above board, had mentioned this in his application, feeling at the time that it would be handled in a modern, up-to-date way, without stigma and in the light of the latest knowledge on the subject. In reality it would be handled very crudely as a weapon for belittling.
“This latest letter requested that Durwin submit a recent psychiatric examination to the department. This posed no problem. He already had a good one from a renowned psychiatrist in Secundaterra. He would now seek one from a psychiatrist in Terraprima.
“Upon inquiry, a friend told Durwin of a psychiatrist who did some work for the church in Terraprima. He was located in a very favorable part of a high caliber town, with well appointed offices located on the second floor over some fashionable boutiques, where he was accustomed to dealing with well-to-do people. Durwin felt okay about it.
“In an interview with this psychiatrist things went very amicably and favorably. The doctor inquired into Durwin’s past illness and causes, and also into his present outlook and activities. He then told Durwin he would have an appraisal in the mail to him in a day or two. It was a very favorable report that arrived.
“The doctor stated in his appraisal that Durwin’s present performance in all areas of life was exceptional, that he had never had a mental illness and that his past problems were due to problems in life. Durwin also requested and received a letter of reference from the C.E.O. of the area church. In this letter, Durwin’s ministry was described as ‘excellent’. I ask you to note,” said Collin to the group members, “that in the psychiatrists letter, Durwin’s ‘performance is superior.’ In the C.E.O.’s letter, his ministry is ‘excellent’. We will be referring to these letters in another context later.
“Durwin sent these letters of reference to the department together with the report of the psychiatrist in Secundaterra which was also very favorable. There was no further action from the department for nearly another year and even then it had to be prodded by the Lawtons.
“Through social contacts, Durwin had made acquaintance with a prominent lawyer in the area of his church. After he had become acquainted well enough with this lawyer, he spoke to him one day about his immigration problem and about the inaction of the department on his case. The man didn’t understand the full depth of the problem. Few people would. So Durwin made no effort to discuss personalities, but merely that his application wasn’t being processed on schedule. The lawyer remarked that government offices are like that sometimes, and suggested he work through the office of the local congressman to get faster action. He made an appointment for Durwin.
“Durwin went for the appointment, but it turned out to be an appointment with the congressman’s secretary. Durwin asked if he could see the congressman personally and was informed he was presently in the capitol and that his help to constituents was generally handled through his secretary.
“Durwin outlined to her the delay in the processing of his application, discussed with her the supposed nervous breakdown problem that had arisen, and gave her copies of the psychiatric appraisals of both psychiatrists. Her opinion was there shouldn’t be any problem. She added that ‘some people, when they hear the word mental or psychiatric or nervous breakdown do think in terms of something drastic and dangerous. But one has only to look at these appraisals, and to talk with you to know different than that. She added, ‘and you are from Secundaterra. There certainly shouldn’t be any problem with that.’ Durwin informed her that they had never yet interviewed him to get to know what he was like. She couldn’t understand that, now going on the second year and not interviewed.
“‘We will get it moving right away,’ she said.
“Several more months passed, but the Lawtons received no word either from the department or the congressman’s office. Durwin went to the congressman’s office and reported the inaction again.”
“‘I don’t understand that,’ the secretary said, ‘I will speak to the congressman about it when he is in town again. It won’t be for another month or so, as he is out of the country.’
Collin paused in the story telling. Then he asked the group members, “Do you notice how so many people, including a congressman’s staff, don’t understand such things as you and I and people like us have to put up with?”
“They don’t have the foggiest idea of what is going on for people like us,” answered Donna Coyne.
“Mostly, only we and the belittlers who do those things to us, know about it, and they cover themselves well don’t they?” added Owen Winslow.
“Yes Owen, they cover themselves well. A few good people are wise to them, people who have been stung and survived. They know the dirty mind-games and all. A few others know it from observing it in action against other people, but they don’t always realize the intensity of it. Many people don’t know it is even going on at all.
“Another two months passed. The Lawtons then each received a large packet from the department together with a letter of instruction. They were informed that their previous medical reports and applications were now outdated. They were to fill out the enclosed forms, have new medicals, including X-rays, and report to the immigration office, room such and such on the date and time given. Examination of the packets revealed that they were of similar content to the ones they had received on their first trip to the office. They now had to start from scratch and do the whole thing over again, the time and expense of it all being duplicated.
“Upon closer examination it was revealed that one form was missing from Durwin’s set of forms. Canda’s set was complete. The missing form for Durwin was a medical history form, a very necessary one, for sure. The belittlers miss no opportunity in their manipulations. The medical history form was essential if Durwin was to continue to be open and fair about his mental health.
“Rather than go to the same office and possibly a hostile confrontation with the original hostile supervisor, Durwin decided to drive to another city and pick up a form at the immigration center located there. He decided to arrive there shortly before closing time when the lines would be fizzled out for the day. When he got there, he discovered that this center had a booth separate from all the other offices. It was staffed by one white woman. The booth was for information and forms, so the sign over it read. There were only two people in line ahead of him. This is the easiest yet, he thought. He was wrong!
“Durwin stood behind the two women already in line, one a middle aged woman just asking for directions to another part of the building. Next in line was a disarrayed young woman, perhaps around twenty years old, of an ethnic race from another country. She was completely disheveled in dress and personal decorum. Her clothes looked dirty and her hair uncombed. She neither spoke nor understood English very well. This description is not intended to categorize or discriminate against the people of any race. I am simply describing this young woman objectively.
“The conversation could not be heard by Durwin in detail, but the white woman operating the information booth, took considerable time to get forms for the girl, go over them with her and explain the whole process to her with great patience, repeating herself often to compensate for the customer’s lack of understanding, due to the language difficulty and perhaps the intelligence factor as well.
“Durwin thought it was very nice of the woman in the booth to be so pleasant and empathetic to a young person obviously in need of care. He didn’t mind waiting the ten or fifteen minutes it took for such a deed of kindness. There are some human beings in this department, he mused to himself, hope she is half as pleasant to me.
“When the time came, Durwin stepped up to the booth. Before he had time to speak, the woman snapped at him hostilely, ‘What do you want,’ she said with an emphasis on the ‘you’ that indicated contempt. Here
