Stigma Busters Defend Mentally Ill Group Opposes Advertising, TV Shows That Contain Demeaning Stereotypes

When John Deere advertised its new Tricycler as “the world’s first schizophrenic lawn mower” because it claimed that three different mowers lived inside, Stacie Larson went into action.

Not only had John Deere trivialized mental illness, she wrote the company in a letter, but the ad furthered the misconception that schizophrenia is a multiple-personality disorder.

Then she noted what schizophrenia is: a painful brain disease that leaves people powerless to use their minds capably. Finally, she noted with irony, if such a disease could inhabit John Deere’s machine, rendering it powerless, she certainly wouldn’t want one.

Deere apologized. And it destroyed the ad.

Another mental-health stigma busted.

Larson, of Lacey, Wash., is one of a loose, nationwide network of volunteers - they call themselves “stigma busters” - who are vigilant for what they view as inaccurate, demeaning and hurtful portrayals of those suffering from mental illness.

Their targets have included Nike, “Grace Under Fire” on ABC-TV, “ER” on NBC-TV, “60 Minutes” on CBS-TV, the “Look and Find: Mother Goose and Her Nursery Rhyme Friends” publisher, McDonald’s restaurants and many others.

They are supported in their efforts by a little-known nonprofit organization, the National Stigma Clearinghouse. Based in New York, it grew out of a project begun in 1989 by the New York State chapter of the Alliance for the Mentally Ill, an organization of families that have members who suffer from a mental illness.

“We came to grips with the fact that there was a flood of mental-illness stereotypes that was overwhelmingly negative,” said Nora Weinerth, clearinghouse co-founder. The project was started to track and combat those negative images.

When a negative mental-health stereotype is spotted, stigma busters usually write or call the offending organization, pointing out inaccuracies and explaining the damage being done when the pain caused by the stigma seems worse than the illness itself.

That’s what Weinerth did when Nike began a “Just Do It” magazine ad campaign. She had received complaints about the text referring to “voices telling you to throw a fastball, just do it. … Crazy people talk to themselves; it doesn’t matter.” She also criticized Nike’s billboard campaign for a shoe described as having multiple personalities. Those afflicted with the disorder don’t find such ads funny, Weinerth noted.

Nike pulled the billboard campaign, revised some ads insensitive to mental illness and sent a letter apologizing for its ignorance.

The clearinghouse’s approach doesn’t always succeed. It failed to dissuade Nike from using a Super Bowl ad that depicted Dennis Hopper as a crazed fan.

And Carol Stoddard, an Oregon stigma buster and office coordinator for Oregon Alliance for the Mentally Ill, couldn’t persuade Denny’s to discontinue its Grand Slam breakfast campaign, which trumpeted that Denny’s must be out of its mind to offer such a cheap deal.

“We thought it was obvious that we were poking fun at ourselves,” said Karen Randall, spokeswoman for Flagstar, Denny’s parent company. But because of the concerns, she said, the commercial has been revised to downplay the insanity factor.

Weinerth knows her organization’s mission strikes some as yet another effort to create “politically correct,” inoffensive communication. But she doesn’t view it that way.

“It’s not a question of political correctness. It’s a question of accurate reporting,” said Weinerth, a writer who says she is sensitive to concerns about censorship.

Weinerth believes that inaccurate depictions encourage people to discriminate against and exploit the mentally ill, who now can be found in one out of every five families in the United States.

One measure of negativity about mental illness has been documented by George Gerbner, dean emeritus of the Annenberg School of Communication at the University of Pennsylvania. Drawing upon 30 years of studying television images, Gerbner’s reports conclude that the mentally ill are the most stigmatized group on television.

On prime-time TV, 45 percent of normal characters engage in violence, Gerbner noted. But of the mentally ill depicted, 70 percent are violent. On Saturday morning children’s shows, nine out of 10 characters depicted as crazy are violent, he added.

And positive depictions of the mentally ill are rare. Among all characters, for every 10 heroes there are two villains, Gerbner said; for the mentally ill, 10 of 11 characters are villains.