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OpinionJanuary 23, 2005

To the editor: Psychiatric and legal critic Thomas Szasz reminds us that the Rodney Yoder case is not so much about the fighter but the fight: the struggle against psychiatry's intrusion in the legal system. During Rodney's 12-year imprisonment in the Chester Mental Health Center, some agencies and individuals, including myself, sent complaints to restrict contact. A one-page letter or a fax did the trick. This "trick standard" violated Rodney's rights...

To the editor:

Psychiatric and legal critic Thomas Szasz reminds us that the Rodney Yoder case is not so much about the fighter but the fight: the struggle against psychiatry's intrusion in the legal system.

During Rodney's 12-year imprisonment in the Chester Mental Health Center, some agencies and individuals, including myself, sent complaints to restrict contact. A one-page letter or a fax did the trick. This "trick standard" violated Rodney's rights.

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Rodney annoyed me like a gnat on a hot summer day. He hounded me at times. He pleaded. He begged. And he pined. But to call him a stalker was unfair.

Like many, I found Rodney's communication style disagreeable. The rigor of the fight against psychiatry was too great for me. I closed my mortal arms.

Freedom, on the other hand, welcomes her newest member, Rodney Yoder.

MILLIE STROM, Vancouver, British Columbia

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