(UPDATE: The audio file is now posted in the post above – HERE.)
As we SHOULD have learned from the recent Virginia TV news shootings, a civilized society is one that takes mental illness seriously and institutionalizes and actually cares for the mentally ill – both for the good of the mentally ill people themselves, and for the good and safety of the broad society. We can’t just shrug off crazy people and say, “Aw, he’s just crazy -it’s no big deal.” Vester Flanagan was crazy and everyone knew it. The Aurora movie theater shooter was crazy – and everyone including his psychiatrist knew it. Adam Lanza was crazy and everyone knew it.
Well, I got one for you, and I’m going to post this data publicly because I really can’t see how it is not morally incumbent upon me to do so, and to get this info into the public sphere, little though it may be. I have received three Skype voice messages from a man who identified himself as “Patrick”.
The caller ID phone number is 1-512-212-0620 – which is an Austin, TX area code, but with cell phones and Skype, who knows what the actual physical locale is.
The first came in Sunday and was six minutes and eleven seconds of schizophrenic stream-of-consciousness insane rambling. The second was a few minutes later and was a further nine minutes and thirty-seven seconds of frenzied, incoherent, schizoid rambling. Overnight I received another voicemail of five minutes and one second in which “Patrick” expresses that he is going to kill me because I have not returned his calls.
His accent sounds more Georgia than Texas to me, but I could be wrong. He also makes multiple references to locales in Georgia. I think he believes himself to be some sort of secret assassin, and believes he is working for the Vatican? Like I said, they guy is totally insane. Completely disconnected from reality. But, the choice quote here is:
“After you not calling me back when I told you who I am, I just got the call from the Vatican. Anybody who doesn’t call me back is already a victim.”
“Take that shit down and you will live. If that shit is there when I hit Rome… I’m gonna shoot you.”
Ahhh. Rome in September. Sounds marvelous.
Anyway, if anyone knows how to convert Skype voicemails to something like an .mp4 file, let me know how to do it, I will post the voicemails here, because I think it is instructive for people to hear what severe mental illness sounds like.
And, we need to start getting proactive with regards to the dangerously mentally ill, because caring for the sick is one of the Corporal Works of Mercy, and it is just common sense.