Nickelodeon Stigma

Just wanted to share a letter I sent off to Nickelodeon today. NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness) is full of great information, and includes a section on how to fight the stigma of mental illness. StigmaBusters shares many of the stories of how mental illness is portrayed, both good and bad. If you have a minute, I encourage you to take a peek!

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Dear Nickelodeon,

Your network received a black mark in my book this last weekend (April 20, 2008) with the recent airing of a “Back to the Barnyard” episode. This animated episode, “Saving Mrs. Beady” focused on the delusions of Mrs. Beady and addressed psychiatric hospitals, mental illness and treatment for mental health in a most inaccurate and inappropriate manner.

This episode merely instigated the stereotypes surrounding the issues of mental health. I am surprised you would air an episode with this sort of content given the circumstances of one of your leading stars, Jamie Lynn Spears (Zoey 101). Jamie Lynn faces issues surrounding mental health with her sister (Britney Spears) on a daily basis. How disrespectful to expose one of your biggest moneymakers to the already sensitive subject? In any other workplace, members of the Legal and Human Resources Department would hand out discrimination and/or harassment suits faster than imaginable for subjecting an employee to such a situation.

As a family member of persons with mental illnesses, I did not appreciate the stigma this created. The information was inaccurate and the stereotypes were undignified. Nickelodeon’s portrayal of mental illness only propagates the struggle, prejudice and discrimination millions of people experience on a daily basis. The U.S. Surgeon General has not only condemned the actions Nickelodeon has taken with this episode, but under the Americans with Disabilities Act, I imagine you could face legal liabilities.

A network that focuses on children as a target audience is certainly not preparing appropriate content for airing. How many of your child viewers have a parent with a mental illness? I know of at least two. An even more important question is how many of your child viewers suffer from a mental illness themselves?

I highly recommend you refrain from running any further episodes of this cartoon. Perhaps it may be necessary for your writers to further research sensitive subjects before actually airing an episode. Advocates of any mental health organization, such as NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness), would gladly offer suggestions for more positive content.

Thank you,

Alicia Peterson

Casual Friday

A friend sent me this the other day, and thought it was appropriate timing for my telecommuting news. Funny. Very funny.

Stop Breast Cancer For Life.

Hi everyone - I received this today, and wanted to pass it along.

Be my support. Be my strength. Be my Bra. There is currently a bill called the Breast Cancer Patient Protection Act which will require insurance companies to cover a MINIMUM 48-hour hospital stay for patients undergoing a mastectomy. This is all about eliminating the "drive-through mastectomy" ... many women are forced to go home just a few hours after surgery, against the wishes of her doctor, and usually still groggy from anesthesia. Lifetime Television has put this bill on their Web page with a petition drive to show your support. Last year over half the House signed on. Please click here to sign the petition, you need not give more than your name and zip code.

It's official!

As of June 1, I will be working from home! It was blessed by the Chief HR officer of the company and everything is a go. Right now we're just working out the logistics like the phones, laptop, etc. I will have shaved off at least 10 hours of commute time per week, and 400 miles of driving in rush hour traffic (and that's just to and from work) per week. I'm REALLY looking forward to starting my day earlier and ending it sooner. Kind of tough now when Cam's school starts at 8:30, I've got to drop him off and hope that I'm to work by 9:30. If you need to, grab a calculator. Yep - that means I have maybe 2 hours with both of them by the time I get home, and before they hit the hay. I'll still go into the office, once a week for a few hours, probably Wednesdays, and from 9-1 or so to take care of meetings, pick up mail, etc. Other than that, I will be home!

Oh - and my dress code? Might have to head out and buy some more flip-flops. :)

Is THIS the first to go?

I'm beginning to think that turning 34 also means the onset of the stereotypical signs of old age. I'm referring to my hearing. It might just get me into trouble, or my son, if I don't watch it. Cameron and I were shopping yesterday at Kohls when I picked a shirt off the rack. It was green: darker than lime, brighter than olive ... that's the best I can describe it. Anyway, I ask Cam what he thinks of it.

What I THOUGHT I heard him say was, "It's nice if you want to look like a hooker." Jaw to the floor, looking around to make sure no one else heard, I tell him not to say that. I then ask him if he even knows what that means and where he heard it from. I proceed to tell him that he shouldn't say words if he doesn't know what they mean.

He looks at me and says, "Who doesn't know what a booger is?" Well if that wasn't a relief. Then he asks me what I thought he said.

"Nothing ... let's go look at shoes ..."

Phew. That was a close one.