The Three Christs of Ypsilanti (24 page)

The meeting ended with Leon saying that he would not change, and that his name was still Dung. The three Christs sang
America
and adjourned.

A week later, at the daily meeting, I gave Joseph a clipping from a local newspaper and asked him to read it aloud. The clipping was a brief report of a lecture I had given about the three Christs. Joseph glanced at it, then gave it to Leon, saying his eyes were not too good. Leon read the first few sentences to himself.

“Sir, as I see the introduction here, there's a ridicule against my reincarnation. The psychology is warped.” He then read the article aloud, in his usual calm, slightly clipped manner. As he read, I felt the tension spreading to every corner of the small sitting room.

Three mental patients—each claiming to be Jesus Christ—have been brought together at the Ypsilanti State Hospital.

“The purpose of the experiment is to see what happens when a person's belief in his identity is challenged by someone claiming the same identity,” says Dr. Milton Rokeach.

Rokeach, a Michigan State University psychology professor, made a report on the project Wednesday night to the MSU Psychology Club in East Lansing.

He said he is interested in finding out why a person believes he is who he is. Useful data on personality beliefs have been gathered from the experiment, he added.

“To date,” Rokeach said, “one subject has changed his belief about being Christ and has taken on another false identity. But we still are not sure what the long-range results will be.”

“The other two subjects,” he said, “still believe they are Christ. Both are older and have been hospitalized longer than the one who was changed.”

One says the other two are dead and are operated by machines inside their bodies.

The patient who changed his belief claims the other two are subject to “electronic interference.”

The third patient thinks the other two “are crazy.” After all, he notes, they are in a mental hospital …[
1
]

As Leon read, Clyde fell into a sort of stupor and remained this way throughout the meeting. But although he appeared to be asleep, he was not; when later we directed a question to him, he roused himself long enough to make some kind of answer.

At first Leon was visibly upset but at the same time controlled. “Sir,” he said on finishing the article, “there's indirect warped psychology here because I respect manliness as Jesus Christ and that's missing out of this, and I also did mention that what's written on my birth certificate is so, and is included in my name—Doctor
Righteous-Idealed Dung—and that's not in here. And I haven't changed my personality as far as that goes. I'm still who I am as my birth certificate says, and pertaining to manliness, Jesus Christ as far as I'm concerned. I wish that could have been in here. It would have changed the entire picture pertaining to the dignity of manliness. When psychology is used to agitate, it's not sound psychology any more. You're not helping the person. You're agitating. When you agitate you belittle your intelligence.”

“False identity!” Joseph exclaimed. “It's a waste of time. They're making fools out of themselves, those fellows in that paper. What it says in the paper is plain enough. That's a truthful report right there.”

At this point, Leon got up from his chair and left, saying that he had to go to the toilet.

“The doctor is not crazy by any means,” Joseph continued. “The patients who are claiming they are Jesus Christ are wasting their time. I'm sure that a man who has faith in himself doesn't claim to be Jesus Christ; he wants to be himself. If there are such hospital cases as stated in this article I think he would do better for himself if he would think or claim a different manner for himself in the hospital. I'm pretty sure he would have a better chance of being freed from his insanity.” Joseph read the article again to himself. “It's not a thing to be worrying about.”

I asked Clyde if he wished to say anything and when he did not respond to my query, addressed myself to Joseph.

—
Who are they talking about in this article?
—

“They're talking about three mental patients claiming to be Jesus Christ who don't know any better, but one recognizes himself, recognizes his identity as it were, so he's better than the other two. He says they're crazy.”

—
Do you know who they are?
—

“No, I don't.”

—
Do you have any idea?
—

“No, their names aren't in the article.”

—
What about the one who's better?
—

“He's not wasting his time to try to be Jesus Christ.”

—
Why is it a waste of time?
—

“Why should a man try to be s-somebody else,” Joseph stammered, “when he's not even himself? Why can't he be himself?”

—
You mean, if a person thinks he's Jesus Christ, he might be sick?
—

“Why not?”

—
What if a patient thinks he's God?
—

“Pure insanity, that's all.”

—
Should he be changed?
—

“Why, certainly!”

—
And give up that belief?
—

“That's right. He should be sent to a hospital—not to be gotten out, not to be dismissed until he has gotten well.”

—
How do you know when he's well?
—

“When he claims he's not Jesus Christ any more.”

—
When he claims his name is?
—

“His real name.”

—
Which is what? What is his real name?
—

“I don't know his name.”

—
Will he be well when he claims he's not God?
—

“That's right. The doctor recognized the point that he got to such an understanding that he knows what he is. Now this man is not crazy, I would say.”

—
If he still claims he's God, does that mean he's still crazy?
—

“Sure!”

—
Do you know anyone who's done this?
—

“I don't know anyone.”

—
Is it possible that any person who thinks he's God could be right?
—

“No, that's the same thing as Jesus Christ.”

—
Clyde, do you want to say anything?
—

Clyde raised himself from his stupor long enough to say: “Not very much,” and then retreated back into it. I then sent Joseph after Leon, who was still in the toilet.

When Leon returned he was agitated and openly hostile. “Sir,” he shouted, “from that clipping, if you gave them that information you deplored your intelligence. As far as I'm concerned you're not a professor, nor a doctor at all.”

—
I think the reporter garbled the whole story. I didn't say these things
.—

“I don't see where he could have gotten the information if …”

—
I gave the lecture, but he didn't quote me correctly
.—

“Still and all, from the very first meeting I recall you deplored my personality. A person who is supposed to be a doctor or a professor is supposed to lift up, build up, guide, direct, inspire!”

—
I think R. I.'s point is well taken. All I can say in my defense, R. I., is that I tried to do the best that I could. Maybe I made a mistake, maybe not, but it was not my intention to make a mistake
.—

“I believe I could give a better lecture than some people who went to college twelve years.”

—
It's quite possible
.—

“I know I can with the help of the good Lord.”

—
You seem very angry
.—

“I'm angry at the evil ideal, not at you people. I feel sorry for you.”

—
It's human to feel angry
.—

“I'm angry at the evil ideal that has made a foolish-sounding person out of you. I sensed it in the first meeting—deploring!”

—
Deploring? Do you know I've come seventy-five miles in snow and storm to see you!
—

“It is obvious that you did, sir, but the point still remains, what was your intention when you came here, sir?”

—
What was my intention, if not to help you?
—

“I don't think so!”

—
I can get sore too!
—

“It's your privilege if you want to get angry at my speaking the truth.”

I asked Joseph what he thought of this exchange. “I think Rex
is all in the negative,” he replied. “I think it's a waste of time for me to say anything foolish. You're not doing anything wrongly. You did a great deed, coming seventy-five miles to attend this meeting, and your name is right there in the article that proves that Dr. Dung is in the negative. I wouldn't be so crazy as to tell Dr. Rokeach that he's deploring me and that he's made a false accusation, or anything of the sort. I would keep my mouth shut completely.”

Joseph concluded this speech by saying that I was nice enough to allow Leon to go to the toilet.

“I believe in respect of free will,” Leon answered.

“Respect of free will?” Joseph cried. “Hell's fire! You're going too far all around. All Dr. Rokeach has to do is to make the motion that he”—and he pointed to Leon—“shouldn't belong to this meeting, separate him from us.”

—
Separate who?
—

“Dung!”

—
No, sir! I'm not making any motion like that!
—

“Well, Christ!” Joseph cried. “He's after Dr. Rokeach for no reason at all. I'm trying to help Dr. Rokeach, and now Dr. Rokeach says that the motion is wrong. Well, the only thing I can do is to keep my mouth shut.”

I asked Leon if he wanted to make a motion to censure me.

“I can't stop you from believing in negativism,” he replied. “A reporter would have no excuse for not knowing what's going on, as he could see it on Channel 1.”

I then offered to give him the news clipping, to keep or tear up as he wished.

“That went into the squelch chamber,” he said. “It's already ground up.”

Joseph asked for the clipping to keep as a souvenir.

“That shows what side of the fence you're on,” Leon said.

Joseph motioned to me to keep it. I asked Leon if he would care to rewrite the article correctly.

“I'm trying to state that
my feelings have been hurt
,” he answered.
“The reporter can correct it himself if he's near enough to it.”

Did Joseph think the story needed to be rewritten?

“It's all right the way it is,” he said.

“I don't think it is,” Leon broke in. “You're a liar and you know it.”

“I'm not liar. You're not calling me a liar, you damn rat! Christ! You're always in the negative! You might as well break off these meetings or get another man.”

“I requested that when it first started,” Leon said.

“I know you don't care for these meetings. You don't care for progress. A man gets so he wants to run away from you. You're wild!”

“Bless you. I don't believe in negative psychology.”

“But do you adhere to it? Christ! You can't say five words without saying the word ‘negative.' It's futile! It's bullshit! I can't get any meaning out of this. I feel as if these meetings are going into nothingness.”

And Joseph, who was extremely agitated, threatened to withdraw from the meetings. “I don't want to be a pariah,” he said. “I want to be in society, so if these meetings are detrimental to my social standing I'd much rather be dismissed from these meetings altogether. I'm not going to have my head, my brain hurt by these meetings. They are detrimental to me.”

—
In what way?
—

“Too negative. Dung can't say a word that isn't negative.”

Leon tried to interrupt, but Joseph would not let him. “I don't want to hear about it. Not a word of it!”

Leon said, in a subdued voice: “I'm giving my opinion.”

“It makes you sick,” Joseph went on. “You wish to be away from it. I feel like crying!”

Leon said he was sure I would have spoken up had I been unjustly offended, and to this I replied that both Leon and Joseph had a right to be angry. At this point, Joseph changed the subject quite abruptly, asking me about my recent trip out of town. We
talked about it for a while and then the meeting adjourned, as usual, with Leon and Joseph—and Clyde—getting up to sing
America
.

On June 21 I instigated a further discussion on identity, this time bringing up the subject by saying that Leon had
four
names. Leon was irritated. “I have three names. I've already discussed this. It's getting monotonous and you know it.” He mentioned his three names—Dung, Rex rexarum, and Christ.

Joseph, without emotion, interposed: “How can there be two Jesus Christs?”

Leon, responding, directed his wrath, not to Joseph, but to me. “I believe you're wasting your time, coming here to agitate! As far as I'm concerned, you can get out and stay out!”

When it was suggested that Leon put this up to the others as a motion, he did. “I make a motion that these two sirs do not come to agitate us henceforth. What is your verdict, sirs? It's up to you.”

“I look forward to quietness,” said Joseph. “We can win over negativism. By ‘we' I mean the five of us having the meeting. It's not going to do us any good. Then the meetings might be dissolved.”

“I don't care for meetings with agitation,” Leon persisted.

—
What is the state of the motion?
—

At this point Leon left to get a drink of water. He was gone a long time, and when he returned, he was still angry.

“You are trying to change him and change me,” he said. “If this is going to continue, I want out, and out completely!”