Hi all! Calvin here. Just wanted to drop an update re: JimJim’s status. I’m thrilled to report he’s doing just fine. Incredible, even.
I wanted to address some rumors today. I’m not casting aspersions, as the rumors definitely come from a good place – from everyone wanting to do right by JimJim. There has been some chatter about JimJim needing help and that couldn’t be further from the truth.
Sue Ellen is one of the finest primatologists in the country, and certainly one of the finest I’ve had the privilege of working with. Unfortunately, she wasn’t herself in the days leading up to her departure. She’d recently suffered the loss of her child. An unspeakable tragedy which no parent should experience. Grief can do strange things and warp even the straightest of boards. She’d fallen prey to psychological projection. That’s just a fancy way of saying that she was seeing the things she wanted to see in JimJim, versus the things that were actually happening.
JimJim communicates with his eyes and his body. He does not communicate with the English language. That would be impossible. When JimJim “writes” he’s just engaging in mimicry. Sue Ellen allowed him to watch entirely too much television, giving his brilliant mind an even larger list of words to mimic. Then she projected meaning onto his art, even going so far as to doctor some of his work. It pains me to expose this. Sue Ellen’s body of work should speak for her. Not her errors. But since so many of JimJim’s fans were tricked into seeing problems where there are none, I just had to explain. We are all wishing Sue Ellen the best and hope she is finally getting the care she needs to process her unspeakable traumas.
He doesn’t need any help in the imminent danger sense. In fact, he’s thriving. Doing better than ever! Where he needed help most, has been addressed. He needed a balanced and stable primary caregiver. For the time being, that is myself and the entire team led by the thoroughly amazing Doctor Chadwick. Trust me.
— Calvin Poe