My Response
From: Philip Garrow
To: Jonathan Spanbock (view profile)
Sent: July 13, 2007 12:55:41 AM
Subject: RE: Hi, from Jonathan !
Jonathan Spanbock:
My first memory of you was the first day that I was in middle school. We were in a group where we were to pair up, and share a description of ourselves that the other person would share with the group. I told about myself and you twisted what I had said, relentlessly mocking me to the group. Although the teacher was too incompetent to stop you, you were wrong to make fun of my voice, my family, and my history.
I remember another time when I was working on a linoleum block cut, you grabbed the block from in front of me and held it between your hands, about to break it in half. You said, “I just want to see the tears.” And I cried, wanting to save what had been weeks of my work from your mindless destruction.
Another time I was working on a model of a geodesic dome, and you picked up a few of the sticks I had carefully crafted and broke them right in front of me. You said, “What are you gonna do?” I told one of the teachers that you had just broken part of what I was working on. And then you said, “Crying to the teacher, little baby.” There was nothing done to repair my piece. Another time I remember you handcuffed me to a chair and ran away; I was stuck, walking around with a folding chair attached to my wrist. Finally I found one of the teachers and they found you and I was unlocked more than an hour later. This was physical abuse.
Another time you were provoking me by grabbing tools that I was working with at an art table. I finally picked up a container of paint and threw it at you. When it splattered on the floor, all the teacher saw was that I was responsible for throwing the paint and that I needed to clean it up. While I was cleaning up the paint and the teacher was not looking, you took that opportunity to dump more paint onto the floor that I then needed to clean up, laughing all the time.
Finally, the last day of middle school you stole my skateboard, and although it was finally given back to me, I heard that you took it as a big joke and were never punished. This is yet another example of your abuse.
From the first day that I met you to the last day of middle school you tormented me, you were destructive to my work, you were physically abusive, a bully, and a thief. You have left a legacy of a destruction of trust, an abuse of power, and a history of criminal activity. There is no reason that I would ever share another moment of my life with you.
ROT IN HELL.
Even decades after I left grade school the name Jonathan Spanbock still causes me to cringe thinking of his abuse in a place I could not escape from. I considered drafting another version of this message ignoring the memories that all seemed as vivid as if they happened yesterday. But even after so many years I still could not trust Jonathan even for a few sentences about my life. In his reply, Jonathan proved that he would still attack me if given the chance.