You crazy! Mental health advocates in uproar over high school dance team’s ‘psych ward’ routine
Feb 5, 2011, 12:46 PM EDT
We take you now to Waunakee, WI, where the Waunakee High School dance team is headed to the state competition with a rather unique routine. In it, the team “gets crazy” while wearing uniforms resembling straitjackets and restraints with the words “Psych Ward” on them. The girls, however, have been forced to tone down their routine after complaints from mental health advocates and parents that their act mocks the mentally ill. Political correctness gone mad? You be the judge.
From the Capital Times:
News of the routine spread fast this week after photos of the dancers in their costumes were published in the Waunakee Tribune. “The pictures are quite disturbing,” says Hugh Davis, executive director of Wisconsin Family Ties. “We had parents and kids with mental health issues standing in the office with tears in their eyes. This brings up painful memories. It is incredibly insensitive.”
Following the uproar, the dance team has agreed to cover up the words “Psych Ward” on their costumes, and will also read a statement prior to their performance which includes a “we apologize to anyone we might have offended,” non-apology apology.
Not that they should be apologizing in the first place. Exactly who is crazy here? If the girls feel in retrospect that their routine is insensitive and wrong, they should admit it and dump it. If they don’t feel that way, they should keep it unchanged and go full-speed ahead with the madness. Teaching our children to back down under pressure is not cool.
Erin Cotter, the team’s head coach, says she is taken aback by how upset people are about the routine. “I don’t understand where they are coming from,” she says. Hip-hop is all about being “bold,” she says. Last year, a competing team dressed in orange jumpsuits pretended they were prisoners, she says. “The whole point is to get people pumped up and energized. Our intent had nothing to do with mental illness. Our total intent was just a hip-hop dance and the songs and the words that were popular. The thought never crossed my mind or the school’s or the parents’ or the kids’ that it was about mental illness.”
Look, until we get a complaint from Giants’ reliever Brian Wilson, I say that his dance routine is good to go as is.
***
Vital Signs: Waunakee High’s ‘Psych Ward’ dance routine upsets advocates for mentally ill [The Capital Times]
-
- tony serve - Feb 10, 2011 at 2:41 AM
-
This could have been a valuable learning experience for the students about reality and the benefit of apologising and making good – but if the teacher involved doesn’t “get it” it’s just a nightmare for everyone.
As for hip hop being “bold” the teacher clearly doesn’t get “street” either.
It’s not about the students’ actions, it’s about the teacher and school’s poor understanding of MH and reality generally.
Suck it up, say sorry and make good.
And don’t give us that claptrap about PC gone “mad” – the tears of the kids & families hurt by this ignorance are REAL.
tony serve
senior journalist/blogger/MHadvocatePS….If you’d like to see how hard some of us around the globe work to reduce stigma, join us for #MHSM chat tuesday evenings US time.
If you’d like to help stem the deadly tide of stigma ( suicides in US & australia are parallel with road trauma! ) come and join in.
-
- edadvocates - Feb 11, 2011 at 10:35 PM
-
Tony,
As you may be aware, some good news has arisen over this incident. I received word today that the principal of Waunakee High School is teaming up with NAMI Wisconsin to bring mental health awareness to the school and community. You can read more about it at Chrisa’s blog, The Mindstorm: http://chrisahickey.blogspot.com/2011/02/thank-you-mr-kersten-waunakee-high.html
Now, we would just like to see some of the same from Mr. Chandler and NBC!
-
- twsblog - Feb 10, 2011 at 10:54 PM
-
I am so shocked and appalled… Everyone has made great points here and I would just like to voice my disgust along with them. What are we teaching our children. And how many young people out there suffering from mental health challenges would take this so personally. To be a teen is hard enough, imagine for a moment to be a teen who is made exceptionally more fragile from their mental health issues that are only worsened by such public mockery. I hope that this can somehow be turned into an opportunity for understanding and discussion. To allow this type of behavior is to condone the message that those suffering can be made fun of with no regard for the impact.
-
- nullfuture - Feb 11, 2011 at 12:41 AM
-
I live in the UK and we’re known for having a more… robust sense of humour than our cousins over there in the States. There’s not much off the table, racism and homophobia being the main no-nos.
However, this routine wasn’t done for comedy value, I don’t have to see it for it to be interpreted in the correct manner which was to show that their ‘crazy’ about their team etc. If it was wished to do so in a manner appropriate then showing a video of ‘Firestarter’ by The Prodigy would have been an excellent example of how they could have achieved this. Wearing ‘Psych Ward’ outfits and makeup all over the place is not hip hop, street, urban, cool, or whatever, it just shows a level of idiocy that beggars belief in the same vein as those who persist in telling racist jokes.
As for the author of this report, I think the term ‘swing and a miss’ fits quite nicely. Honestly, I appreciate your attempt at having an opinion but even if you are a neo conservative (feel free to ask someone what that means) it tends to be a good idea to figure out when to just keep your thoughts to yourself.
-
- mizmaxgordon - Feb 11, 2011 at 9:30 AM
-
Chandler does say ONE thing with which I wholeheartedly agree: “If the girls feel in retrospect that their routine is insensitive and wrong, they should admit it and dump it. If they don’t feel that way, they should keep it unchanged and go full-speed ahead with the madness. Teaching our children to back down under pressure is not cool.” Creative expression and standing up for individuality are important and should be applauded.
HOWEVER…and this is a big however, with that said I don’t get the feeling that that those who created this routine were as interested in creative expression as they were in the shock value and the controversy they could have anticipated (and probably did and welcomed). This is far from the first time people have ridiculed the disadvantaged for their own personal gain.
Am I offended personally? First, I haven’t seen the whole routine, so I can’t in good conscience judge. I have been in a psych ward, and although I never saw anyone in a straitjacket I did know people there who had been restrained because they were considered a danger to themselves…not to others. My initial reaction is that we shouldn’t be censoring things that upset people so much as talking more openly about them and turning the conversation into something positive. That is, wouldn’t it be grand if the Psych Ward girls were to say, out loud, what we all know, which is that a lot of what people call “crazy” is just nonconformity or a refusal to be a part of someone else’s agenda. Wouldn’t it be super if the Psych Ward girls used their return to show that passion and fervor can be used to inspire and not destroy? Wouldn’t it be incredible if the Psych Ward girls didn’t apologize for their routine but apologized for their insensitivity in presenting it without also saying they recognize that even those of us who have been behind the walls are PEOPLE too? I hate political correctness that seeks only to blunt the edges of truth. Don’t cesor it, use it as a platform, dammit. Advocate.
-
- auraynes - Feb 11, 2011 at 6:27 PM
-
In response to: “Teaching our children to back down under pressure is not cool.” Do you really believe that there are not circumstances when we should teach kids to back down under pressure? For example, if a student feels strongly that it would be a great idea to punch his/her teacher, but a counselor pressures them to come up with a more constructive way to express that anger. How about if they want to drink and drive? We teach kids every day about making wise choices instead of poor ones. Hurting others, whether intentional or not, is wrong. Is it not ok to teach them that it is ok to back down when it is the right thing to do?
Besides, as I understand it, the girls in this story aren’t the ones who didn’t want to back down. The dance could have been just a good with a different theme. I have no issue whatsoever with the team creatively expressing themselves or getting credit for their hard work…I do, however, have an issue with them doing so at the expense of others.
As a mother who loves her children dearly and who has seen the devastating affect that mental illness has had on their lives, I am saddened not by the girls who performed as they were told to do. I am saddened by the coaches and parents who thought this was teaching those girls something constructive and who won’t admit that it was wrong after learning that others were hurt by it. I’m even more saddened and even angry that a major news network like NBS would add insult to injury as this blog did. Not only did you condone mockery of the mentally ill, you mocked it further with the title and comments throughout this blog.
Rick, are you willing to volunteer to reside in an inpatient mental health ward for a couple of weeks and try on a straight jacket? Perhaps after that experience you’d decide it isn’t a joking matter?!?
-
- alishayarbrough - Feb 12, 2011 at 2:07 AM
-
“our intent had nothing to do with mental illness” is the equivalent of someone punching you and denying their intent was to hurt. ridiculous that an adult in an authoritative position could rationalize that. and you, for questioning the sanity of those of us offended by this? ludicrous, as is the excuse that “hey, another school made fun of prisoners, nanananabooboo”. in this climate socially, where more children than ever are taking their own lives and the lives of others, we as adults have the responsibility to teach children tolerance, which is not something you get to pick and choose based on whether it directly offends or affects you.
-
- joelsax47 - Feb 12, 2011 at 4:20 AM
-
I have never been violent towards another person or carved my face or been made to wear a strait jacket. I live with bipolar disorder. I take my meds and I am thankful that they let me live among others. It is a fact of my lifestyle that I do not want mocked or misrepresented.
The teacher is being disingenuous when she claims no knowledge of the stigmatizing effect of her “dance”. What is worse is that NBC Sports should jump up in her defense, calling our protests nothing more than “political correctness”. I counter that political correctness has nothing to do with it: we are protesting lack of civility and compassion on the part of this teacher and on the part of NBC Sports.
Every day I read about my fellow sufferers who have found themselves on the streets or in jails (often due to committing petty crimes so that they can get treatment). I read about states cutting funds that help people like me can get treatment and hold down regular jobs. Politicians follow the lead of the media in portraying us as monsters.
This writer should attend a support group meeting of NAMI or the Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance so that the next time he writes a piece about the mentally ill, he remembers the real human beings behind the media’s imaginary hockey mask.
-
- mistybarnhill - Feb 12, 2011 at 11:23 AM
-
After you talk to Ellen Sacys, you should talk to Joel Slack, Dan Fischer, and Mary Ellen Copeland. They are all great people who live with mental illness. This is not a case of “political correctness” its a case of right and wrong. These girls and their coach were wrong. Period. And the “non-apology apology”? It was a slap in the face. Do you know who lives with mental illness in your personal life? What no one? You are very very wrong. Try your doctor, your mail carrier, your mechanic, your hairdresser, your child, your sister in law, your boss. I could go on and on. What do you mean you didnt know? Mabye its because they are afraid to acknowledge it or admit it to you. Because of things like this. People with mental illness are in our lives every day. People who love people with mental illness are in our lives. Everyone who thinks no one was offended by this is wrong. People are still afraid to come out and say ” I have a mental illness” or “my loved one has a mental illness” because then people like you treat them differently or make fun of them or disregard them. Well guess what I am telling you right now “I am a person with a mental illness. I am a loved one of a person with mental illness. I am not ashamed because I am in recovery. I have friends with mental illness. We are a force to be reckoned with.” Deal with us, but dont patronize us or make fun of us.
-
- doctorj56 - Feb 15, 2011 at 11:19 PM
-
I absolutely have no toleration for the insensitivity of this so whatever, and people that would do this kind of thing, show only their ignorance and their selfish stupidity.
Why don’t we all get dressed up like cancer patients, or people will their limbs removed from Diabetes, or let’s make fun of the blind. That’s it, since these people are BLIND!
To quote one of the best psychologist I have ever met. -Louis Wynne Phd
THERE ARE NO CRAZY PEOPLE, BUT THERE ARE CRAZY-MAKING ENVIRONMENTS; and THERE ARE NO MENTAL ILLNESSES, BUT THERE ARE MAD-MAKING HISTORIES.
I get sick of the media that gets most of it’s money from the pharmacuetical companies pushing their products as if every mad gun men, every killer, every person that ever does a major crime, is mentally ill or crazy. No, if you read the Bible enough you will see that all of mankind is sick and all of mankind is dysfunctional a product ot their environment, and definitely the mad making history we all inherited from Adam
People suffering only need mercy, love and compassion, and deliverance from their illness. We all need it!
Actually statistics show the majority of crime is not committed by “insane people” but sane people, just look at war!
-
- flutterb - Feb 17, 2011 at 2:51 PM
-
Interesting that an educator finds it acceptable to allow the perpetuation of ignorance…Its Wisconsin in general we are ten steps behind and have a read and puke educational system. Don’t think , heaven forbid…do the worksheet and leave me alone. It is small towns , running their own agendas ,which have absolutely nothing to do with what is happening in the world our children are about to enter.
-
- beeperthoughts - Nov 4, 2011 at 4:48 PM
-
This is appalling. I am glad that the advocates are all over them.
