The ultimate SC...Crazy John

[blas]

I've promised and promised I would tell this story as soon as I had all the critical information, and now I do......

I now present you fellow CSers the story of Crazy John. He is feared and loathed by everyone in town (that is, the town my parents still live in). He is the ultimate SC, even if he can't mentally help that fact, he is still dangerous.

There are many different stories and theories about why Crazy John is the way he is. Some kids in school told me that he had a bad experience in Vietnam (isn't that always an excuse?) and was never the same when he returned. Others say that he was kicked in the head by a horse, and his brain never fully recovered. Others would say that he had a tumor the size of a tennis ball growing on his brain, and although it was succesfully removed, it affected him mentally in many ways. Others will say that he was struck by lightening. Some have even said that he was adbucted by aliens.

Whatever the case may be, Crazy John is C R A Z Y.

He looks like a homeless bum. He never changes his clothes nor showers. He grew his hair out past his shoudlers and his beard was becoming alarmingly Amish-like.

Thankfully, he does not own a car. Although, that does not stop him from taking the local taxis (how he affords it, I don't know) or angrily pacing the streets of the city, causing doom and mayhem wherever he goes.

No lie, he has been kicked out of EVERY store in the city at least once or twice. He has been banned from several establishments indefinetly. He has been hauled away by the police more times than anyone wants to recall. Employees who have only been sworn at or spat at are the lucky ones. The unlucky ones are those who have been mauled or grabbed while awaiting the police. Our local policemen are brave souls. They won't even allow the few women officers to apprehend Crazy John, because he would most likely beat them senseless before they could pull a gun on him. It has taken as many as 5 officers to take Crazy John down. Of course, psychotic behavior is a side effect of heavy methamphetamine use....it can make anyone as strong as a horse. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention, he has a horrible drug problem (how he affords that, I have no clue). As a matter of fact, he has a son in prison for meth use (whoever wanted to procreate with him, I have NO idea).

No lie as well, if one were to call the police and say "Crazy John is in my store", no questions would be asked, because several officers would be en route immediately. I called the police on him ONCE, and a squad car was at the gas station within 3 minutes.

One day Crazy John was in the store. You never know when he is going to snap. He bought some beef jerky. The owner of the store hid behind the displays of candy and winked at me. Crazy John slammed his fist onto the counter and tried to spit some half chewed jerky at me. "THIS JERKY TASTES LIKE SHIT!" he asked.

I tried to remain calm and asked, "Do you want your money back, John?"

He turned beet red and said, "What the FUCK are you staring at?!" and then immediately, the owner of the store said "John you watch your mouth or get out!" Weirdly enough, Crazy John listened, and left.

Crazy John has been known to hang around the courthouse where my mother works. Many times, he has hidden behind bushes, and as women press their button on their chain to open their cardoors, and he has bolted into their cars and scared the shit out of them. My mother was scared to wait for my father to pick her up after work for weeks because of this crazy bastard.

Why isn't he locked away in the looney bin or rotting in prison where he belongs? Because too many people stand up for him. Too many people claim that he doesn't know what he's doing and that he can't help his behavior. A police officer once told me that no matter how many times they arrest him, they cannot hold him for more than a day. It seems that every poor soul who has ever been attacked by him has felt "bad" for him and dropped the charges. He has never been sentenced to anything or been given more than disordery conduct fines. All assault charges have been dropped. Unfortunately, banning and kicking him out of stores hasn't helped either, because he will ALWAYS come stumbling back.

Then Crazy John disappeared. No one knew for months where he had went. There is still no real information available, except for that in some store, somewhere in town, Crazy John lost it, an employee lost it, the police were called, and charges WERE pressed. He is now getting the help that he needs, and he hopefully will NOT be seeing the light of day or be allowed to bother anyone else for a very long time.

At least we'll be rid of Crazy John for a while.......that's a relief in itself. The town can breathe easily again and managers and employees alike will not have to deal with his antics for a while either.

Crazy son of a bitch belongs in a rubber room for the rest of eternity.

[CRXPanda]

meth crickets still have their utilities, therefore procreate, ever so terribly

crazy people are only safe from prosecution or revenge until another crazier person happens upon the situation (survival of the fittest crazy person)

i tend to be nuttier-than-thou when it comes to nutcases like this one... they learn to respect mah athoritai

I got a lot of them while an overnight stocker at the mart...i had auto and sporting goods...OVERNIGHT, what a set of whackos that brought me daily...

[zzapp the witch]

Methamphetamine use for guys like this is actually a form of self medication. Unfortunately, the street drug cooked and labeled "methamphetamine" is actually just a concoction of crap.

Real amphetamine salts and their pharmaceutical cousins would actually HELP this guy.

Please don't hate him. He really can't control or make sense of what he does. He wants to be normal again, but he can't remember how, using drugs gets makes him feel like he's closer to it, but actually make him worse.

I used to feel the same way you do about people like this, but after working with them, and having a boyfriend that's bipolar, I understand them a lot better. I can't bring myself to get angry or hate them anymore, or even wish ill on them, I just really, really feel sad for them.

[ditchdj]

Please don't hate him. He really can't control or make sense of what he does. He wants to be normal again, but he can't remember how, using drugs gets makes him feel like he's closer to it, but actually make him worse.

Yeah but HE MADE THE CHOICE to be that way. Nobody made him into what he is. I know that when someone makes choices that interfere with MY quality of life and become a threat to MY way of life I want them shut down. Actually I really dont care what people do. Hell I wouldnt even care that he does drugs, but when it starts encroaching on other peoples' way of life then there's a problem that needs to be addressed.

[SuperB]

There's no excuse for meth. Meth affects people in ways that make everything else look tame. And while it does grab hold of the mind and chainge it, the individual *must* be responsible for their actions.
We had a "Crazy John" for a while. He once decided to wait outside and follow me home. It was at a time where his behavior was working it's way up to quite a few swearing they'd shoot him "next time". He finally made terrorist threats at a local place and he's been gone ever since.

[Argabarga]

Compassion is all well and good, but when someone is threatening my safety, sorry, I will treat them the same as a rabid animal or a runawy truck, they are a threat that needs to be stopped, compassion comes later once everyone's safety is not at risk.

[B&NGoddess]

when i saw the OP was in WI, i thought i had dealt with this crazy john. my crazy john doesn't match the description, though.

my crazy john doesnt have a drug problem. nature made him that bastardy.

[Seshat]

Yeah but HE MADE THE CHOICE to be that way. Nobody made him into what he is.

If he's actually biochemically or anatomically messed up inside his skull, he didn't make the choice to be that way.

My best friend is biochemically messed up inside the skull. She's normal if she takes a cocktail of expensive medications. (Her pharmacist checked with her psychiatrist that the combination is correct - it's a scary combo that would make someone who is biochemically normal go seriously insane.)

The cocktail is only affordable to us because the government subsidises it in our country. In the US (based on what I've heard), she'd be out of luck: she wouldn't get health insurance or it'd be unaffordably-expensive because of the pre-existing condition, and there's no way she could afford the meds with any sort of normal job.



However, if we couldn't get her the meds, she'd be better off in a hospital than out on the street. With someone else dictating her schedule and keeping her distracted with activities and in a predictable environment, the messed-up-ness inside her head would affect her less.

For those people who are messed up biochemically or anatomically, it's NOT A CHOICE. (People who aren't is a different matter.) Please do understand that. However, such people are better off somewhere where they can get treatment.

Actually I really dont care what people do. Hell I wouldnt even care that he does drugs, but when it starts encroaching on other peoples' way of life then there's a problem that needs to be addressed.

I also think that if a person is a threat to others, the threat should be removed, regardless of the reason for it. Insanity is not a reason to be a danger to people: it's just a way of determining where the dangerous person should be taken. (Sane and dangerous: prison. Insane and dangerous: prison mental hospital.)

[Imogene]

There was an episode of CSI that featured a similar caricature the other night. A local war-hero, who went a little loony, was hanging around outside a bar, the bouncer took the loon for a 'ride', put him in a duffel bag, and kicked him over a hill, thinking it would give the loon a place to calm down (the bouncer thought he was on drugs, I think), and would unzip the bag once he had his faculties back. Nope, guy died in the bag, and basically became human stew.

[Becks]

It seems that every poor soul who has ever been attacked by him has felt "bad" for him and dropped the charges. He has never been sentenced to anything or been given more than disordery conduct fines. All assault charges have been dropped.

While it's all well and good for their karma points, it doesn't help him learn his lesson/get help/whatever.

[ominousoat]

Crazy son of a bitch belongs in a rubber room for the rest of eternity.

I understand being freaked out by him, and saying that he should be responsible for his own actions; however, you don't know meth use caused this, and it's one of those presumptions that forever furthers the mental illness stigma in society. Also, he needs treatment, not to be thrust away and be forgotton in a facility, even if his disability was self-inflicted.

[Jester]

I used to feel the same way you do about people like this, but after working with them, and having a boyfriend that's bipolar, I understand them a lot better. I can't bring myself to get angry or hate them anymore, or even wish ill on them, I just really, really feel sad for them.

Please, for the love of those of us who are related to bipolar people are have bipolar tendencies ourselves, do NOT equate meth heads and complete nut jobs with bipolarism. Crazy John does not sound like he's bipolar (though I am not, of course, an expert), he sounds like what those in the psychiatric field call, in clinical language, "a complete whackaloon."

Also, he needs treatment, not to be thrust away and be forgotton in a facility, even if his disability was self-inflicted.

If he won't get or refuses treatement, I am sorry, it is much better for him to be shut away in a facility than to be a danger to the rest of us. I would definitely choose that lesser evil over the serious potential for him to harm someone else, thank you very much.

[blas]

It's not completely the meth that has done it to him.........whichever of the above theories (or whatever the truth may be of what happened in his past) AND his drug problem has made him what he is. He is NOT bipolar, that is for damn sure. He is just NUTS. Absolutely NUTS.

The man is unpredictable and dangerous. He snaps, he spits, and he attacks. I certainly would not want to be called by my teenage son's manager and told that my son was pummeled by Crazy John when he went behind the counter and started beating my son. I feel terrible for everyone who has had to deal with him and bite their fingernails in fear as they awaited the police. I feel sorry for the police who have to fight to get him to stay down and stop resisting. I feel for anyone else who has been spit on by him.

I think he belongs in a rubber room away from the world. No store owner wants his business at their store, no employee wants to deal with him. No one wants to risk being attacked or spit on or yelled at by him. The police are beyond sick and tired of getting yet another call about Crazy John harrassing people at BK and other places of business. Cab drivers fear he'll beat them up. School kids avoid him as he walks around the neighborhoods after school. People walk away from him and try to avoid him. He has plenty of people who feel sorry for him, let THOSE people deal with him.

[ForestDragon]

There was an episode of CSI that featured a similar caricature the other night. A local war-hero, who went a little loony, was hanging around outside a bar, the bouncer took the loon for a 'ride', put him in a duffel bag, and kicked him over a hill, thinking it would give the loon a place to calm down (the bouncer thought he was on drugs, I think), and would unzip the bag once he had his faculties back. Nope, guy died in the bag, and basically became human stew.

I saw that episode...

Anyway, I should think that if things have gotten to the point that the cops all know him by name/reputation ("Crazy John's in my store.") that it was time and past time something was done about/for him. If things went on the way they were, it wouldn't surprise me to hear that he'd scared the wrong person and got himself killed by somebody carrying a concealed gun.

[Sofar]

Too many people claim that he doesn't know what he's doing and that he can't help his behavior.

Seems to me that's a pretty good reason to commit him to an institution.