http://mindcore.podbean.com

Science if Howard Stern and John Stuart's goth bastard child was talking about it.
 

 

I intended to set aside time to get some schoolwork done and I came down with what I think must be the flu. Usually what we call influenza is just a heinous cold, for example, there is no such thing as the stomach flu. At least according to Mark Crislips Quackcast podcast, which I listen to religiously.

But enough about that, I was talking about retarded people. What could be better than that? Ironically I almost never use the word retard as an insult for as much of a mouth that I have on me. I guess I just formed too many bonds with retarded people. It may be hard to imagine but I genuinely think of some of these guys as my friends, I really bonded with them.  Especially Spicy Johnny, that guy made me laugh with him, not at him. In his own way he was a genius.

 

Its also time to deal with the second doctrinal assumption that I held as a charismatic Christian

2.) Demons posses people and cause them to do terrible things.

Quick Announcement

Checking on my school schedule I've noticed I'm a wee bit behind.

So I'm not going to post any new blogs until I'm caught up.

My podcast will still be updated, but I've gotta hit the books for a little bit.

I'll be posting regularly again very soon.

Please check out my podcast at http://mindcore.podbean.com

 

Lessons from Mental Retardation

 

I think I have given a general overview of what the vibe was like for me when I first started my work at the Lubbock State School.  I did this job on and off for over a year. In hindsight its my favorite job I have ever held outside of scientific research.  It was always exciting, and I could fill a book with stories about it.  Maybe if someday I actually accomplish something worthwhile I will write a memoir.

The important thing for now though is what I learned from these experiences.

At the time I began my work at the Lubbock State School I was a charismatic Christian.

This caused me to hold certain doctrinal assumptions.

1.) One of which is that there was a soul that was somehow separate from the body, and therefore immune to decay and eternal.

Mental Retardation

My experiences working at the Lubbock State School did much to shape my worldview to this day.

During the two week training class they had us convinced of two things. The first thing is that retarded people were going to kick our asses. This is something that may be hard to imagine, but let me help you out. Retarded people age normally, a 25 your old retarded man is just as big as a 25 year old man. There are just as many 6'4 250 lbs. retarded people as there are 6'4 250 lbs. people in general. Retarded people can get really big, and since their cognitive abilities are hindered, they can be extremely agressive. Imagine a 6'4 250 lbs. 2 year old, it can be a bit of a nightmare. The second thing they convinced us of was that if we did anything about it we would be charged with criminal abuse and neglect charges.

I was scared out of my mind.

The dorms that we worked at in the Lubbock State School were divided by function of the clients. And when I say client or individual it means retarded person. Some dorms were non-ambulatory which means that these were adults who had to be fed and have their diapers changed. I did not work at one of these dorms, at least not usually.

When I was in my early 20s I was in an interesting predicament. I had acquired a job as a tattoo artist, and became bored with the work. Really bored, most people wanted extremely popular tattoos and it gets old really fast.  I was also in the height of my Christian beliefs, and I had intended to start a Christian half-way house for punkrock kids that had been couch surfing or straight up living on the street. I tried to do this in my one-bedroom apartment.

The name of the project was “The House of Calvary,” which was bullshit because it was just my one bedroom apartment with a bunch of kids living in it at any given time. I could tell some stories about all that, and maybe I will so can read about how many blood, sweat and tears I spent trying to do things right by my beliefs.

Let it suffice to say that I took in a lot of homeless kids into my shitty little apartment over the course of a year in order to try to live my beliefs.

I bring this up because two of the people living with me would just not get a job. They would stay at home all day and would not make a move to get going.