Hello, Honored Readers! I’m Petty Officer Edmundson, and THIS is “The Veterans’ Voice”!
It’s been a while, Honored Readers. I’m doing something a little different with this post. First, I’d like to make an update on a previous post. A little while back, I posted a story about a friend of mine. He’s a fellow veteran, married, and once again wishes to remain anonymous. His wife’s Facebook account was hacked, and the hacker claimed his wife was a murderer, and that he was a serial killer and a rapist. In the months since that electronic attack, he has been making a steady recovery from the resultant emotional trauma. He still has former friends and family who refuse to speak to him. However, one of the things that has stuck with him is the fact that he was cruelly called a “serial killer” and a “rapist”. He recently asked me what was it about him that made the hacker think he looked like that. At the time, I could not answer his question, because I did not want to spout stereotypes at him. Therefore, I decided to research serial killers and rapists. I hold a BA in Anthropology, so I am intimately familiar with research. I was specifically trying to answer my friend’s question, “what does a serial killer or rapist look like?”
First, let me lay the stereotypes to rest. I’m sure we all have some sort of image of what a “serial killer” should look like. We typically imagine a serial killer to be some filthy guy with a mop of unkempt hair, often some sort of rough facial hair, often dressed in dirty rags, and wandering the streets with some sort of deadly weapon, looking for his latest victim, while incoherently muttering about how “the voices” are telling him to kill people (and here I use “the voices” as simply a euphemism for whatever lunatic thing the stereotype serial killer is claiming is telling him to kill people). Of course, the stereotype rapist is naturally some introverted “40-year-old virgin” who lives in his mother’s basement, never gets laid, and thus is so sexually repressed that he spends all his time watching Internet porn to the point where he is so desperate for sex that he goes out and he starts raping women. Those are the stereotypes for “Serial Killer” and “Rapist”. Mind you, these two labels might invoke different images in other people’s minds. However, what I’ve described is more or less what I think of when I think of those two labels.
The trouble with a stereotype is that it locks a preconceived notion in our mind of what a specific type of person “should look like”. This is a dangerous notion when considering “serial killers” and “rapists”. We have this notion in our minds that “serial killers” and “rapists” should stick out like the proverbial sore thumb. Well, they don’t. According to my research, “Serial Killers” and “Rapists” don’t have a certain look that labels them “serial killer” or “rapist”. Studies by criminologists have shown that serial killers can look like any run-of-the-mill person. It makes sense when you truly think about it. “Jack the Ripper”, who is probably the most infamous serial killer in history, would NEVER have gotten away with murder had he stuck out like a sore thumb. A serial killer is an ordinary person, however inside is what has been called a “diabolical mind”. It has been said by criminologists that typical serial killers have had some sort of bad life, usually a traumatic childhood. The killer’s childhood leaves him feeling like he lacks control in his life. Thus, he develops a fantasy life in which he IS in control. As time goes by the killer’s fantasy life takes more and more precedence over his life until it becomes his entire reality, and THIS is what causes the individual to become a serial killer. From there, the serial killer develops what I like to call “his persona”. By that, I mean he develops his pattern of killing. This can truly take any form. The only thing all serial killers really have in common is the fact that they kill according to a certain pattern. The killer could kill someone using a specific weapon, or in a specific manner, or in a certain location. The killings can be ritualistic, or simply random. The truth is, there is no real set standard for what is a serial killer other than the fact that the killer commits at least three murders over a period of time, and even THAT differs from state to state. Serial Rapists are predatory sex offenders who repeated commit a number of consecutive rapes, plain and simple. Like Serial Killers, Serial Rapists might follow a certain pattern of behavior when doing their dastardly deeds. They often prowl online dating sites to identify victims. They may threaten the victim’s family, or simply drug the victim. They are often aware of forensic and investigative methods, and will employ countermeasures accordingly. Like Serial Killers, Serial Rapists look as normal as any Tom, Dick, or Harry. You simply CAN’T identify a “Serial Killer” or a “Rapist” by their look alone. With these two labels, we imagine a monster lurking about, seeking a victim. As you can see, the hacker was simply being mean when calling my friend “a serial killer and a rapist”. It was a horribly cruel thing to do to him.
Now you may be wondering why this is relevant to veterans. It is no secret that there have been sex offenders in the military. The news media has frequently reported of rapes and sexual assaults at military training facilities. I cannot say what causes someone to turn to rape, nor why someone would call a veteran a rapist. However, I CAN understand why someone would call a veteran a serial killer. The military is well known to be a violent job. Let’s face it, if you’re in the military, you could easily be sent over seas to kill people. It is also well known that military operations have often caused people to come unglued. It is perfectly reasonable to assume that a veteran is one of those people who has come unglued and become a serial killer. This does not mean that said veteran actually IS a serial killer or a rapist. To call a veteran such things is just pure cruelty, especially when you don’t know the veteran, nor understand his/her experiences. I am writing this because, I feel that my fellow veterans deserve to know about this phenomenon. Because while my friend may be one veteran who has been publicly humiliated by a hacker, there are likely many veterans who have been on the receiving end of these asinine insinuations, and have simply soldiered on. I tell you, my fellow Veterans, you are not alone in this. For many years, veterans have been ridiculed, insulted, and been on the receiving end of discrimination, simply for being a veteran. We’ve all heard about Vietnam Veterans being verbally abused. Well, some veterans have had enough of it. To call my friend a “serial killer and a rapist” is shameful, and grossly unacceptable! For those of you who are not veterans, don’t judge us based on your prejudices. Get to know us before you condemn us!
If you have an issue concerning veterans that you would like for me to write on this blog, go to the contact page and send me an email. Please put “Veterans Issues” in the subject line.
Well, that’s all for this post, Honored Readers. I’m Petty Officer Edmundson, and THIS has been “The Veterans’ Voice”.
The Veterans' Voice 