I remember hearing at the time of Dahmer's death that he had been killed by a black inmate who was seeking revenge for all of the black men that Dahmer had killed.
But Scarver tells the story differently:
Christopher Scarver — who fatally beat the serial killer and another inmate in 1994 — said he grew to despise Dahmer because he would fashion severed limbs out of prison food to taunt the other inmates.
He’d drizzle on packets of ketchup as blood.
It was very unnerving.
“He would put them in places where people would be,” Scarver, 45, recalled in a low, gravelly voice.
“He crossed the line with some people — prisoners, prison staff. Some people who are in prison are repentant — but he was not one of them.”
Scarver, who was already serving a life sentence for murder at the time of the attack, and who also killed another man, Jesse Anderson, at the same time he killed Dahmer, is hardly a credible witness. But I tend to believe his version of events.
When the news of Jeffrey Dahmer's killing spree first broke, people were both horrified and fascinated by the story of the cannibal. Most of the interviews that later aired -- this one is typical -- showed a bland guy who seemed as mystified by his strange compulsion as we were, and who took full responsibility for his actions.
But, Dahmer couldn't possibly have done what he did without being a sociopath. And the thing about sociopaths is, there's nothing they won't stoop to, and they enjoy hurting others. So Scarver's account rings true.
The bit about how Dahmer would fashion severed limbs out of his food, put ketchup on them, and leave them where people would find them is a little reminiscent of all those killers who've phoned the parents of the people they've killed in order to torture them further.
When you're dealing with a sociopath, there's one thing you should never forget: no matter what face he is putting on at the time, a sociopath never stops being a sociopath.
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Years ago, I watched a t.v. program about Jeffrey Dahmer. He was an odd, creepy guy, from childhood through adulthood. I think his mother knew that there was something "off" about Jeffrey. Once her marriage was officially over, Jeffrey's mother moved away, not taking her psychopathic son with her. Instead, she had her younger son living with her. It seemed like Jeffrey became the father's responsibility.
-birdie
Birdie --
That's exactly what happened, except I wouldn't necessarily assume the mother was completely blameless in the matter. Dahmer didn't start to kill until his mother moved away with his brother, leaving him behind. I always thought that that must have had a pretty profound impact on his psyche.
I remember that the father talked about how Jeffrey's mother developed some kind of unusual symptoms (possibly seizures) when she was pregnant with Jeffrey. I wondered if Jeffrey was a peculiar kind of baby and the mother had a hard time bonding with him.
-birdie
Birdie --
Thank you, that's interesting, I hadn't heard that. That sure makes it seem as if the root of Dahmer's problems were organic. Then again, it may have just been the father lying in order to provide a convenient "excuse" for his son's behavior.
The lack of bonding with the mother, however, does ring true.
Reminds me of a bad joke I heard after Dahmer got killed.
Q. What were Jeffrey Dahmer's last words?
A. I used to eat guys like you for breakfast.
Allan --
You're right, that's pretty bad.
Interesting story-I'd never heard that.
It seems many psychiatrists who've studied Dahmer were unwilling to label him as sociopathic; perhaps because his "mask" wasn't as slick as most sociopath's.
Pavonine --
He didn't come acros alike one in his interviews, but it would have been impossible for him to be a serial killer, as I said in the post, without being one.
another example of how he was not what he appeared in those interviews would be the time one of his victims, a young boy of Asian descent, escaped from his clutches and actually went to some local police officers to ask for help; Dahmer was actually able to convince them that it was just a little lovers' quarrel and that there was nothing for them to be concerned about. That takes a certain amount of nerve a well as slickness. if those cops had just gone to his apartment, they might have discovered the dead bodies he stored there and his game would have been over.
Take a look at this clip. What do you think of Mayweather? He definitely seems narcissistic in general but is he a sociopath?
http://deadspin.com/mayweather-on-being-a-serial-woman-beater-only-god-c-1634290732
Steven --
I don't know, hard to say. He definitely wasn't telling the truth there, but what he comes across like more than anything else is just a moron.
I heard that Fifty Cent once offered him a large sum of money if he could read "See Spot Run" or some other children's book on the radio, and Mayweather couldn't do it.
He's flashy, narcissistic, shallow, vacuous, and evidently violent, but I just don't know if all that adds up to sociopath.
I agree he doesn't seem the brightest when he talks; so then its strange how intelligently he fights. People have called him a genius in the ring and I don't disagree.
I heard about that too. Apparently he counter offered 50 cent $1 million dollars if he could get his son to tell him 'I love you' on camera. He went nuclear :-D
50 seems intelligent.
Steven --
I don't watch that much boxing anymore, so can't comment on his ringmanship. But I wouldn't equate fast reflexes and good boxing instincts with 'genius." He's been fighting since he was a very small child, an came from a family of boxers, so it's natural he would have developed those instincts. Mongooses are incredibly quick and are "geniuses" at fighting cobras, but that's not quite the same thing as a high IQ either.
yeah fast reflexes and hands are definitely a big part of it but his instincts seem to be so much better than other fighter's, including those who have been fighting all their lives. Maybe that's just an illusion created by his speed superiority? On the other hand, he seems to be able to work people out during the fight. Not by following a predetermined plan but by adjusting to their style and finding the chinks in their armour during the fight as he goes along. He has a very technical, patient, careful style and if you watch him, he even moves arithmetically so he can't be timed.
There does seem to me to be some meaningful sense that he is intelligent in the ring. That said, I don't think it means he has a high IQ.
*arrhythmically
Mayweather was polite when he was younger. His style being finesse and skill not brutality meant that when he got the belt he still wasn't getting the paydays his peers were. At that point he made a deliberate decision to play the heel.
I've been thinking
Are sociopaths ticklish?
Could be a good way to test any new girlfriends.
Andrew
Andrew --
That definitely sounds like a fun way to test your new girlfriends, but I don't think it will tell you anything about their sociopathy. (I've never heard of a correlation.)
Their willingness to play that game however will tell you something about how much fun they are.
I think blushing and being ticklish are sensitive emotional responses.
I've never heard of a correlation either I just can't imagine sociopaths could be teased/tickled until they giggled or blushed.
I also agree could be a good way to see if new girlfriends are fun.
Andrew
Andrew --
You're completely right about blushing: it indicates embarrassment, which is something sociopaths are incapable of (along with shame, and remorse). But I think tickling is something else entirely, a purely physical response which, unfortunately, diminishes as we get older.
If it was purely a physical response then we should be able to tickle ourselves?
I didn't know it diminished with age?
I think you need to do a post about the positives of age.
Andrew
Andrew --
For some reason we can't tickle ourselves.
Ha, I'd do one if I could think of any.
ha very funny
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