The Great Disappearance, Part VI
“Brother David’s mischaracterization of himself as a Jew when in fact he wasn’t brings shame and dishonor to the efforts to de-Jewify American culture!"
Editor’s Note: Please see Part I, Part II, Part III, Part IV, and Part V of this ongoing satirical fiction series.
Wednesday, April 5
Changeling
News of Brother David’s arrest and court appearance garnered brief mentions on network news shows which in turn generated traffic on social media. The crazy right-wing identiarians who had never trusted Brother David because he was a Jew had now expressed contempt for him because as his continued presence revealed that he was in fact, not a Jew. “Why is Brother David Still Here? #Changeling!” they posted.
“Brother David’s mischaracterization of himself as a Jew when in fact he wasn’t brings shame and dishonor to the efforts to de-Jewify American culture,” said Fraternity of Combat Leader Brion Rodger. He and several of his followers had made the drive up from the Mid-Atlantic to monitor Brother David’s trial as soon as they heard of his arrest.
“OK, so before you didn’t like or trust Brother David because he was a Jew,” said a reporter from a local TV station. “But now you’re saying that you don’t trust him because he isn’t a Jew.”
“It’s his indeterminate status,” Rodger said. “We’re entitled to know his ethnic and racial address. The Fraternity has no tolerance or time for changelings like Brother David whether they are Jews or non-Jews. Our work continues.”
Father Sullivan, Father Nguyen, Pastor Bob and Imam Masood, a regular interfaith dialogue partner in the Boston area, sat in the back of the courtroom waiting for Brother David to be arraigned. He led prayers at a nearby mosque. Bob had seen references to the outcast being referred to as a “changeling” by neo-Nazis on social media and took pity on him and asked for company.
“He’s become Schroedinger’s Jew,” Nelson said. “First, he’s a Jew because he’s a Jew and then he’s a Jew because he’s not a Jew. He can’t win.”
“He’s a changeling,” Faither Sullivan said.
“That’s what I said,” Pastor Nelson said.
“You shouldn’t be joking about this,” Imam Masood said.
“Forgive us, Imam. The problem is that when you listen to these folks, even to counter what they say, there’s a risk of internalizing the categories they deploy,” Nelson said, speaking in a mock-professorial tone. He was enjoying himself.
“How very postmodern of you,” Father Sullivan said, speaking in the same mocking tone.
“The discourse must be fed,” Neslon said.
“That ‘discourse’ will devour you. It will swallow you whole! Like a snake!” the imam said with a sharp vehemence.
The hair on the back of Nelson’s neck stood. Father Sullivan fell silent.
Brother David’s former abbot had obtained a lawyer for him, Carol Rocklin. She was a recent law school graduate, an African American woman in her late 20s who took her job seriously. She was from a local firm, Marcus, Cohen and Hassan. She approached the four clergy in the back while her client sat in the docket. He wore his monk’s hood over his forehead. She looked at Father Sullivan.
“You were there yesterday when my client had the orange juice thrown at him,” she said.
“I was there when he was arrested,” Father Sullivan said cagily. “What does he want?”
“He says he is willing to plead no contest. He doesn’t want to fight the charge, but if he does have to fight, he will subpoena the woman driving the car. He remembered the license plate.”
Father Sullivan thought for a moment.
“OK, I’ll speak up, just tell me when,” he said.
The woman went back and spoke to her client and then approached the prosecuting attorney. After a brief discussion, the assistant district attorney looked at Father Sullivan with a questioning look on his face. Father Sullivan nodded his assent.
The judge and his clerk plowed through several other cases while Brother David sat in the docket. The judge sent a couple of young men off to a state hospital for drug treatment at the behest of their families. Then they did some pre-trial work on a case against a man charged with firing a gun off into the ground at a local park, apparently angry at dogs being off leash. They set trial date for a man charged for driving under the influence, third offense.
“The next case is Suffolk County versus David Green.” the clerk said.
“Brother David Green,” he declared in a loud voice. His lawyer intervened immediately before the judge could respond.
“I’m sorry your honor,” she said. “He’s had a rough time in holding since his arrest on Monday.”
“I’ve seen worse outbursts,” the judge said. “But Brother David, please try to constrain yourself. This is a courtroom where we try to pursue the truth in an orderly manner.”
“Yes, your honor,” he said.
“What are the charges?” the judge asked.
“Disorderly conduct, to wit, hitting a car with a protest sign,” the clerk said.
“How does the defendant plead?” the judge asked.
“Your honor, the defendant is willing to plead to sufficient facts in hopes of having the cased continued without a finding,” Rocklin said. “He regrets that he overreacted to a provocation.”
“Is the prosecuting attorney amenable to this arrangement?” the judged asked hopefully.
“Yes,” he said. “I’ve conferred with Father John Sullivan about this and he doesn’t want to escalate things further.”
“Is that true?” the judge said, directing his question to the back of the courtroom.
Father Sullivan stood up.
“Yes, your honor,” he said. “Tensions were high on both sides.”
“From what I gather he was protesting as children were coming into your school,” the judge said.
“We’ll use it as a teaching moment,” Father Sullivan said.
“Excellent,” the judge said. “Continued without a finding for one year. If you get into any further trouble, the case comes back up again. Do you understand Brother David?
“Yes, your honor,” he said.
A young man from the Fraternity of Combat walked outside to tell his friends the outcome of the proceedings. Loud guffaws could be heard from the crowd.
The lawyer approached the clergy with Brother David in tow who had his cowl pulled down just above his eyes. He stood in a crouch, struggling to keep his cowl in place.
“My client needs to speak to you, all three of you, privately,” she said.
“What about?” Pastor Bob asked. “Father Sullivan signed off on the deal. What more do you need?”
“Please,” she said. “Let’s go somewhere private.”
The group walked downstairs and stood in an alcove opposite the office of the victim’s witness advocate.
“My client has a problem,” Rocklin said. “There are a group of white supremacists outside who have been harassing him relentlessly since the vanishing. He is their new target. That’s why he protested outside of your church. He was hoping to mollify them with his protest outside your church.”
“And now he wants my help?” Father Sullivan asked incredulously.
“Show him,” she said.
Brother David stepped out from behind his attorney and pulled down the cowl of his habit to reveal a bright blue Star of David on his forehead. It was formed with veins in his skull that had somehow migrated close to the surface of his skin. The star pulsated in rhythm with his heartbeat.
“What in God’s name did you do to yourself?” Father Sullivan whispered vehemently.
“I didn’t do anything,” Brother David said. “It was there when I woke up this morning.”
“Jesus, Mary and Joseph,” said Pastor Bob.
“That’s my line!” Father Sullivan said.
“We must hide him,” Father Nguyen said. “Those men outside are bad. He won’t last a minute.”
“Yes, but where?” Father Sullivan said.
“In my home,” Imam Masood said. “I’ll take him. We can hide him.”
“How do we get him out of here?”
“I wear his coat, he wears mine,” Father Nguyen said. “He walks out back in my clothes while I stand in the lobby with my back to the crowd, as if I’m talking to my lawyer. Then when he’s gone, I go into the men’s room, leave the jacket there and then leave by another way.”
And that’s how they did it. The Fraternity of Combat waited outside for a half hour to heckle Brother David but left after they sent people inside to look for him.
“The changeling has left the building!” Brion Rodger said in a livestream from the courthouse steps. “He’ll show up and when he does, we’ll be there to confine him!”
