Our Vision Statement: Disability Rights California will create individual and family supports, chosen and directed by the person with a disability

Friends United to Seek Equality

July 30, 2009

Join us for a community march and rally concerning our objection with Psycho Donuts' practices

DATE: Sunday, August 2nd
TIME: 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. (please be there no later than 11:00 a.m.)
PLACE: We will meet at Orchard City Green, 70 N. 1st Street, Campbell, CA 95008 at 11:00 a.m. sharp (See map -- corner of Civic Center Dr. and N. Central Ave. in Campbell – between the Library & City Hall)
Psycho Donuts logo

PSYCHO DONUTS -
A business in Campbell that:

  • Has a padded cell, where kids can take photos wearing a straightjacket
  • Has doughnuts called “Massive Head Trauma,” “Cereal Killer,” and“Bipolar”
  • Has “group therapy” and “shock treatment” areas, and a “Bates Motel” display
  • Says it’s a “fun mental institution,” and a “lighthearted insane asylum”

Stereotypes are no joke!!

  • 58,000 people are confined in mental institutions in the U.S. and there is nothing “fun” or “lighthearted” about it.
  • photo of Psycho Donuts' 'Massive Head Trauma' donut
    Photo of Psycho Donuts' “Massive Head Trauma” donut.
    Each year, over 150 people die in mental institutions as a result of seclusion and restraint practices such as straightjackets and shock treatment, with children accounting for over 25% of those deaths.
  • Offering children a photo op in a straightjacket, when children are dying in them is not funny.
  • Just ask any one of the 300,000 troops who have returned from Iraq and Afghanistan with traumatic brain injuries, or their loved ones, if a donut called “Massive Head Trauma” is funny.
  • Stereotypes cause discrimination, and stigma ruins lives!

When did we decide it's OK to ridicule people who are different?

For over three months, many local disability organizations have tried, without success, to educate the business owners and ask them to change the discriminatory aspects of their business, but they have refused.

“Because donuts have no feelings,” they wrote in the Metro on May 6, “they won’t be upset that we’re making fun of them.” In addition, Campbell City Council, the Campbell Chamber of Commerce, the Santa Clara Mental Health Board, and Campbell’s State Legislators have been approached by the same local disability organizations, asking them to broker a meeting with the business owners, but they have said there is nothing they can do. Shame on the City of Campbell for letting this happen.

There is something you can do

Join us on Sunday, August 2nd, at 11:00 a.m. sharp. We need large numbers in order to send a loud and clear message to the owners of Psycho Donuts and to the leadership of the City of Campbell that local businesses should promote respect - not ridicule, and dignity - not discrimination. Children make fun of people who are different, responsible businesses don’t.

Note: Wear comfortable shoes, and bring drinking water. T-shirts and signs will be provided.