Rev. John Barletta - "Let the Beast Out"

[Rev.Cambeul]

A new picture for @Rev.JohnBarletta / Lord Connecticut

See his Prison Portal page at https://creativityalliance.com/prison-ministries/johnbarletta/

[Rev.JohnBarletta]

Rev. Cambeul,

I received your text yesterday. Unfortunately, Brother Joe is now dealing with the onset of dementia. Prison life is challenging enough, but living with dementia in prison is truly incomprehensible.

When we were in Oregon, there was an older gentleman, Mr. Strickland, who had severe dementia. It was heartbreaking to witness this old White man losing his grip on reality. He would have episodes that were funny at first but became sad upon reflection.

For instance, one day, Curly (as we affectionately called him) tried to enter the kitchen. When the officer stopped him and asked what he was doing, Curly insisted he was going to work. The officer reminded him, "Mr. Strickland, you haven't worked in the kitchen for 15 years." Curly then started yelling, calling the officer a "goddamn bull" (a term for correctional officers from the 50s), claiming he had been working there for 20 years, including the previous week and the day before.

The truth was, he hadn't worked in the kitchen for over 15 years, but he genuinely believed he still did. It was both funny and sad to see him argue with the officer.

Another time, I found all of Curly's photo albums in the trash. When I returned them to him and asked why they were there, he said, "They weren't mine." I showed him photos of his dog, daughter, mother, and family, but he refused to take them, insisting they weren't his. I gave the albums to his care provider, who sat with him, explaining who each person was, to try to get him to take back his photo albums. Twenty minutes later, water was pouring out of his cell because he had tried to flush everything down the toilet.

On another occasion, I was sitting at the bench talking to him, and he suddenly stopped, looked at me strangely, and asked, "Who are you? What are we doing here?" That moment really made me feel sad for him.

Funny enough, the administration once saw me with Curly and asked if I wanted to be a "care provider," offering $70 a month. I asked who I would be working with and made it clear I would only help a White man and no pedophiles. Well, there was no job for me. As a White socialist, it's my duty to help other Whites, not the muds! Let them take care of their own.

It's getting late, so I'll send this now and get into my IRA commentary tomorrow.

Respectfully Yours in This Struggle,
          Viscount Barletta.