Update: The details below reflect a change in schedule and location for the candlelight vigil. The change is apparently due to another event happening at Haverhill Stadium at the time Mike’s vigil was originally scheduled.
A quick update on the passing of Mike Nicoloro: A candlelight vigil will be held for him Monday, 6-9 p.m. at Plugs Pond in Haverhill. This event is free. Folks are asked to bring candles and happy faces to remember him. Anyone with photos should bring them, also. *NO BALLOONS DUE TO LATEX ALLERGIES*
A family member of Mike’s told me his funeral service will be Tuesday at 11 a.m. at the Riverview Cemetery in Groveland.
I’m sad to report that the man known around Haverhill as “Crazy Mike” has died. He was found in some bushes along the Main Street side of Pentucket Bank’s Merrimack Street branch Monday morning.
Police aren’t confirming his identity pending an investigation, but yesterday I touched base with his brother, who confirmed it was him.
Mood music:
I connected with his brother on Facebook a couple years ago, after I wrote some posts criticizing some fellow Haverhill residents for making fun of a mentally ill man. People called him Crazy Mike because as he wandered the streets, he was given to outbursts. But few truly understood or knew him beyond that. Some jerks created a Facebook page dedicated to making fun of the man, whose real name was Michael Nicoloro.
Fortunately, it was taken down after a wave of complaints.
There’s been a lot of debate and speculation regarding Mike’s mental state and how he got that way. Some say it was from his experiences while serving in Vietnam. Others claimed that he’s not a veteran and that he simply chose to live the way he did.
His relatives have confirmed that he was in Vietnam and that he came back with the scars of war. I’m more inclined to believe his relatives than some of the jerks who have written me to dispute the history.
Mike was mentally ill. Regardless of how he got that way, it was sad to see people make fun of him.
In fairness, I think the jerks were a minority. I’ve gotten an avalanche of comments from readers since I started writing about him, and the vast majority of them defended Mike. This one is a good example:
RIP Michael… Thank you for your military service to our country. It’s a shame you were so misunderstood. It’s a shame so many ignorant people know nothing of mental illness. Walk a mile in his shoes folks. Yes he frightened some people but he could not help himself. He was ill. I hope none of you who judge him so harshly ever have to know the confusion, fear & scorn he must have felt all these years. He joined the military a handsome intelligent sane young man & returned a different man. Mental illness is thought to be a biochemical imbalance that causes structural & electrical changes in the brain. Extreme stress can trigger it or contribute to its severity. Why is it so hard for people to empathize?
In announcing Mike’s death, his brother posted a photo on Facebook that should put questions about the man’s military service to rest. It shows a young, strong man in uniform with a look of determination.
A couple years ago I wrote some posts criticizing fellow Haverhill residents for making fun of a mentally ill man — Crazy Mike, as he is unfortunately known.
Some jerks created a Facebook page dedicated to making fun of the man, whose real name is Michael Nicoloro, which was taken down after a wave of complaints.
Mood Music:
There’s been a lot of debate and speculation regarding Mike’s mental state and how he got that way, some saying it was from his experiences while serving in Vietnam. Others claimed that he’s not in fact a veteran and that he simply chooses to live the way he does.
Most recently, many have speculated that Mike had died.
I knew something was up when traffic for my posts about him shot through the ceiling.
I got in touch with members of his family, and his apparent death was news to them.
Despite any official obituary or other confirmation, the rumors persisted.
With that came more comments to my personal email about how I was an asshole for defending him and buying into the so-called lie that he was a veteran mentally scarred by what he saw.
Whether or not he’s a veteran is beside the point, but more on that in a second.
A trusted source told me he saw Mike this week in Central Square. He’s perfectly alive, so the death rumors can stop now.
My source believes Mike was off getting a 90-day evaluation. Whether that’s true or what for I don’t know.
Now, back to all the trash talk about his military status:
His relatives have confirmed that he was in Vietnam and that he came back with the scars of war. I’m more inclined to believe his relatives.
But as I said, it’s beside the point.
He’s mentally ill. Regardless of how he got that way, people have to be jerks to make fun of him.
We all have some baggage weighing down our souls. But instead of addressing our own issues, we judge other people.
Can an encounter with Mike be unsettling? Sure. Should he be kept off the streets? Not unless he has broken the law or hurt someone. I know of no evidence that he’s done that.
I do know for a fact that people have gone out of their way to bully him and set him off.
Last year, I found a disgusting Facebook page making fun of someone with a serious mental illness. The site was taken down, but now there’s a new page dedicated to the man locals call Crazy Mike.
I want the creator and those who like the page to know something. By embracing such a page, you are making a much broader statement: either that you don’t understand the suffering a person experiences from mental illness or that you do understand but think it’s perfectly fine to tear down a human being who is seemingly weaker than you are.
Mood music:
[spotify:track:55OkffR8hBBf3QnqJAU2gY]
A couple weeks ago, I got an email from someone calling me a scumbag for defending Mike. He scares women and children and should be off the street, the writer told me. What really disgusted him, though, was the idea that Mike is a Vietnam veteran who is sick because of what he experienced there.
More recently, I heard from someone claiming to me Mike’s brother. I have no reason to disbelieve him, but since I haven’t been able to verify it yet, I’ll keep him anonymous. He actually alerted me to the new Facebook page and verified that Mike is a vet.
“Mike is indeed a Vietnam War Vet, serving as a field medic during his tour,” the man wrote. “He was born in May 1950, putting him squarely in that unfortunate group that was drafted or enlisted during the height of the war.”
Now that I’ve captured two different sides, I’ll say this:
Whatever his past, the fact is that he’s a human being who suffers from severe mental illness. I tend to believe that he was in Vietnam based on information I’ve received over time from multiple sources. But the reason for his illness isn’t what matters to me. It’s that he is sick and suffering and that people find it OK to make fun of him. It’s not OK.
Many people have chimed in about their own run-ins with the man, and I have noticed that some folks feel genuine affection for him. As stupid and sad as it was for people to latch on to a page that simply made fun of Mike (some of the comments on the page are nasty and pathetic), I think most people are decent, have good hearts and mean no harm.
True, to those who don’t know him, it can be disconcerting to walk into a store with Mike hanging around outside the door yelling at people. Sometimes, fear is justified. Part of my motivation for this post is to make more of you aware that he’s harmless.
To those who want to haggle over whether Mike was in Vietnam, I’d suggest you stop getting sidetracked and remember that no matter what makes a person sick, they deserve compassion and help, not this bullshit.
The jackass who created the new Facebook page should shut it down. And the hundreds of people who liked it should feel some shame.
This post is an update of an early post, “A Final Word on Crazy Mike.”
