“I and the public know
What all schoolchildren learn,
Those to whom evil is done
--- W.H. Auden, “September 1, 1939”
*
His mother thought her young son
Might be autistic. At age 11,
When he was in the fifth grade, his
IQ was 167.
She must have hoped his intellectual
Gifts would bring him notoriety.
However, he profoundly lacked any
Skills of the social variety.
*
He went off to college at 16. He
Didn’t fit in: how could he?
He had absolutely no idea that
From early on he would be
Subjected to severe psychological
Tests and was unaware
How wrong it was to have these done
While strapped in a chair.
Connected to electrodes attached to
Machines on a shelf,
This project brutalized his already
Fragile sense of self.
He must’ve assumed this was appropriate
Also done to his peers.
Incredibly, this awful treatment continued
On for several years.
*
His spree started in ’78, lasted a decade:
The press went gaga
Over this sinister & mysterious package
Bomb mayhem saga.
It’s odd that he didn’t pursue the man
Who’d destroyed his composure.
Going after him for what he had done
Could have brought some closure.
*
This benignly named “personality study”
Which transformed this unbalanced teen
Into a psychopath took place at Harvard:
The best word for this is … obscene.
Sponsored by the CIA, Dr. Henry Murray
Was in charge & knew how to dodge
Questions about his curious tests with a
Necessary amount of camouflage.
Ted Kaczynski a.k.a. The Unabomber should’ve
Stayed in prison --- I know the gravity
Of what he did but Murray (now dead) should
Have gone on trial for his depravity.
Murray’s research was responsible for the likes
Of damaged Kaczynski to act out ---
When you next see redacted secret files, this is
The kind of stuff that gets blacked out.
