In April 2010 my autistic brother, Richard Chiu, was tasered, otherwise physically damaged, and locked up in the local mental ward. It’s been over two years later and though he has long been free, he is still physically weak from the wounds the police inflicted that day. In the days after the incident, I wrote a series of blog posts that capture our actions and understanding at the time:

4-24-2010 HUMINT Clutter or “Don’t Cry Wolf”

4-30-2010 What the FBI Says Happened

4-30-2010 He Said, She Said

5-02-2010 She Writes

5-27-2010 Crickets Chirping

7-22-2010 OK, That Worked

Tonight we learned the identity of the  family member the FBI claimed had sent additional e-mail traffic expressing concern about Richard.

It was one of my mother’s sisters, my aunt, prompted to action by an exchange this aunt had on Facebook with my brother.

It’s been sad. For much of two years there has been a coolness between the families, following the incident. The initial coolness was from this aunt towards our family. Then some members of our family learned that the aunt was a witness for the prosecution’s case against my brother. They kept quiet on the subject, having been advised that communication with the “witness” would be construed as criminal, intimidation, and  interfering with the prosecution.

I’m not sure if my aunt understood about Richard’s autism, or if she understood how much of his online writings were sarcastic for rhetoric effect. My brother had absented himself from the large family gatherings for years – possibly something to do with how our grandmother tried to potty train him by spanking him severely whenever he soiled his diaper (it was a technique used in a prior age, or so I’m told by others).

Grandmother thought she was the one who potty trained my brother. But we siblings knew differently. We were horrified by the beatings. And I, at least, took it upon myself to end them. I took my three-year-old brother aside. With great ceremony, I informed him he was now of age. From now on, whenever he soiled his diaper, it would burst into flames beneath him.

For the rest of the vacation, my brother was obsessed with making sure he used the toilet promptly. He avoided diapers as though they threatened him with mortal danger. After all, his trusted eldest sister had told him so, and he believed.

The adults, all unknowing, were pleased. But when we were preparing for the car trip home, the adults decided Richard needed to wear a diaper in the car.

Richard fought like his life was at stake. He surely believed it was.

Richard is now forty years old. While he can be charming and open with those he trusts, he doesn’t spend time (in person or online) with folks he believes are brutal or irrational. Since he figured grandmother was either brutal or irrational, he didn’t spend time with her. And so his time with the rest of the extended family ended up being curtailed. The extended family therefore didn’t know him as well as we thought they did. In a Facebook discussion with a trusted, beloved aunt, Richard engaged in over-the-top sarcasm. If I’d been on the receiving end, I would have told him he was being an idiot. But our beloved, gentle aunt didn’t know him well enough. She took him seriously. She consulted with her husband. She contacted the FBI. Based on the recent revelation, she apparently thinks he was actually dangerous. The interchange shows her side of the family thinks it was a good thing Richard was apprehended before any real damage was inflicted on innocents.

Though I was not aware this aunt was the one who contacted the FBI, my brother and mother have known for over a year (when my aunt was listed as a witness for the prosecution at trial, though she never showed up). For over a year, then, my brother has known the identity of an accuser, perhaps the most influential accuser, since she was family. My brother has not lifted a finger to harm her or anyone. Come to think of it, he hasn’t even been terribly upset with me for terrorizing him with fear of a fiery mutilation by means of those magically flaming diapers.

But it’s just possible he may decide to unfriend our aunt on Facebook. And I suppose he might decide he need not spend time (in person or online) with that aunt. Then again, if that aunt still worries Richard is dangerous, she’s not likely to want him lurking about in person or on Facebook anyway.

One mystery solved. Though I’m still unclear how so much of the online content I and my family posted disappeared (except content posted on my own, privately owned website). But for that one I’ll cite Napoleon, who allegedly said, “Never ascribe to malice that which is adequately explained by incompetence.”