Maine 'hermit' sentenced to re-enter society with counseling

Spookybelle
Once he discovers internet porn I'm sure he will be glad he came back to society.

Just a guess.

Doubt it...27 years alone in the woods..he's probably forgotten it has two functions.

I think it's sad this guy has to give up his way of life, even if it is a temporary blip before he scarpers off again and get's lost deeper in the woods.

People steal a hell of a lot more than a few jars of food now and then, and most of them are running the planet...this guy just wanted to get away from it.

Am thinking this guy is everything this forum is about. Which of us could honestly say we could do what he did for over two decades?

reply to post by blackmetallic


Well certainly not me that's for sure. I am quite ashamed to say that I would be quite useless, I wouldn't last very long at all.

reply to post by Helious


yeah good point. I would not want to be the one to break that news to him, and all the other crap he has missed, the world has just gone further and further downhill since he has separated himself from society.

I don't think hes going to have a place to stay. I know the homeless shelter here has a several month waiting list. How exactly does that work? Do you sleep under a bridge until you can get in? He has no money so that would obviously be his only option. They wouldn't be releasing him if he was a danger to himself or others. He would have a place to stay then we call that a mental institution. I am amazed they let him off with that many burglaries.

I think that he will be entered into a government-funded Community Mental Health System. They have a variety of housing modalities based on the severity of the mental health disorder. He already meets the criteria for being disabled, so he'll be able to receive Social Security benefits. Medicare/Medicaid for his health care. SNAP benefits for food.

And all he has to done is surrender his mind and soul to the Masters: Risperidone Injection. They don't have to push the pills down his throat now, they just have to inject him every other week. They will make sure that he is a nice little docile human to be added to their menagerie.

I'd say to give the guy a tent, some clothes, and $100.00 worth of groceries a month. That's a lot cheaper and they wouldn't have to wipe out his personality, and keep it wiped out.


DEX

Sounds to me like this guy was just very happy not being around people. The key word... "happy". So, I guess the pursuit of happiness is constitutionally guaranteed right, but finding it is a big no-no...

Let him "repay his debt to society" (which he chooses to not participate in, btw...) by picking up trash in a park as community service... with uniformed officers posted nearby to make sure our generally effed up civilians leave him the hell alone until he is done.

After his sentence... give the man a big box of food, some new clothes, cut him loose and just leave him be.

reply to post by Lady_Tuatha


Having run a Survivalist forum for the past four-five years, I've gotten to know people like him. One guy lives off the grid, but participates via the forum through a "local" (two hours away) internet cafe. He comes on once every other month for six months, then disappears for the rest of the year. He's in his late 50's early 60's and has been living like this since the early 80's.

Some people want a disconnect. Is that so bad? I'm surprised that there's not more people heading for the mountains as it is. We're constantly "online". The distinction between "online" and "offline" is becoming less and less distinct. We're always available, always on call. Anyone can reach us at any moment via a plethora of methods.

Of course, that's only one issue many people want to get away from. Some just don't like the way society is heading. I can't blame them. Some don't want to partake in the world it is today, they feel "left out". They feel like they have no place, like the world is alien to them.

So many people want to go where things have remained "the same" for centuries: The forest.

I don't condone theft, unless it's a life or death situation. But if you've lived twenty-seven years in the wilderness, wouldn't you know how to capture your own food? Where to find safe water sources? I just don't understand why he did what he did. Perhaps the fact is, he missed some parts of society? Maybe he was trapped between two worlds?

I don't know, and I'll never know. I can just hope he ends up where he wants to be.

Lady_Tuatha
reply to post by Restricted

 

Yes he's a thief, the text I quoted did mention burglary and theft. I haven't attempted to minimize anything.

so?

Am I not allowed to feel sorry for him?

Well played..

As for the guy there is no way he will re integrate into society. Living out in the goonies by yourself for that long and having to come back to the retards running the country with society half sociopathetic and the other half apathetic you really would have to be insane to stay. God knows we certainly are insane to stay knowing what we know or claim to know. I mean seriously we are all here because for the most part we dont believe the official story. whatever that is, this guy saw where society was heading after Chernobyl and intelligently so bugged the hell out of town.

If any of us had any brains we would be following in his footsteps......but as I said..Crazy.

reply to post by Lady_Tuatha


Let him be. Mental health exams? No way! They will just drug his ass up and keep him there or make him worse off. He left for a reason and yes he is a thief so maybe some community service, but for the people that are saying that he needs to be held accountable look at all the real sick people in this world that aren't held accountable and this dude is just trying to stay alive and be left alone. Leave him alone. I wish he had an address so I could send him some supplies!

reply to post by Lady_Tuatha


Fascinating life this man has led, but my ideal living off the grid world would be the capability of doing it completely on my own with no stealing involved, living off the land, by my knowledge gained hunting and fishing, gardening,really self-sufficient, a little hobbit house with heat and lights,

I don't judge him one way or the other, but without the people he stole from could he have survived?

I think a good solution would be to "rent" him a section of the forest he is living in. He could take care of his area, maybe have him clean up the outlying areas around his area, keep trails clean, etc. Then in exchange, give him groceries once a month in payment for his services and to cover "rent".

Of course this re-integration won't work, he should not be forced to be around people if it disturbs him, but the other side of this story is petty crime. It is not right that he steals from others to survive, especially since one never knows the situation of those he is stealing from.

The other aspect is that he might be mentally ill, which can lead to unpredictable behavior around others.

captaintyinknots
I find this to be disgusting. I have never seen any law saying that a person MUST participate in society. To force this man to is criminal.

I agree. Normal punishment for his crimes would be reasonable. To force him to convert from living in the woods to living in this broken society is both crueland unusual. Too bad he wasn't more of a suvivalist and had to resort to the thefts. There's plenty to live off of in the wilds of Maine, though planning and shelter would be paramount.

It's not like this guy is some sort of hero. He isn't a saint for survivalists or something.

There's a more in-depth article about him in a prepper mag; I believe it's called "Always Ready" or some such.


He didn't just steal "some food." He also stole propane tanks, sleeping bags, clothing, and EVERYTHING he ate. He also stole flashlights, and a radio so he could listen to Hannity and Limbaugh(!) He also stole batteries regularly. So if you lived there, and found yourself in an actual emergency, then your radio and flashlights, your propane, and your food cache may have been swiped by this dude....

We wasn't unplugged from civilization, not by a long shot. He depended on the groceries to be stocked with Dinty Moore and Chef Boyardee. He depended on the Maine economy to be good enough that well-to-do families could stock the pantries of their "summer homes" and "lake cabins" from which he stole for 27 years.

The article said he was living only a couple of hundred yards from some houses the paved road; that he never once lit a wood fire for fear of the smoke giving away his position. He also "hunkered down" all winter, because he would have been visible when the brush lost its leaves.

he often slept with no heat, just under piles and piles of stolen sleeping bags.

I got the impression from the article's quotes supplied by the lead investigator who finally found him, that he was almost certainly lying about parts of his story. She implied that he probably had gone to town on regular trips; that he 'knew all about what was going on in mainstream society, as if he knew what a candy bar cost, etc.


This guy was not a hermit. He didn't turn his back on society; he was a parasite who depended on other people's bounty to keep himself alive without his having to work for it.

Basically, he was like a government, an invisible tax on the locals, living off the fruits of their labors.

i guess hermits have their own peculiar wisdom despite being cut off from society for a long time.

his question "Who will decide what is the truth?" provides a lot of insight into why he became a hermit in the first place...

This happened here in Washington a few years ago, I think it was in the Darrington area. I don't know what became of that guy after they caught him.

It's also eerily similar to a story a few months ago about some guys they caught living in the jungle in asia, and they never even stole from anyone but are being forced to integrate.

Here it is:

Darrington `Mountain Man' Says He's Guilty -- Bulgarian Hermit Pleads To Burglaries

community.seattletimes.nwsource.com...

you think any one of you bastards wouldnt steal if it meant your survival? How many of you have a shared mp3 file from one of your friends that you didnt buy....its a unique case.

cosmicexplorer
you think any one of you bastards wouldnt steal if it meant your survival?

I'm not a bastard; I look just like my dad, and was born after he & mom were married for 5 years. (Calling people names makes your argument look weak.)

After investigating the story deeper, I'm convinced that it didn't mean HIS survival; just his lifestyle--preying on the fruit of others' toil.

reply to post by tovenar


I was saying it in more of a joking manner....as being frustrated with society in general it was the first term to come to mind. Not the literal meaning of it but just a word that felt good to type. I meant no harm by it and I fully believe swear words help any argument damn it!