WELCOME TO SERIAL KILLERS ANONYMOUS!

Have you ever wondered what would happen if someone got a few of the most notorious serial killers in one room and explored why they ended up so violent?

Well…

Group Leader: Hello everyone! Welcome! Thank you so much for taking the time out of your very busy schedules to meet today. During this session we will be talking about our childhoods and how we can overcome the obstacles we faced as children to make our futures bright and without violence! Jeffery! Would you like to start us off?

Jeffery Dahmer: Yeah, I guess I can start.

Group Leader: Excellent! Why don’t you tell us the story of your childhood Jeffrey!

Jeffery Dahmer: My childhood has nothing to do with what I did. Why does this even matter.

Group Leader: Jeffery, remember that what happened in your childhood was connected to what you did to all of those people, it will help to heal those wounds of your past!

Jeffery Dahmer: Fine. My parents got divorced when I was young, and they were very nasty about it. We moved around a lot. I got surgery and nobody would tell me what the hell was going on. My mother neglected me. Everyone at school hated me. I am gay. Nobody noticed me. So, I made people notice me. Not my fault nobody would pay attention to me. They deserved it.

Group Leader: Thank you for sharing, does anyone relate to what happened to Jeffery?

Everyone:

Group Leader: See! We all feel as though our childhoods made us into the person we are today. Once we talk through the issues we had in our adolescence and understand how to heal from those stressors and become more empathetic people we can begin to deal with our issues in a healthy way! Perhaps not brutally murdering people! I don’t know, just an idea! Not learning empathy as a young child sets you a bit behind, as we know from our Empathy Workshop two weeks ago, “Neuroscientists have recently discovered that humans are wired to experience empathy through multiple systems of mirror neurons in our brains. These mirror neurons reflect back actions that we observe in others causing us to mimic that action in our own brains” (Swink).

Ted Bundy: But I like killing people.

The Zodiac Killer: I agree Ted, how else am I supposed to feel better without killing people and sending taunting letters to the police as they scramble to figure out my identity?

Group Leader: Ted, have you ever thought that maybe your families shame over your existence may have driven you to this violent behavior? You were born out of wedlock and your family was greatly ashamed of that. You didn’t deserve that treatment!

Ted Bundy: You know what…you might be right. My family made me feel so much anger and betrayal. You think that is why I felt that urge to kill all those women? Because I resented my mother?

Group Leader: Well…

Jeffery Dahmer: Are you sure this isn’t a case of…

I don’t feel bad for what I did. I wanted to. Nobody can make me do things. I am in control.

Group Leader: Remember Jeffery, you may not feel empathy for what you did due to your psychopathic tendencies but you were not born with the urge to kill. Although your anti social personality disorder made you more susceptible to react to these hardships with violence you were not born a killer!

Jeffery Dahmer: So if you think we are not born evil then why are we rotting away in prison? If you think this isn’t our fault…

Group Leader: It is important for you to learn that what you did has harsh consequences and you must do time for the lives you took. You caused many people to suffer, not only the victims but the family and friends of those you murdered. It is important for you to be brought to justice as those people were completely innocent. You made your choices you must serve the time.

Ted Bundy: So basically you are saying our trauma was the reason we felt compelled to kill all those people and we don’t feel bad about it because of the way our brains are wired?

Group Leader: Yes, and also your loneliness and isolation has something to do with your urges to be violent. Remember what Willem H. J. Martens and George B. Palermo said in their piece on this subject? They said that loneliness and acute isolation from society can lead to violent outbursts in anti social personality disorder sufferers?

Ted Bundy: Yes I remember…

Group Leader: Oh! Look at the time, looks like we are done for today. We will meet again next week where we will discuss how to release violent urges without hurting other people!

Jeffery Dahmer: Can we —

Group Leader: No. How many times do I have to tell you! You cannot kill the mice you find in the basement of this prison and hang them in other peoples bunks!

I’ll see you all next week!

…

Have you ever wondered why serial killers ended up so violent? The truth is in their experiences, not how they were born. It is known that, “Childhood abuse has been given varying levels of blame in the development of serial killers. De Becker (1997) quoted Ressler’s research and stated that “100 percent [of serial killers] had been abused as children, either with violence, neglect, or humiliation” (p. 55). Ressler and Shachtman (1992) report that, “over 40 percent of the [serial] murderers reported being physically beaten and abused in their childhoods. More than 70 percent said they had witnessed or been part of sexually stressful events when young…” (Mitchell, Aamodt). Trauma can drive a person to do horrible things, and although they must face the consequences for their actions it is my belief that the whole of society must begin fighting for safe and loving living enviroment for children more diligently as serial killers are bred in deep trauma, hostile environments, abusive situations/relationships, and intense social isolation.

Are you a teacher? Keep an eye on how parents treat their children. Watch how your students act in social situations. Get them help early.

Are you a friend or family member of someone who you have seen mistreating their children? Check in with the kids. Catch abuse early.

Are you the family member of a child who you have found lighting fires, killing or hurting animals, or acting out violently? Contact a specialist in psychopathy and begin treatment before things escalate to a point of no return. Not all psychopaths end up violent if they are nurtured correctly.

Have you or a loved one recently gone through a traumatic event? Seek help. You may feel “fine” now but trauma can do some serious damage on your frontal lobe and in turn hinder your decision making.

Keep an eye on those around you. Anyone could find themselves doing things they never thought they were capable of.