More Complete Portrait of BTK Suspect is Emerging

Washington Post via Yahoo ^ | 3-6-2005 | Lois Romano

[Pendragon_6]

WICHITA -- The signs that he was tightly wound were there for many to see. He signaled his powerful need for control again and again, but even the people who say he bullied them had no inkling that he could be the man police are now calling a serial killer.

Dennis L. Rader, the government inspector charged with killing 10 people between 1974 and 1991, may have been a Boy Scout volunteer and active church leader. But he was also known as an arrogant and harassing neighbor who bullied single women on his street, and an unforgiving supervisor who made life miserable for at least one subordinate -- another single woman.

"He nitpicked people to death. He was a total control freak," said Dee Stuart, a mayoral candidate in nearby Park City, where Rader lived.

continued

[Mamzelle]

bugmenot? summary?

[anniegetyourgun]

A 'total control freak' is a description that fits all serial killers.

[csvset]

Click on the source link, you can read the full story.

Summary: He's a freak.

[drt1]

"Rader, however, exhibited some classic antisocial traits -- superiority, narcissism and anger"

Hmmm.. sounds like any number of Dems I've had the misfortune to watch in action. Howard Dean as an 'Antisocial' person. Naaah.

[Condor51]

"But he was also known as ... arrogant and harassing .. who bullied single women ... and an unforgiving supervisor who made life miserable for at least one subordinate -- another single woman. "He nitpicked people to death. He was a total control freak" ..."

Uh are we sure this isn't about Bill Jeff Klintoon and the reporter just got his stories mixed up?

:-)

[Mr Ramsbotham]

Bob Smyser, who has known Rader for 35 years through the church, said that "every time I came up to the church to do stuff -- wash windows, fall cleaning, Dennis was there. I mean, how do you judge relations in your life after this? How do you deal with everybody?"

I wouldn't worry about it. Most serial killers are a$$holes, but only a teeny-tiny percentage of a$$holes are serial killers.

I've studied a lot about sociopathic criminals over the years, and the one thing they all seem to have in common, without exception, is a very rigid mindset, along with a seeming incapability of creating mental associations. I believe this leads to obsessions which can be reconciled only through direct acting-out.

[anniegetyourgun]

"....along with a seeming incapability of creating mental associations."

Can you explain this statement a bit further?

[hosepipe]

[ A 'total control freak' is a description that fits all serial killers. ]

Well I'm a serial killer of Fish....
And I like to control them so much that sometimes I let them go so that I can catch them again at another time.. and control them all over again...

[krb]

Lack of abstract reasoning capability?

[Enterprise]

Some people can't help being cereal killers.

[Pharmboy]

They don't mention his party affiliation (and he held a civil service job). I bet he was a democrat...if he were a pubbie, that fact would have somehow found its way into this article.

[seadevil]

My guess is entirely to much time is going to spent on trying to figure out "why did he do it?" All that really should matter is did he do it? If the answer is "yes", he needs to push daisies.

[Servant of the 9]

Although the killer never sexually abused his victims, he masturbated near at least two of them, leaving semen that later helped authorities link him to the homicides, according to news reports.

Freak is right.

So9

[girlangler]

Well I'm a serial killer of Fish....
And I like to control them so much that sometimes I let them go so that I can catch them again at
another time.. and control them all over again...

Hehe, I've even been known to keep mementos of my kills . . . take photos of fish I have tortured and turned loose.

Once I caught a catfish off of my dock. I couldn't get the hook out of his tough mouth so I cut the line and let him go. The next weeked I caught the same fish off my dock with hook still intact.

[Mr Ramsbotham]

Can you explain this statement a bit further?

This is a pet hypothesis of mine, and I present it only as that:

If the mind is presented with an abstraction, say, for example, a particular word, it instantly searches for a concatenation of all the conceptual items associated with that abstraction. For some people that concatenation comprises an extensive list of concepts that might be only marginally associated with the abstraction. For others, the list is narrower, and in extreme cases might be severely limited, to the point where the individual can't associate much beyond the original concept. These latter are extremely rigid-minded; the kind of people who are probably ideal at doing things that require sharp mental focus.

I believe, however, that a problem arises for some of these people (perhaps the most extreme of the lot) in terms of the ability to dream. We dream in allegories, because if we didn't, the object of our dreams (an unrequited desire, according to Freud) would simply renew itself, and the process would become self-defeating. This, I think, might lead to obsessions which could only be requited through direct acting out.

I think a good test for identifying the serial-killer mentality would be to give a simple word-association test. I'd expect that their answers would never deviate more than slightly in each instance from the original abstraction. If you asked them what they dreamed about (and could expect honest answers) you'd find that their dreams were very straightforward, with concepts presented in their original form, almost unaltered from the state in which they were first conceived.

[TheSpottedOwl]

"....along with a seeming incapability of creating mental associations."

Can you explain this statement a bit further?

Maybe I can help. Sociopaths and narcissists are not capable of having "feelings". They have no conscience. They want what they want, when they want it, and to hell with whoever gets in their way. When they are angry, they are incapable of seeing the consequences of their wrath. Your feelings don't count, because they are completely oblivious to the fact that you even have feelings. Their reasoning is infantile. Their rage is awesome.

You'll also see misogynistic traits in these people. Case in point: Rader unleashed his rage at women in general, single women in particular. He avoided confrontations with men, however men weren't exempt. Female sociopaths also have misogynistic traits, btw.

I'm very interested in his childhood history. Has anyone posted information regarding Rader's upbringing? I can't remember the site, but good places to look are Suite101, and Sam Vaknin for more info on sociopathy and narcissism.

[raybbr]

If the mind is presented with an abstraction, say, for example, a particular word, it instantly searches for a concatenation of all the conceptual items associated with that abstraction. For some people that concatenation comprises an extensive list of concepts that might be only marginally associated with the abstraction. For others, the list is narrower, and in extreme cases might be severely limited, to the point where the individual can't associate much beyond the original concept. These latter are extremely rigid-minded; the kind of people who are probably ideal at doing things that require sharp mental focus.

Oh! That clears it up.

con·cat·e·nate    ( P )  Pronunciation Key  (kn-ktn-t, kn-)
tr.v. con·cat·e·nat·ed, con·cat·e·nat·ing, con·cat·e·nates

1. To connect or link in a series or chain.
2. Computer Science. To arrange (strings of characters) into a chained list.

[Mr Ramsbotham]

Oh! That clears it up.

Well, you asked! :-)

[sharktrager]

Rader, however, exhibited some classic antisocial traits -- superiority, narcissism and anger -- and was seen by some as a man imprisoned in a life he believed was beneath him, associating with people he believed were not up to his intellect.

Well damn... sounds like some Freepers I know.