The story of Jeremiah True — the Reed College student who made headlines last month as a self-proclaimed free speech martyr, and who was arrested last week for harassment and sexual abuse — only seems to get stranger the more I look into it.
The latest development: On Friday, True pled not guilty to charges that he groped two young women on a high-school Rugby team who were practicing in a Portland park; he remains in custody.
We now have some more details on what he’s charged with. The Oregonian newspaper has reported that
According to a probable cause affidavit filed in Multnomah County Circuit Court, True walked up to and caressed the hair and arm of a female who was among a team of students practicing at Normandale Park …
True walked off, talking to himself, but returned to the park about 30 minutes later and approached a 17-year-old female and touched her breast with his open hand, and make a remark about her chest, the affidavit said.
Several witnesses restrained True until police arrived.
Portland police Officer E. Lamonte Johnson said True’s pupils were constricted and he was responding irrationally to questions and appeared to be under the influence of a controlled substance… .
This is not the first instance of disturbing behavior from True since his story originally hit the headlines. In late March, he engaged in a bizarre series of protests against Pancho Savery, the Reed College professor who had banned him from class discussion sections for his disruptive behavior. These protests got him booted from campus.
Then last week, he posted a bizarre 114-page manifesto online in which, among other things, he declared himself “the most powerful man in the Free World.”
First, the protests. On March 30th, according to a detailed account in the Reed College Quest,
True sat on the floor at the front of Vollum Lecture Hall during Hum 110 lecture under the chalkboard which read: “Restore Jeremiah True to their Conference” and “Your hypocrisy is showing Dr. Savery.” True remained on the floor wearing earbuds and removed his shoes while Professor of English & Humanities Laura Liebman proceeded to lecture on Virgil’s Aeneid. At the end of the lecture, True yelled out “Cowards!” to the general audience.
Just before 10 a.m. that same day, True stood outside of Professor Savery’s Humanities 110 conference on the third floor of the Performing Arts Building. When Professor Savery and the Humanities students began class, True approached the glass windows of the class, looking at the class and staring into the room. According to Professor Savery, the students were “upset and disrupted” by his presence, and the class proceeded to lower the blinds.
True persisted, walking back and forth along the length of the glass wall, occasionally peering through the cracks in the blinds and into the classroom. Professor Savery says, “I think people [in the conference] made the decision to ignore him, so as to not let him take class away from them because they thought that had happened too many times. We tried to have a normal class and ignore his presence.”
True showed up outside Savery’s next class as well. One student told the paper that
“[True] was stalking back and forth by the floor-to-ceiling glass windows, aping and mimicking Pancho’s [the professor’s] gestures, glaring at Pancho, flapping his arms, and making strange theatrical movements. It was one of the worst conferences we had, and everyone was extremely quiet,” Garriss says, “If he was protesting, I don’t know who his audience was.”
School officials were called to the scene and asked True to leave; he did, only to return five minutes later. The next day, he was banned from campus pending the result of an investigation.
Last Wednesday, a day before his arrest, True posted a bizarre document that he described as “The Senior Thesis of Jeremiah True ‘18.” (True is a Freshman.) In it, he declared, among other things, that “[m]y controversial actions both online and offline have partly been a sociological experiment and partly been performance art.”
He described Prof. Savery as a “Clever Devil” and claimed that
Within this document, I will claim that Pancho ghost-wrote much of what I was saying, and I believe this to be true. While he did not directly aid me in writing any of this document or previous documents, I have adopted his philosophy on life so entirely that I fully consider myself to be the disciple of Pancho Savery and would bow down and worship him if he would let me. After I met Pancho Savery, I became a completely different person, and I don’t know how to explain it. I love Pancho like I love my family. He has put more faith in me than anyone in my life ever has. It has been by his power alone that I learned what it means to be a father, to be a teacher, to be a Reedie, to be a Black man, and to be a Philosopher-King.
After admitting that he had gone “too far with my protest of Pancho’s conferences,” he went on to say that
The actions that I performed outside of Pancho’s classes were, to me, tame. When I was warned that I was being disruptive, I was completely incredulous, as I had not been loud or naked, nor had I attempted to forcefully gain access to the classroom. I did not realize how low the bar was set at Reed for what constitutes disruption, and what constitutes threatening behavior, especially since I have observed White DMABs perform aggressive behavior without consequence.
DMAB stands for “designated male at birth.” I can only assume he is using the term sarcastically.
He claims that his disruptive behavior was a part of a deliberate if indirect plan intended to open a debate about free speech.
Rather than challenge a noteworthy scholar of the First Amendment [ie, Prof. Savery] , I instead chose to play upon the nation’s perception of Black men in order to foster the belief that I was disruptive in class. This was further reinforced by Dr. Savery’s insistence that I was disruptive in class and my numerous instances where I engaged in using profanity.
So far I’ve only read portions of the entire 114-page document, but what I have read veers wildly between lucid arguments and bizarre assertions; his thinking (as has been the case in his previous statements) appears highly disordered and grandiose.
In one of his most grandiose moments, he declares himself
the most powerful man in the Free World. Stop me. …
I am the God of MRA’s, Anti-feminists, Anti-Marxists, Libertarians, and White, heternormative men and women everywhere. I also claim that I am the God of Reed, as I have called forth miracles and created earthquakes in the student body. Kanye has nothing on my ego. Eminem thinks I’M his Rap God. … I am a misogynist and a misandrist, a racist, and a feminist.
Despite the jokes, he seems to take himself very seriously indeed, and to believe a good deal of his own hype.
I may return with more thoughts on his case once I’ve read some more of it.
I actually have bothered to read his… document. It is so long in part because he reproduced correspondence in it that he had between his Prof after being asked not to attend class and campus security during and after his “protests” (the mention of not being naked while protesting is in reference to an administrator of some sort saying he could protest on campus as long as he didn’t disrobe), as well as supplemental material quoted from Reed College’s Honor Policy and various other campus policies, and an article written by other Reed students discussing the changing campus culture. It also reproduces another document he wrote, “The Full Story”, 60 pages about his being asked not to attend class and his detailed discussion of why that was Wrong and Unfair, with commentary on conversations he had in class that apparently made other students uncomfortable, with his long justifications on why they shouldn’t feel that way.
Approached as a work of personal memoir of a young person trying (and failing) to relate to the world around him, the spine of which is his obsession with his professor, it is a pretty interesting work, but in dire, dire need of editing. As a representation of Mr. True’s beliefs about the world, it is hopelessly dense. He constantly re-states himself, engages in hyperbolic and sarcastic language one minute while being deadly earnest the next, with little to no indications on which is which. He also openly talks about “messing with people” just to mess with them, and of course, everyone with which *he* disagrees (or, more usually, who disagrees with him) is, in his opinion, mentally ill. Meta-textually, it is also a very sad thing to read, because his intelligence and passion come thru very clearly, but just as clearly his total lack of comprehension, both of the texts he’s trying to engage with, and the people (especially his professor) that he so desperately wants to like and understand him.
No, I don’t think this hurts every mad person to point out that some people with a hateful philosophy are mad. Like other commenters here, I’ve had my fair share of mental health problems. I do know what it’s like to be absolutely broken down with depression and anxiety and to have that as a constant risk factor in my life. I’ve also suffered from the stigma of mental illness unrelated to the illness itself. I don’t think it hurts all mad people to say that some mad people seem to be attracted to some whack thinking – which is what most of this misogyny stuff is (leaving space for rational but abhorrent use of misogyny to further one’s own ends).
We may not be psychologists, but as humans we’re often reasonably good judges of when someone seems off even when their behaviour is similar to others who aren’t ‘off’. I’ve personally been randomly attacked by people who were just vile criminals and I’ve been attacked by someone who I think was mentally ill. The incidents felt really different. I don’t have psych-evals on either of them, but I think I can tell the difference. Same way among friends and acquaintances or even people I read about on the internet who do good and great things, some of them are mentally ill and some are not and sometimes we can kinda tell.
In True’s case, I think he seems off. So off that he’s not responsible for his actions? Probably not. So off that we excuse this kind of thinking or behaviour? Absolutely not. But do I extend to him a modicum of understanding that I’d like to receive in periods when I’m not well? Yes, I do.
Oh, seconding Sparky’s comments. Well said. In particular this;
“What we do know is that we live in a sexist society. And even if True is “crazy,” then the way that is manifesting is part of that. He sexually harrassed teenage girls. He demanded to be allowed to continue to disrupt classes to talk about rape, other people in the class be damned. If that’s not a manifestation of privilege, I don’t know what is.
And that’s the issue here.”
QFT
Alright, let’s play a game. Without digging into our old posts to find the answers, guess who in this thread is mentally ill (etc) and what their diagnoses are. Hey, you said you can tell, so this should be fun! =)
Man, that was the snarkiest smilie I’ve posted here so far.
I’m reluctant to get into this quagmire but, with the caveat that I think it’s far too soon to speculate on this particular case, I can offer some general commentary about the legal issues (in England) that might be relevant to the subject as a whole.
In English law it is recognised that culpability can be mitigated by a person’s mental state.
This is a very high hurdle though. The test is that the person’s mental condition (at the time of the action) whether permanent or temporary much be such “as not to know the nature and quality of the act he was doing; or, if he did know it, that he did not know he was doing what was wrong”
So merely having a personality disorder that perhaps leads to a lack of social awareness isn’t enough to affect culpability.
Now of course it’s a common theme in penal reform that a significant number of people in prison “should be being treated instead”. That’s especially true in women’s prisons. I used to spend a bit of time at HMP Holloway and the staff were quite candid that nearly half the women in there should be in hospital/clinics instead of prison.
That’s not to say people in prison aren’t culpable or deserving of punishment, just that in terms of rehabilitation there may be better options. But that’s possibly not controversial. No one argues that someone who mugs old ladies to get drug money isn’t a criminal, but at the same time getting them into rehab may mean less chance of re-offending.
Ah but. Beta women can only snag beta males while only HB10s snag alphas while said alphas dick around on the side…I think…but marriage is anti-game…cock carousel…
ANYWAY. What’s a beta female to do if she can’t control a country? Exercise power and control over man on a smaller scale. And then there’s the feminists, who get old and alone and have too many cats. I mean run the world because gynocracy…wait…erm…
MOVING ON. The OP did mention that MGTOW is the way to go but he also wanted to stress how it’s important to free men from the shackles of the bad parts of the masculine ideal. Because we can’t be letting those females have their way with us, amiritelads??
I’ve never had a partner who focussed on my butt.
*adds another thing to list of self-hatred – lousy butt* /s
M. I can diagnose assholes, too.
OP also claims in that post ttat this pattern of female-controlled-alpha-leaders has been going on throughout time. So if Henry VIII had six wives, which one of them was the one behind his decision to separate the church from Rome?
Perhaps you have heard of Pandora’s Box, an ancient container that sealed away the evils of this world. Through human folly, and human curiosity, the box was opened and endless demons spilled forth, spreading misery and chaos. Once opened, the box could never be closed again.
There is another tale as well, one that has been lost in the mists of time and cloudy recollection. That tale is of Castor’s Jar; a container that that could be closed but wouldn’t.
One day, Zeus appeared before Castor holding a simple clay jar. “Within this jar,” he warned, “are small creatures that have plagued Olympus for some time now. I have managed to gather them and seal them away, and now I entrust their prison to you. Do not release them, lest misfortune fall upon your world.” And with that command, Zeus left.
Castor brought the jar home and hid it away, leaving it undisturbed for a full season.
However, as the days passed, the fear of Zeus’s warning began to fade, and Castor’s curiosity grew. Soon, he felt compelled to look inside and see what sorts of creatures could possibly plague the gods. Cautiously, he removed the jar from its hiding place and opened the lid slightly to peer inside. It was too dark to see, so he pitched the lid further and further until the light finally revealed the jar’s contents.
Inside was a mass of wriggling worms, creatures that had not been seen on Earth until that moment. When the lid was fully lifted, the mass writhed and squirmed, rising up and spilling out of the container and on to the floor. Seeing that it would be impossible to put the creatures back, Castor quickly worked to replace the lid, during which the creatures had escaped.
Afraid of punishment, Castor hid his mistake and stowed the jar away.
That year, after a particularly fruitful harvest, Castor was called before the town council. Someone had seen a mass of peculiar creatures leaving Castor’s home, and Farmers had been sighting the worms in their fields. By the demand of the council, Castor was forced to reveal the jar he had kept hidden away, and revealed the story of its creation and Zeus’s warning.
The council was fascinated. The creatures seemed to work the land, causing crops to grow more bountiful. Castor was commanded to relinquish the jar. He refused, citing Zeus’s claim that these creatures had been plaguing Olympus and had been sealed away for a reason. The farmers asserted their usefulness, arguing that since the jar had been opened already, and no great harm seemed to have befallen anyone, then there would be no harm in opening it again.
The council agreed, and Castor was brought out into the fields, where he opened the jar. Again, the contents squirmed against its prison, spewing forth worms that spread out over the land. Again the jar was sealed, and again Castor hid the jar away.
Another year passed, and Castor was brought again before the council. This year, the harvest was small; too many worms infested the ground, consuming half of the seeds before they could sprout and eating through half of the remaining plant’s roots. Castor was horrified, and reminded everyone again of Zeus’s warning. The farmers, however, remembered how fruitful the crops had been in the past, and saw how well the surviving crops grew, and demanded the jar be opened again more carefully. Castor refused, and left to hide the jar away.
A season passed, and suddenly there was a knock on Castor’s door. A farmer whose crops had been doing poorly had come to beg Castor to release just a few of the creatures. Castor refused, but the farmer persisted, arguing that the jar had been so helpful before, and the harm had not been permanent. Finally, Castor relented, and went out in the dead of night to open the jar, releasing a small number of worms.
A week passed, and suddenly there was another knock on Castor’s door. Another farmer whose crops had been doing poorly had come to beg Castor to open the jar again. Castor refused, but the farmer persisted, arguing that the jar had been so helpful before. Castor told the farmer that the jar had already been opened, and he was worried about releasing too many creatures again, but that made the farmer even more insistent. If Castor could help one person, why not another? Castor relented, and again went out in the dead of night to open the jar.
A few days passed, and suddenly there was anther knock on Castor’s door. A large group of farmers had come to beg Castor to open the jar. They had heard of the previous two farmers asking for aid, and heard that Castor had relented. Castor refused to open the jar any more, fearing another year of infestation. The farmers grew angry; why should Castor offer help to two and refuse to help others? They cursed Castor’s name and tried to force their way in to find the jar. Castor could do nothing to calm their anger, and finally gave in to their demands. He relinquished the jar, and the farmers spread worms across their fields, eventually returning it with thanks and praise.
That year, the harvest was again ruined, and the farmers sheepishly apologized to Castor, promising never to demand the jar be opened again.
It was a promise they could not keep.
Time clouds the memory, and the contents of the jar were too tempting to ignore. Year after year the cycle would repeat; occasionally leading to prosperity but more often leading to poverty. People would argue about how useful the worms were, forgetting their harm, and over and over again the jar would be opened until finally the contents ran out and the land was infested.
A box that contained all the evil of the world, released all at once with no redemption before one could understand the consequences; that is the folly of the Gods. A jar of famine that could have been sealed countless times, yet was opened anyway; that is the folly of Man.
I trust he is being placed under psychiatric observation.
Um, Kirby? That’s a neat story but why post it? Also I think the blockquote mammoth interfered with it.
Why, Anne Boleyn, of course. Just look at Thomas Wyatt’s Whoso List to Hunt:
Whoso list to hunt, I know where is an HB10…
He knew what was up.
Henry the VIII would be an odd example for female empowerment through sexy body entrapment, though. One wife ended up divorced and in exile, two were beheaded, another divorced and physically comfortable but with a shadowy social and political status, one dead, and one widowed rich but politically powerless (which is pretty much her state BEFORE she “snagged” the king). None of those sound like the ne plus ultra of behind-the-scenes power to me. But what do I know. I’ve never married royalty.
Kirby’s story made sense to me in this context, but I don’t want to put words in his mouth (and I also don’t want to jump feet-first into the controversy, since I don’t know my butt from a titwillow on the subject and need).
Oops, should have edited better. Ignore that last *and need* and end the sentence at “subject.”
@sunnysombrera:
It was my commentary on the mental illness derail. Just a pretentious way of saying that it needs to stop, even though I get why people keep wanting to bring it up. I guess it kind of already has stopped, which is nice… so I dunno. I’m just frustrated.
On a tree by a river a little tom-tit
Sang “Willow, titwillow, titwillow”
And I said to him, “Dicky-bird, why do you sit
Singing ‘Willow, titwillow, titwillow'”
“Is it weakness of intellect, birdie?” I cried
“Or a rather tough worm in your little inside”
With a shake of his poor little head, he replied
“Oh, willow, titwillow, titwillow!”
Frasier and Niles sing that in one of my fave scenes from Frasier.
*Sings along with gilshalos’ catchy tune.*
*Still doesn’t know butt from titwillow.*
*Sadly concludes that must be owner of inferior butt.*
*Must find other way to make alpha males do my evil bidding.*
Nah, he was doing “satire”, or just being a “troll”. You know you can’t actually blame assholes for their shitty behavior.
*bows*
Thank you, Thank you, I’ll be here all week!
*joins Flying Mouse in the inferior butt corner*
*Joins in the Mikado song-singing in the Inferior Butt Corner*
Also, I may have just realized that I’m asocial. : /
And I’m being forced into a “vacation” next month to visit my sister for her high school graduation two states over.
*Ponders imponderables* Are inferior butts caused by misandrist hard chairs?