Share the following editorial, written by NAMI Tennessee Executive Director Joyce Judge, with your local press, the XFL, the media, and the Memphis Maniax. Contact and other information follows the editorial. As a culture we love to be afraid. Whether we're riding a roller coaster, reading the latest horror novel, seeing a scary movie, or watching extreme sports, we pay a lot for fear. But money isn't the only price we pay.
Fear sells .
The stronger the association between mental illness and fear, the better the media coverage. Nothing better illustrates the point than the recent promotions of Extreme Football, particularly of the Memphis Maniax. Some may argue that the promotions aren't about fear, they're about fun. Not when a veneer of fun is used to sell stereotypes based on fear of mental illness. By 1996, a modern survey revealed that Americans had achieved greater scientific understanding of mental illness.