“THEY” Cripple Society Volume 1: Who are “THEY” and how do they do it? An Expose in True to Life Narrative Exploring Stories of Discrimination. Cleon E. Spencer
the problem is grossly worsening and spreading in North America. The second writing shows more vividly the sheer cruelty and often brazen mental abuse with deceptive cover-up that is that is inflicted on fine, well charactered, cultured and intelligent people, not only by individuals as in the first book, but by groups of people - birds of a feather acting together.
Also the types of people who practice this malady are described and characterized, with stories to illustrate their behavior, including breaking the law by, often intentionally, inflicting emotional distress on adults; which law, to date, has been generally applied to spousal and child abuse.
Places and people have been disguised for the usual reasons. Simple Latin names have been used for locations. Names of characters have been chosen for their meaning, and coincide with their general character make-up. This was, more or less, a matter of convenience in finding suitable names, though it adds authenticity to the characters and the story.
The writer makes no claim to academic excellence, much less to what he sees as the over-sophistication of psychological theory. On the contrary, considering his background as a constantly assailed fine person he regards himself to be very fortunate indeed to have attained even one university level degree. He has only the intention, in both books, to have the problem exposed so that it may be more adequately dealt with both on a personal level and legally through litigation.
The books are written within the Christian perspective of the author, although there is much in them for people of other faiths, and more expressly for people in all of life’s occupations.
Cleon E. Spencer
Chapter One
Collin Seldon walked, at his usual brisk pace, up the sidewalk towards the glass doors of the Arts building of Quilibet University. The impressive glass front of the several storied structure caused him to glance upward as he approached. His face brightened and his lips showed the trace of a smile at the inviting warmth of the building. He swung open the street level door and entered. But then as if by intrusion of some other feelings the smile disappeared. He wondered now, would the inside be as inviting as the outside appeared to be. As he took the few steps across the entrance way, he gave a little shrug, as if to say to himself, oh well, take it as it comes.
Thoughts ran through Collin’s mind as on this September Tuesday evening he proceeded up the half set of stairs that led to the first floor. On the previous Thursday he had taken the downward section of the divided stairway to the below ground hall where he had registered in an evening course in Psychology. Classes would begin this evening.
From the stair top he proceeded down the sizeable foyer of Floor One, to the elevators. There he became somewhat absorbed in ambivalent thought as he pushed the up button, waited a moment or two, stepped with other students onto the elevator, disembarked on floor three, all the while thinking how pleasant it could be to be back in the student world. Collin had a liking for a reasonable amount of this part of life. But his thoughts were juxtaposed with unpleasantness as well. His past academic life hadn’t been all roses. Many people find university life pleasant, but not a person such as Collin Seldon. Have I been a fool to come back for more? he wondered.
Why, just now as he had crossed the busy foyer, he received a variety of unpleasant reactions from people who had only his appearance to go by as their motivation for their negative attitudes towards him. Of course there were some pleasant reactions towards him too, by those good people who took the trouble to even glance at him. But he much more caught the attention of people who didn’t like him.
As he rode up the elevator, he wondered again if he had been a fool to come. Being now past middle-age he perhaps should be gearing down with regard to things like this, and spend more time with his fine and lovely wife, and their children and grandchildren.
And what is it about Collin Seldon that brought negative reactions exemplified by such gestures as pushing up a lip in contempt; raising one’s head high momentarily in an ‘I’m better than you’ gesture; by a shaking of the head when passing by to intimidate and lessen his self-esteem; or by simply turning the head away as if to imply, I don’t even see you, or, you’re not worth looking at.
Although approaching retirement age, Collin had still retained a goodly measure of his youthful appearance and his vim and vigor. There were some signs of aging: his light brown hair graying at the sides; his wholesome, healthy looking facial complexion just beginning to show wrinkles in its past middle-age fullness; his once athletic body showing to be somewhat overweight; his average height being lessened, to a glancing eye, by shoulders that have begun to round. Collin was really just beginning to show his years, but he looked, and was still a fine, dignified looking person, as he had been all his life. His fine appearance was augmented by his modest, yet tasteful clothes and mannerism.
Good, well cultured people like and respect Collin Seldon for what he is - a fine smart looking, well charactered person of discerning mind. Although little or no attention is paid to it in society, the fact is, numerous others in all walks of life hate him and people similar to him, for the same reason, and often cause them much trouble. It is this latter reality which kept crossing his mind as he now returned to a campus as an evening student.
Collin had, over the years, learned to take these facts of his life in his stride as an unavoidable part and parcel of the life of a person such as he, yet he could not help but be aware of and affected by it.
At any rate he was coming back to the classroom again, if only on a limited scale. Collin Seldon was a clergyman by profession - a good one to whom many nice people easily confided their troubles and joys, their fears and hopes; to whom people turned, sometimes for advice, and often for approval or disapproval of a deed or desire or plan of action.
Collin, although not academically specialized in the area of counseling, was quite adept with this aspect of his ministry, coming by it naturally. He had a fairly broad basic training in the field, which he augmented occasionally by reading the latest books on the subject. In fact, the reason he was on his way to the classroom now was to take this course in “Current Trends in Psychology, Psychiatry and Relevant Social Problems.” The name had caught his eye one day as he looked through the university catalog while helping a young member of his congregation plan a study program. Mostly it was the last three words of the course’s title that had caught Collin’s attention, namely, Relevant Social Problems.
Maybe, he thought to himself at the time, maybe there is some new breakthrough here. Please God, could there be? Heaven knows there is a need - and I know from personal experience. Could there be? He was looking for something to be at last formally recognized in psychology about the problems of fine, well cultured people like himself, often in some ways exceptional individuals; also the numerous hitherto unrecognized ways this matter so drastically affects society.
Collin was hopeful, well, sort of, so he had registered for the course. But he was doubtful too. That’s the kind of person Collin Seldon was - always with a mind open at both ends, so to speak; as in this instance, hopeful, but with a mind tuned and ready for whatever reality might evolve from the situation. That way, he believed, the shocks of life are not so great, and although when using this method one may not ride through life as high as the proverbial eternal optimist, nevertheless the shocks are much better absorbed. Not all people live that way, but for such a person as Collin, experience had taught him that it was the only viable way.
Room 307 was brightly lit, and as Collin entered the open door at the front of the room his mind cleared itself entirely after a passing thought that perhaps there is no need here for fear or anxiety. At any rate he would think positively and give the situation the benefit of the doubt. He was a little early and the professor’s chair was still vacant.
Collin glanced down across the room. Groups of students stood around chatting vigorously as though catching up with each others news after a summer apart. Most likely they had studied here the previous year, and some perhaps at summer semester too. Obviously the majority of them knew each other well. But here and there were students who were strangers to the scene, as one could guess; one walking around, hands in pockets,