For the abnormal psychology enthusiasts. This is a man who
is telling the sober truth, it seems to me. The things that happen to him are
exactly the same irrational, annoying, and inexplicable things that happen to
all of us. But his strong perception
that everything that happens around him is all about him is what makes his
thinking classically schizophrenic.
Also interesting that he seems to believe that such a simple
thing as a newspaper to read in line would be a weapon against the secret
police. As if some part of him knew that the real problem is what happens
inside his head when the secret police start their machinations.
I looked at around ten apartments...since the secret police had already selected and prepared an apartment for me this proved to be a futile endeavor. It is difficult to relate to and impossible to adjust to the artificial, arbitrary and hostile living environment the secret police have created...they try to turn the most commonplace life experiences and the activities of daily life into a maze-like obstacle course.
While descending the stairs from my apartment I usually meet one or more of the “tenants” trying hard to look as if they live in the building or staging a scene for me to observe. Frequently groups of men are standing or sitting on the stoop when I go out or come in; sometimes blocking the steps so that I have to ask them to move. On days when it is felt some special intimidation is necessary a police car will drive by as I go out and again as I come home...A corner with a hardware store, a sometimes open grocery store and two abandoned buildings is not likely to be a favorite neighborhood hangout yet there are often groups of Puerto Rican and black men standing around. As I approach the intersection, a signal is given and people, most of whom are young men, start crossing the intersection from every direction; people walking on the sidewalks, boys riding by on bikes, and other people driving by in cars...
A male child or a handsome young man presents himself to be looked at while other people observe me. Presumably, if I look at the conspicuously displayed bait, the observer-witnesses claim to have seem proof of sexual interest or an attempted seduction. A few thousand such scenes were staged to create incidents that could be used to discredit me...
On Tuesday I left my apartment intending to pay my Con Edison bill. At the Con Edison office I looked in the window; the office was unusually crowded and the bill-paying line seemed suspiciously long. I was generally apprehensive about entering a trap, so I decided to come back the next day.
I left my apartment around 3:05 p.m. on Wednesday. Walking across 14th street, I looked at every newstand for a copy of the New York Times so that I would have something to read while waiting in line. Over a two-year period, I frequently bought or saw papers late in the afternoon at the various newstands; it is highly unlikely they would have all been sold out. I believe intelligence agents asked the newspaper sellers to hide the papers so that I would have nothing to do while waiting except to observe the planned operation. I joined the bill-paying line; there were around ten people in line and as I approached two young men placed themselves directly ahead of me in the line. There were five bill-paying windows. While I waited in line the clerks closed their windows until only one window was left open for customer service. The four people in front of me all went to the same window. I believe this was a delaying tactic to keep me in the office for a longer period of time.
While waiting in line the secret police operation being staged was very obvious. Seven young men presented themselves to be looked at and a man and a woman each walked by me twice staring holes through me...intelligence agents had set up an elaborate but thinly disguised covert operation within the office of a legitimate business. A few weeks earlier I found myself surrounded by game-playing collaborators in a line at my bank. I became angry and denounced them for participating in secret police operations. I believe intelligence agents chose to restage a similar scene in Con Edison’s offices hoping to elicit the same or a similar response; an angry outburst that could be used as “proof” that through paranormal powers I had somehow triggered the transformer malfunction and resulting blackout.
--Kooks: A Guide to the Outer Limits of Human Belief, Donna
Kossy
