Christopher Knight Abandoned Society For 27 Years

...sort of. Really interesting story:
http://www.policymic.com/articles/34101/...ty-for-27-years

It is completely acceptable to choose to live as a hermit in the woods. It is completely unacceptable to sustain your chosen lifestyle through systematic theft from others.

I am not a psychiatrist and don't play one on the Internet. But I wouldn't be surprised if he turned out to be somewhere on the autism spectrum. That's not a shot at people who live with these conditions. We all have our problems. It's just an observation that many factors fit.

I was intrigued by the picture of his camp, undetected for all this time. It really doesn't look all that inconspicuous. It would be interesting to hear a little more about its setting.
and how and why it remained undetected for so long.

I'll say it's NOT acceptable to be a hermit because this is what happens. Nobody is truly a hermit. In this case, this guy's contribution to the people around him was stealing their stuff. His net contribution to the world is less than zero.

The source of the problem is the hermit fallacy. Animals need other animals. Mammals need other mammals. Humans need other humans. I know of nobody who was immediately abandoned the instant they were born and who then survived fine through adulthood without any help whatsoever from any other human.

That is very well put.

To do what he did for twenty-seven years, he had to have skills. With his skills, how likely could he have lived off of discarded items to build a shelter and improvised hunting and fishing equipment? Instead of stealing, he could have made a contribution by making something of what others throw away.

Jeanette Isabelle

In all cases? I am decidedly not convinced. Many have chosen to withdraw from active societal contact and lived with great honour.

Hermit, misanthropic, on asocial? Three very different perspectives worthy of consideration in this case. (My bet is on door #3.)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hermit

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Misanthropy

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asociality

More in-depth local coverage for anyone interested:
http://www.pressherald.com/Complete_coverage_of_the_North_Pond_Hermit.html

By the title alone, I thought it was about the former "Brady Bunch" actor. But, it couldn't be because he is a successful businessman. Yes, I remember the names of some actors of the "Brady Bunch" and other TV shows from my youth. I am sad, sad man. Either that, or I have a really good memory.

So this untermesch should be disposed of immediately then?

I don't know exactly what was going on in this chap's head but if the reported facts are correct then he would appear to be something of an exception to the rules. We don't know why he "abandoned" society or even if it was voluntary.

I do make a very specific point here: once you are outside of society, for whatever reason, it is murderiously difficult to get back in. You have no money, no bank account, no papers. You cannot account for yourself. Effectively you are a non-person. For all practical purposes you do not exist. If you try then you become subject to the full savage weight of the law. At very best you are going to be punished as a vagrant. Any unexplained murders, missing persons etc? Guess who it is going to be pinned on?
So once out, remaining outside of society may be your only real option.

What I find astonishing is that he was never "detected" or found, despite living about a mile away from a road, and apparently close enough to civilization (including campers etc.) to commit lots of petty thefts. By his own statements, he has apparently admitted to 1000+ thefts. Over 27 years, that is about 3 per month. I would think that someone would have noticed a pattern of petty thefts in the area, but apparently not.

I have to think that people saw him around, but simply ignored him - - - "just another homeless person" type of thinking. In effect, he was invisible to people. Some may have even given him handouts, and then he was never given another thought. And I agree that it is likely that there are some mental issues there.

On the whole, IMO, it is a rather sad story.

no doubt about that

Christopher seems to have beaten the hermit come heretic's vow of silence by at least a good 9 years after Brian jumped into his hole in the ground on to his foot! That's pretty impressive considering Christopher didn't have any Juniper shrubberies.

This story really contrasts with Agios Neofytos Old Hermitage, one is considered a bum, the other a saint!