Posted by caraher on July 28, 2005, at 16:21:50
In reply to Re: Interacting with crazy people (long) » alexandra_k, posted by Dinah on July 28, 2005, at 1:14:54
I used to run into a fair number of people who clearly suffered some psychosis or other as I walked to work. One morning was especially interesting. I lived in the low-income part of town and this tall, ummm, "crazy-looking" guy asks me where the state mental hospital is. Well, the answer was that it was still miles away but he must have just gotten of the bus or train or something. I pointed him in the right general direction which, as it happened, was also the direction I was going. So he walked along with me...
He proceeded to fill me in on the details of his day's journey. I didn't say much. He was from a city about 100 miles away and he told all about some judge forcing him to go there for an evaluation. He never did fill me on on what brought him to court but he was clearly pretty upset by this judge. His monologue was beginning to drift in the direction of revenge fantasies, which started to worry me. I didn't wish to approve of them but I didn't really want to cross him, either.
Finally he made some remark to the effect that regardless, in the end, "God is going to get that judge." I don't know what possessed me but I chipped in with, "Yeah. Either God or the devil..." He really dug that remark! "Yeah, one or the other!" In any case, my comment was enough of a hit that he rolled it around in his head pretty much the whole time until we parted.
poster:caraher
thread:534528
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/social/20050726/msgs/534861.html