Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it

I almost punched a security guard at the Connecticut Valley Historical museum today. I held it in, which is good, because he was probably an ex cop.

One of my coworkers left Benjamin Ricci's Crimes Against Humanity at work, and I borrowed it because I had Jury Duty today (again) and he's off until Friday. The book is about the class action suit that ultimately closed the Belchertown State School. I worked with three of the named plaintiffs in the case. He talked about the expose series written in the Springfield Union about the horrible treatment being given to the school's residents. Like beatings and rapes and humiliation and isolation. Deplorable sanitary conditions and an indifferent administration. It was called "The Tragedy of Belchertown."

The book had the wrong dates listed for the article's print dates, as did Wikipedia. So I asked the woman at the library's reference desk about looking it up and she sent me to the museum where they have clippings files for a lot of the news in the area. I paid $7 to get into the museum.

I was kind of greeted by an older gentleman sitting in a folding chair against the back wall of the building. He was talking to an older woman who had her back to the door. I asked where to find the museum (there are few records collections in this one building) and he directed me to sign in.

"What are you looking for?"
"Some articles about the State School."
"Oh, are you a student?"
"No. I was reading a book and they were mentioned...and I work for the state and both of my parents worked there..."
"I heard they're turning it into a spa or something."
"Yeah, they ran out of money or something."
"You know what they should do with it?" At this point I was prepared for some sort currently socially sound or environmentally friendly idea. Recreation parks. A golf course. Something of that sort. "They should open it back up."

The woman sitting across from him piped up with a story of a homeless man she sees in the winter who just sits there with no winter coat and they go back and forth about how it would be better for everyone, us and them, if they reopened those buildings. "I bet your parents would be for it."

This is the part where I almost lost it. "Actually, I'm pretty sure a lot of the old state school workers think community homes are a good thing. And the buildings have been stripped down by looters that they wouldn't be able to refurbish them."

"Well they should knock them down and put up a new hospital."



Of course they should. Because it worked so well in the past.