The Three Christs of Ypsilanti - Milton Rokeach [30]
“Sir,” Leon said to me, “it so happens that manliness as such to me means Jesus Christ, and as the penis has a hole through it, the person who gets hollowed out becomes a Jesus Christ.”
—Is Joseph a Christ?—
“Yes, sir.”
—Are you a Christ?—
“I am a Christ.”
—How about Clyde?—
“Yes, sir.”
—That makes three Christs.—
“There is only one! That’s me!” Joseph insisted.
Clyde mumbled angrily, and Leon said: “Anyone with testicles is a Christ. That’s what ‘sir’ means.”
The Tension Mounts
As the weeks wore on, the quarrels became more stormy. The attempts that the three men made to persuade one another and to maintain a “reasonable” façade had not really worked and very soon they gave way to strong outbursts of hostility which sometimes led to efforts to placate each other, sometimes to sudden withdrawals, and at other times to near-fights. These first weeks were a period of high tension, anger, and emotional excitement. The exchanges generally involved two of the men rather than all three at once, and they occurred both during the group meetings and at other times during the day.
July 16, at the group meeting
“People can use the same Bible but some of them will worship Jesus Christ instead of worshipping God through Jesus Christ,” Leon said.
“We worship both,” Clyde said.
“I don’t worship you,” Leon put in. “I worship God Almighty through you, and through him, and him,”
“You oughta worship me, I’ll tell you that!” Clyde announced.
“I will not worship you!” Leon shouted. “You’re a creature! You better live your own life and wake up to the facts.”
“I’m living my life,” Clyde shouted back. “You don’t wake up! You can’t wake up!”
“No two men are Jesus Christs,” Joseph interjected.
“You hear mechanical voices,” Leon said.
“You don’t get it right,” Clyde shouted. “I don’t care what you call it. I hear natural voices. I hear to heaven. I hear all over.”
“I’m going back to England,” Joseph said.
“Sir, if the good Lord wills only,” Leon put in.
“Good Lord! I’m the good Lord!” Joseph exclaimed.
“That’s your belief, sir,” said Leon quietly.
July 20, in the ward, before breakfast
Leon pointed to Joseph and said: “His foster father’s a barracuda. Clyde’s is a sandpiper.”
“My foster father was not a sandpiper,” Clyde answered.
“That’s your belief, sir,” Leon said.
“It is not my belief,” Clyde asserted. “I got proof of what I say.”
“That’s what you think,” Leon said.
At this, Clyde said: “I’m gonna kill you—you—son-of-a-gun! I’m gonna kill you, you son of a bitch!”
“I’m afraid that’s impossible,” Leon said. “My father was a white dove and so was my mother, and later she became a witch. But your foster father was a sandpiper.”
Clyde jumped up and stormed over to Leon. “I’m really going to let you have it,” he shouted. “You don’t know what you’re talking about!” And he shook his fist and put it right next to Leon’s chin.
“Sit down—sit down,” Leon said. “You’re creating a disturbance.”
Clyde cooled off and sat down. After a moment Leon resumed: “You can’t help it if you’re under the influence of electronic duping.”
“I am not. I’m Jesus Christ, the Holy Ghost, and God Almighty himself,” and he drew back his arm as if to hit Leon.
“Sit down, sir, sit down,” Leon said. “Sir, do you have a cigarette paper to give me?”
July 26, at the group meeting
Joseph said he wanted to be deported back to England, where he belonged.
“I don’t think they do that,” Leon said.
“So I just say, fuck you all!” Joseph yelled. “I’m going back to England and that’s that.”
Clyde growled at Joseph’s language, and Leon said: “I think they’d say you’re an undesirable over there also. My uncle said: ‘What are you going to do about Mr. Cassel’s body when he passes away?’ He said this to my other uncle. The other uncle replied: ‘Deportation to England? What for? He can