Turd Terrorism at Work: Some Answers

Today’s news features a New Jersey school superintendent who was arrested for repeatedly defecating on a school track. This was an everyday occurrence, implying intent to, well, defecate.

This is more common than we probably realize. 

The EPA, in 2014, dealt with a serial defecator who fouled hallways. 

In 2012, an Amazon delivery worker was caught squatting and defecating on a driveway. 

Around that time, a Georgia food distributing company was dealing with a serial defecator.

Retail stores apparently have an increasing problem with poop-smearers in their bathrooms. 

It’s not just work-related. One famous case involves the Mad Pooper of Colorado Springs, a jogger who gave new meaning to “the runs” by leaving deposits on people’s lawns. (And we complain about dog poop.) 

The Arkansas Shit Bandit was another jogger who left a mark near parked cars.

What’s behind this behavior?

The best source I can find is Karen Wang, a contributor to a blog known as Friendship Circle. She reports as follows (and I quote):

"No one likes to talk about it, but fecal smearing, also called scatolia in medical literature, is surprisingly common among children and adults.  It occurs most frequently among individuals with developmental delays or post-traumatic stress, which means that the person may not be able to verbalize the reason for the behavior.

…

4. Psychological Reasons

Psychologists note that scatolia tends to occur in individuals with a history of obsessive-compulsive disorder, anxiety, schizophrenia, depression, bipolar disorder, ADD, autism or post-traumatic stress, especially trauma related to physical or sexual abuse.  Author Donna Williams, who has autism, points out that rectal digging and fecal smearing serve many real purposes that are often overlooked by caregivers and medical providers:

Provides a sense of control over one’s body and environment when other areas of life are out of control

Provides a sense of ownership over one’s actions

Expresses feelings of anger, frustration, helplessness and powerlessness

Prevents unwanted social interaction

May be associated with other comforting emotional experiences

May be part of a personal ritual that provides comfort

May be part of an obsession that is spiraling out of control

In each of these cases, care and attention must be given to the individual’s quality of life to make sure all needs are being met.  Inpatient psychiatric treatment may be needed for severe anxiety or OCD."

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(Credit for the term “turd terrorism” goes to River Donaghey, who reports today in Vice on the New Jersey case.)