GOT TO WONDER ABOUT THOSE SMALL TOWN VALUES IN THE HEARTLAND OF AMERICA

Dan Barry, The Boys in the Bunkhouse: Servitude and Salvation in the Heartland (New York: Harper, 2016) (From the book jacket: "It is a Dickensian tale from the heartland: a group of men with intellectual disability, all from Texas, living in a tired old schoolhouse in the tiny Iowa farm town of Atalissa and reporting before every dawn to eviscerate turkeys at a processing plant. In return, they receive food, lodging, and sixty-five dollars a month. Day after day, year after year, decade after decade, living in near servitude." [Note: Let me take a moment to hum to myself a few bars of Steve Goodman's "Somebody Else's Troubles." 'It ain't to hard to live with . . . .'] "The people of Atalissa accepted and befriended the men--known as the 'boys'--but failed to notice the hints of neglect, exploitation, an physical and emotional abuse. It was not until a few conscientious social workers, a local journalist, and one tenacious government lawyer came to their rescue that the men, though much older and grayer, found justice last last." "[Journalist Dan Barry reveals how these men remained all but forgotten for more than three decades, blending into the rural rhythm as occasional complaints about their living conditions went mostly ignored. . . . He explores why this small town missed the telltale signs of exploitation, details how those responsible for such profound indifference justified their actions, and chronicles the lasting impact of a dramatic court case that has spurred advocates to push for just pay and improved working conditions for people with disabilities." From the text: "The complainant, Reyes, went on to describe the cockroaches in the food; the failure to provide medical attention the men for ulcers, asthma, and other ailments; the wholesale neglect and constant abuse. Shoving paper towels in Tommy Johnson's mouth to keep him from talking. Forcing Henry Wilkins to eat jalapeño peppers. On top of all this, she reported, was the financial exploitation: Last year, the labor Department came in & made the farm pay the men for wages, but since they control all the money, they just took it out of one pocket & put it in another." "The Department of Inspections and Appeals sent two investigators to the schoolhouse on three successive days. It then notified [T. H.] Johnson that the allegation of operating an unlicensed health-care facility had not been substantiated, on the grounds that his operation was not a residential health-care facility as defined by Iowa regulations." "Once again, Henry's Turkey Service had dodged censure and possible shutdown because its schoolhouse operation did not write fit any description in Iowa's reams of definitions and regulations. If it was not a health-care facility, the other allegations were not for the moment." Id. at 187. Orwellian!! By the way, when people suggest there are too many lawyers, understand, even if true, there are certainly not enough lawyers engaged in social justice for the weak, powerless, marginalized members of our society. And $100,000 dollars in law school debt is not an excuse; it is mere self-serving rationalization on our part, including mine. Ask yourself, were there no lawyers in and around Atalissa, Iowa?).