Looking for the man who puts up the trafficking flyers.

Submitted by juanLessThanThree t3_z63g07 in pittsburgh

I would like to record his story for my book on street preachers. Have him hit me in the DMs if you ever meet him. I am safe and comfortable round people of questionable safety. I think his preaching style and story highlight one of my angles perfectly. I know his flyers have named ethnic and cultural and religious groups and that raises all the red flags. I personally do not feel members of these groups have any knowledge or participation in the events he writes about, that his is recaling annecdotal evidence and piecing it together with what he can find in literature to resolve and find meaning in his memories.

My book focuses more on the day to day actions of street preachers than the motivations, and as all preachy topics are triggering, I aim to lightly gloss over the content of the messages. With his story I will have to have some disclaimers.

Please help me find this guy!!! I attended Grove City College and used to live on Chesterfield Street, so thats the kinda guy I am. Help me write!

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Courageous_Chameleon t1_ixzpcq3 wrote

He's not a street preacher. He's a man with serious mental health issues who has been kicked out of bars for hate speech, sexual harrassment, and fighting.

Editing to add: he is ill enough that his ability to consent to participate in your project in questionable. I would seriously consider whether that would make this exploitation of a person with mental illness.

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No-Lifeguard-8173 t1_ixzpvkw wrote

He is crazy and delusional. You aren't going to get anything of substance out of him, and interviewing him is just going to legitimize his delusions.

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IceblinkLuck0 t1_ixza8c2 wrote

His name is on his most recent round of flyers. Jacob Poole.

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CARLEtheCamry t1_ixzexc3 wrote

The guy from this?

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47thfloor t1_ixzjbj7 wrote

Yep, those are the ones. I know he puts them up around Oakland, but it looks like he spreads them all over the city.

Edit: clarity/grammar

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LockedOutOfElfland t1_iy1iuci wrote

Yeah there was one of those in Bloomfield over the summer.

(We have our own local nut who claims he’s related to Al Capone - but I don’t think that’s the same guy)

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mcvoid1 t1_ixzx3fx wrote

Much like how news media reacting to Trump's antics gave him billions of dollars of free campaign ads, giving free publicity to the more toxic elements of society is what makes them thrive and gives them power. Please consider the damage that may result.

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[deleted] t1_iy034ps wrote

[deleted]

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TeamNewChairs t1_iy0ad5l wrote

Just because everyone has an equal voice doesn't mean everyone needs a platform. If you even skim his ramblings you'll find clear racism/antisemitism/homophobia.

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juanLessThanThree OP t1_iy0hxb6 wrote

I didnt want to upset anyone. I only wanted to write down what he had to say. I also wanted to ask him about some of his patent work.

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Courageous_Chameleon t1_iy1c9ep wrote

It looks like you haven't learned about your ethical obligations and the possible legal issues that come with writing about people with severe mental illness. There are ethical standards for working with at-risk populations. If you don't know what those are, you need to do your homework.

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GargantuanWitch t1_iy08uuk wrote

If you want to become friends with this person, that's on you, and no one here is gonna help make that happen. However, no one's gonna help you turn this guy into a "project" for you. Read between the lines.

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[deleted] t1_iy01pqs wrote

Help me exploit the local crazy guy

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juanLessThanThree OP t1_iy0if3l wrote

I only want to write down what he has to say. I also want to ask him questions about his patent work. It involves using light to detect metal way down below the ground.

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Gerreth_Gobulcoque t1_ixzkuc9 wrote

He also has a reddit account and used to post in r/physics about having figured out warp drives or something.

He used to hang out at Murphy's in Regent Square but pretty sure they kick him out whenever he shows up now.

He once sat next to me at the bar and transcribed a stack of like 500 business cards.

Strange man. I hope he gets the help he needs.

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rutherfraud1876 t1_iy42z0b wrote

Used to work with him (not at Giant Eagle), had no clue he was doing all this wild shit.

He came off as pretty normal but almost too much so (nobody really liked him), and made some vague allusions to this sort of stuff but in a way that made it sound relatively reasonable, even if hard to follow. Damn good at the work (talking to lots of strangers) but eventually he was a bit too weird at a colleague and got let go.

I'd have passed on his contact info but OP honestly sounds almost as weird so uhh sorry not gonna encourage that.

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juanLessThanThree OP t1_iy5m08j wrote

Fair enough. I really wanted to learn more about his science work and his advocacy. I dont care if people are likable. I read his speech at city council, a few versions of his flyer, a little of the science. I cannot write about him without his permission or giving him an opportunity to speak. I dont have to include him. I know people have accused him of hate speech, did you ever experience him expressing hate speech?

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AxsDeny t1_iy0b50f wrote

Got one of his fliers when I was parked near the greyhound station. Very… interesting.

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