those names however the questionnaire suggested Mad Pride did not win. 33 people thought the best name was Survivor Pride. 31 people thought the best name was Mad Pride. 13 people preferred People Pride and 9 thought Mental Health Pride was the best. Certainly Survivor Pride seems to be the safer option considering the venom levelled by some at Mad Pride. What other names were suggested? And here people really let their hair down and had some fun. Some of the names, we acknowledge are absolutely fab. They were Mad Power, Loon Power, Together we Stand, Pride of Unite (Unity?), Crazy Lions (quite a few crazy's), Crazy Pride, Psychiatric Survivors Pride, Proud to be us, Pride not Prejudice (literary!), Glad to be Mad (several of these), Survivors Out and Proud, Together we Stand, Proud to be Us, Mental Pride, Loony Tunes, Positively Mental, Proud Loony Pride, Mother's Pride, National Numpty Day (give that survivor a prize), 2000 Pride, SUMS, Crazy Celebration, Rebel Pride, Proud to be different, Raise Consciousness Pride, Are You Aware, R U SANE (ahem!), Respect Pride, Millenium Madness, Mental Health Issues Pride, Psychiatric Survivors Out, Carnival for the Crazy, Survivor Revival (another prize), NOMAD, Different but Equal, Human Pride and Free Beings versus Psychiatrists. What Themes were preferred? Four themes were suggested and they scored as follows It's okay to have experienced mental distress 334 We're users/survivors - we're here, we're part of society 383 Mental Health is Us - almost everyone experiences mental distress at some time or other 366 This is a celebration of humanity 331. Generally they were all liked, but the second one - pointing out that Survivors are an integral part of society, was liked best of all. Mental Health is Us is a wider theme and was also liked and came a close second. What events survivors would like to see happening In first place, with a 71 score, people would like to see a campaign highlighting mental health issues (e.g. high suicide rates). Second with 63, were prominent people coming out. Third, with 62, Exhibitions of survivor achievements. Fourth with 58 were Multi-cultural events. Fifth, with 51, were a series of marches/walks/boat-trips round the country. Closely followed by, with 49, a single mass march or user/survivors. Last with 44 were parties and socials. Conclusion There is a very definite interest in a survivor-led celebration in the Year 2000. Mad Pride is seen as a strong and catchy name, but a significant proportion of people hate it. People want to see a theme which reflects the persona of the survivor movement and would like the celebration to include a campaign. A Response from Mad Pride Organisers Well of course we were a bit disappointed that MAD PRIDE did not win outright, and recognise people's desire to have the name Survivor Pride. We also recognise and respect the views of those people who really hated MAD PRIDE. But the big problem with the word survivor is that it is fairly unknown outside the mental health world. And the message of the event is to say to the outside world "Look, we're here – we're part of society, and we don't want to be oppressed any more." We feel we need the name MAD PRIDE in order grab the attention of the outside world. We take some comfort from the fact that in the USA "Mad" is quite a reclaimed word. MadNation is an established network. So, sorry folks but MAD PRIDE it is then. And we very much hope that the shock/distaste element will evaporate over time.