The Making of a Molestor

[Faithless]

Long article. Should I post it? There are some graphic details.

When you read an article like this, you can get easily pissed. But after that, you have to think -- "Can we as a society prevent this stuff?"

How can we prevent the Making of a Molestor such as Roy?

A snippet.
http://www.goupstate.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050123/ZNYT05/501230392/1051/NEWS01
''What possessed me?'' Roy asks in one form or another in the group sessions that I've been observing for close to a year, in conversation with me and, it is clear, alone with himself. It's a question that seems to churn through the thinking of most of the men. The one who longed to watch his brother and daughter, and who is a published poet, has talked to me about feeling like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. In group one morning, another convict made reference to ''Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Heinz.''

How does a man enter the realm of the monstrous? How broad or thin is the border between the normal and that realm? ''Could anybody end up getting into this mess?'' Roy once asked me plaintively.

[MovingForward]

Long article. Should I post it? There are some graphic details.

When you read an article like this, you can get easily pissed. But after that, you have to think -- "Can we as a society prevent this stuff?"

How can we prevent the Making of a Molestor such as Roy?

A snippet.
http://www.goupstate.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050123/ZNYT05/501230392/1051/NEWS01

Something occurs to me at first, superficial glance of this article - "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde/Heinze (whatever)".

When an individual, such as Roy or the convict projecting the vulnerability defense of Jekyll/Hyde asks us to search for the force within that has created the urges to engage in this behavior AFTER he has misbehaved, it suggests that prevention could occur ideally and only at an age where FEAR of self is stronger - i.e., BEFORE the act.

Roy wasn't afraid of his mismanagement of feelings at the age of 30 or 40, but perhaps he was back in junior high or high school when he first noticed that kids around him didn't share his interest in 11 year old girls.

I submit that Roy et al. are sitting on some feelings like a dinner plate is sitting on a volcano - if the feelings are rage oriented, well, there's your road rage candidate or little league parent running down the umpire. If the feelings are fear or repression oriented, well, there could be your Roy.

Some Roy's may have no motivation other than mother earth chose a guy to be poisoned beyond belief despite a fantastic set of parents and environment. On the other hand.....there could be a Mommy Dearest or some other wretched influence - somebody getting someone so gnarled up before the age of 13 that he is so deathly afraid of the feelings resulting that he wants to hang himself, though not with rope, but with doing things he knows are going to land him not just in jail, but make him contemptible to the eyes of society.

When the hanging is complete, Roy, who STILL hasn't figured out what the hell he got gnarled up in his system, has left himself looking at himself in contempt, sort of like a soul leaving a body, from a window with everyone else - "how could you do that?!?" - thus, the "I am Jekyll/Hyde and have no explanation". He actually excuses himself by loathing himself as we all might loathe a Jekyll/Hyde - and he needs/wants the pity - "can you all help me figure out why i did this?".

No, Roy, you needed to find your feelings/motivations BEFORE you decided to (attack the little league umpire, run your car into someone else, start staring at 11 year old girls).

Prevention? Yeah - as soon as we can ethically trowel up feelings in people BEFORE the act/fact, I suppose.

Good thread, but I am depressed now. I am going to examine and free these feelings now before I put a steel door on them and drink a 5th of Jack Daniels as a way to hang myself.

[Faithless]

Whoa! Heavy post.

I guess one thing we can do as a society is to encourage people like Roy to seek psychological help -- pointing out to them that they should fight the shame they may feel for their emotional state.