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There was once a boy who walked on his hands.

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This caused him to see things differently from other people.

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He was able to see under things, things that were close to the earth, small things,

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intimately. But being different from other children, he knew that there was

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more than one way to look at things. He didn't mind at all being different. His

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life was one adventure after the other. He had a wonderful time examining things,

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finding out how they were made and how they worked. And though many people who

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crossed his path were harassed and frowning, from his point of view they

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appeared to be smiling and this made him very happy. But he made people

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uncomfortable. They thought it was somehow wrong that the boy should not see

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things their way, the right way. They decided that he should be straightened

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out. They held a town meeting to determine what could be done. They called

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in experts. The doctor said, a rare case of deficiency of hypertension and heart

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palpitation, lungs peculiarly unclouded digestive system, non-acid. It's obvious

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this young man is deprived of the manifold tastes, colors, shapes, and effects

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of the assorted patterned medicines available and so widely enjoyed by our

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population. The psychiatrist said, a strange instance of psychic equilibrium

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or well-being, highly unrealistic to say the least. An absence of edible

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manifestations and paranoia behavior. Obviously his hate instincts have been

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suppressed. The sociologist said, a sad lack of competitive drive, incidents of

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concern for others, naive trust in human nature, an inconceivable passivity toward

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the war. His teacher said, he's always been unusual, he has to paint grass pink

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and water purple. He refuses to call a fact a fact. Oh he's not a bad boy but

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with all his questions, why this, why that, who knows how he'll wind up. His parents

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said, we just don't know how this happened to us. What sort of profession

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will he ever have? Isn't there some way to overcome this dreadful condition? So the

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boy was put under therapeutic treatment. He was given injections, simultaneous hot

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baths and cold showers, spun centrifugally clockwise, then counter

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clockwise, put in traction, lobotomy, frontal and backward, given brainwashing

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three times a day, saturated with TV commercials and red and blue radiation.

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The treatment went on for a prolonged period. Finally the boy stood up for the

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first time on his feet. What he saw frightened him because he found that the

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opposite view of love was hate, beauty was ugliness, individuality was conformity,

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plenty was poverty, understanding was prejudice, cooperation was competition,

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depth was superficiality, concern was indifference, truth was lies, joy was

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despair and peace was war.

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He went into a spin and landed on his hands. This is impossible, said the townspeople.

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We're back where we started from. He must be made to see right from wrong. But the

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boy, in spite of all the back to health conditioning, was adamant. He said, if you

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want me to stand on my feet, you will have to make some big changes first.