Monday, March 30, 2009

No Hannibal Lecters Here

All of my life I have been a serial killer fan. OK, maybe "fan" isn't the right word. I don't espouse or condone what they have done. I don't promote murder.

But I have always been fascinated by them. When I was a kid I read about Jack The Ripper and Belle Gunness and Harvey Glatman and the Sawney Bean clan. The Zodiac killings were happening during my childhood. The Texas Tower shootings and the Manson Family murders were going on roughly the same time. So perhaps I am a product of the media during my formative years.

I have always wanted to know what was going on in their heads that would have made them so wrong. I read and watched with morbid fascination and wondered what drive them.

Maybe I should have been a pshrink.

And when I signed on with the DOC I wondered if this might be my golden oppurtunity to actually see inside the head of one or more of these horribly twisted people. Maybe even meet a real criminal genius.

Boy, was I wrong.

The Criminal Genius is a myth. There are no Hannibal Lecters, no James Moriartys, no Lex Luthors or Fu ManChus. Hell, there's not even a decent Alfred Packer in the bunch.

These guys are all idiots.

Granted, there are a few in here who have a sembelence of brains. But I rarely ever get to meet any of them in the Adseg unit. They stay clear of me and my house for the most part. But in all outward appearance, those guys are just regular people. There are no criminal masterminds roaming our yard, plotting escape or revenge on society or general mayhem.

I have met murderers. Multiple murderers. Generally, they are very calm and occasionally even polite. Of course, I've also met young gangbangers who drove by and sprayed someones house and killed grandma sitting in front of her teevee as she watched "As The World Turns" by accident, thinking they were putting a "hit" on some rival gang.

They are mostly just a**holes.

They think they're big and bad because they killed someone.

Even if it was by accident.

So, another cherished childhood dream down the tubes.

If there are no evil geniuses, that means there are no superheroes.

Damn.

All those years I spent on the lookout for radioactive spiders down the tubes.

4 comments:

  1. if you haven't yet read "The Alienist" by Caleb Carr, you are truly missing one of the best psycho thrillers there ever was. History and suspense is awaiting you.

    One of my favorite all time books. The follow up "Angel of Darkness" is an equally good read.

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  2. Listen to g. He may have f*cked up hair, but he is a smart guy. Great book.

    And thanks for freaking me out before I had even had my coffee with a photo of Mr. Lector.

    (cingshl) <--japanese word for the disease shingles

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  3. g- I haven't read those, but they are now added to my list. I love a good freaking out now and then.

    Auntie-pooh- I always value his opinions. I can overlook the silly assed hair. And that pic was kind of freaking me out as I was writing. I was glad when I had written enough to scroll him out of the frame.

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