Growing Up Mormon - Sunday School Retard - Part Two

For the entire story, click the Bankrobber topic at the end of this post, in the sidebar to your right, or just click here.

For several weeks everything went fine. Robert would come to Sacrament Meeting with his family and then leave to go home and issue traffic tickets to passing pedestrians and yell, “Breaker, Breaker” to speeding cars.

That didn't last because Robert's mother felt that he needed as much exposure to his “friends” and to the spirit of the Lord as he could get.  That meant he was to come back into our classroom.  The Bishop was convinced and Brother Stewart was convinced and so he returned.  I remember telling my father that I wasn't comfortable with Robert returning to our class, especially with a teacher who couldn't stop him.  My father told me that the Bishop's decision was made with careful prayer and that we'd be protected in the House of the Lord.  Blaine hadn't been protected. My father said that was because that he was being irreverent and disrespectful when he got hurt.  The message:  God allows retarded giants to beat up adolescent boys in church.

We entered Sunday School quickly, rushing to take seats away from Robert.  If you ask a psychologist, that might not have been the proper behavior but we were kids, what do you expect?  I didn't talk to him because I wasn't sure what would set him off.  Some of the others, like John, Terry, and Lisa said hi and he answered, “Breaker One-Nine” to each of them.

The lesson began and Brother Stewart stood at the chalkboard outlining the key points.  It was something about how miraculous it'd been for Joseph Smith to be visited by Angels when he was younger than we were.  Obviously a motivational lesson designed to get us to pray a lot. 

“You my friend?”  Robert nearly hollered. 

We all turned around.  He was looking at Lisa Cole.  “Yes, of course I'm your friend, Robert,” she said.  She was smiling nervously.  Her teeth were white and slightly crooked, a very cute smile.  Her skin was white but mottled with freckles that she said she hated but I thought looked great. 

“We're all your friends, Robert,” Brother Stewart said.  “Can I continue the lesson?”  He was asking permission to keep going from the only person in the room who couldn't understand the request. 

“You my friend?” Robert asked John. John said yes.  Robert went around the room pointing at each of the kids asking the same question and they all answered yes, including me and Brother Stewart.  All, until the end when he reached Blaine.

Blaine answered, “No.”

Robert threw his head into his hands and bent over in his chair until he was nearly doubled over.  He cried out in a long slur, “Why?”  It was a wailful moaning filled with disappointment.

“Because you hurt me,” Blaine said holding his wrist.  It was now healed, but he hadn't forgotten.

Robert leaped up and pointed frantically at all the rest of us yelling, “Friend! Friend!” at each person as he singled us out for friendship.  He was becoming agitated.  I looked at Brother Stewart.  He was frozen in place again, most likely hoping for calm. 

Robert got all the way around the room again and pointed at Blaine, “Friend!” 

“No.”

Just go along with him, I thought.  A large hand slapped me hard across the back nearly knocking me from the chair.  It was Robert slapping me on the back.  He screamed, “Friend!” as he did it.  He went to slap John, but John was already moving toward the door.  Robert spun around backwards with his hands out.  In the process he smacked Lisa right across her face knocking her over backwards off her chair.  She hit the floor hard and started crying.  Robert hulked over her shouting, “Friend! Friend!”

He reached down and grabbed her by her arms to lift her to her feet.  She started screaming, “Leave me alone.”

John, Blaine and I rushed into intercept Robert from Lisa and he dropped her as we grabbed him by the arms.  Panicked, he spun around knocking us all backwards.  He stood glaring at us, breathing hard like a trapped animal.  All I saw in his eyes was danger and I was scared. 

Brother Stewart was motionless, still in the front of the room with a piece of chalk in his hand. 

Somewhere in his mind a switch clicked and Robert made a choice.  He turned away from us and plowed through the chairs as fast as he could, some collapsed and some just bounced away.  He knocked the door open and ran down the hallway and out of the church into the parking lot. 

Robert never came back to church so long as I lived in Blackfoot.  He still fought the traffic and issued pedestrian tickets.  I hope he eventually got the help and supervision he really needed.

Lisa was shaken and bruised, but otherwise fine.  I guess “God” protected her from being hurt worse.  Or maybe if she'd been killed, Church leaders would claim we'd been blessed because more kids hadn't been killed.  In the Mormon faith we're always blessed because everything could conceivably be worse.  Mormons have great imaginations.

- rick, prayer free and happy

 

Comments

[a rose is a rose]

i went to catholic school for three years then in the 4th grade i got to go to public shool but i had to attend catechism. NOTHING like this ever happened.

in high school we did have kids with ummmm 'special needs' and still nothing like this ever happened.

[Cherise]

OK, I know it's not PC but I laughed my ass off when you wrote "My father said that was because that he was being irreverent and disrespectful when he got hurt. The message: God allows retarded giants to beat up adolescent boys in church." And is anyone else reminded of Lenny from Of Mice and Men?

[SML]

Wow, that's so scary. He really could have done much worse. His parents suck for putting other kids at risk that way, because they MUST have known what he was capable of.

[Cele]

There are so many sides to this story and yet the sad part, the sides that needed to be nurished were the sides not heard. Teens in development received lip service comments, their fear ignored, by parents who were afraid to buck the decision of the "church". Robert who in today's society would most likely receive so much more help and be in programs that would help him so much more than blindly flailing through life and situations that only injured and compounded any problems.

[Sideon]

Okay - I can't stop myself from commenting:

Robert and everyone else was fine. It is the bishoPRICKS and Mormon men who favor authority over common sense that are the true retards.

[CV Rick]

Sideon, never stop yourself from commenting on my blog.

Rose, this kind of thing only happens when the retards are in control of the religion.

I'm glad I could make you laugh, Cherise. It was one of my favorite lines in the story as well.

SML, his parents were clueless. They thought he was still a little boy.

Cele, I doubt Robert would get a whole lot more help in today's society. With the budget cuts and slashes to departments and manpower - at least here in Minnesota - people with needs are being left to themselves.

[Graeme]

I love how you tackle this issue dude. I should do something on Christianity.

[jane]

Woah--scary situation. Do you know why he never came back? I mean, was it Robert's decision or was he told not to come back?

On another note, have you seen "SLC Punk"? I just added it to my queue.