Judi Chamberlin's Political Button Collection -- A Story of a Shrink Resistant Woman

No, anger is not "nice," but it's real, it comes from the gut, and not to be angry at being shit upon is being dead -- which is exactly what shrinks and their kind want us all to become...

But anger is exhausting, and being put down for our anger is destructive. What we need is to be able to turn to one another for strength, for support, and for understanding.

-- From Judi Chamberlain's correspondence, July 19, 1975

Judi Chamberlin at Conference on Human Rights and Psychiatric oppression
Toronto, 1982

You might ask, who's "Judy Chamberlain?" No, you got it wrong, she's Judi. Chamberlin, without an "a." Judi Chamberlain in Somerville removed her name from a phone book because she'd been mistaken over and over again as other Somerville woman named Judi Chamberlin, I mean our Judi.

So why did she collect such quirky pin badges? Shrink resistant, stop shock, what do they mean? Ok, let me tell about her life story.

Shrink Resistant

Sunset that screens, reveals —

A Rose for Emily Project

Sunset that screens, reveals —
Enhancing what we see
By menaces of Amethyst
And Moats of Mystery.

Those little items are gifts to Emily Dickinson's final resting place. What are messages hidden in those objects? What story do you imagine?

Got an inspiration? You are welcome to leave your observation, imagination, and/ or random thoughts through the comment section. There is no right or wrong in interpenetrating those objects.

Photos taken July 5, 2013

Poem cited from: http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Sunset_that_screens,_reveals_%E2%80%94