Conservative. Idaho. Software engineer. Historian. Trying to prevent Idiocracy from becoming a documentary.
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"And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose." -- Rom. 8:28
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Wednesday, May 28, 2014
Elliott Rodger's Autobiography
is here. It is better written than I would have expected.
UPDATE: Not surprising: we know from news accounts that he was in therapy, almost daily, from age 8 onward. His parents divorced when he was age 7.
I read a bunch of this, from the start, and then the later part.
This guy was certainly twisted. But, he was not psychotic. There's no sign of the disordered thinking - his writing, while disturbing, is well ordered and rational. He certainly misunderstands how he is perceived, especially by women, but not in a psychotic way. His choice of how to deal with it is not reasonable, but it is not delusional - it is rational within his world of experience.
It's no wonder that the psychiatric system could do nothing with him.
I see him as a product, admittedly at the far edge, of modern society. He comes from a broken family. There isn't a hint of morality or leadership. There is no religion. He is spoiled rotten and totally materialistic. He has a huge sense of entitlement, to the point of clear narcissism. The travails he experienced are not unique to him, but his solution was relatively unique (sadly, not totally unique).
Anders Breivik would seem to have been in the same category, and yet his core problem was schizophrenia. Unfortunately, we are not going to be able to examine Rodger.
I think someone who thinks the solution to his problems is concentration camps to starve all women to death probably has something really deeply wrong. Maybe not psychotic, but certainly, not right in the head.
The deeper in I get, the more peculiar he seems. Reacting with disgust to porn is NOT a typical pubescent teenaged response. (It should be, but it isn't.)
I have heard a minister give a testimony that included being revolted by porn as a teenager. He also mentioned a paranoid-schizophrenic mother, same-sex attraction as a teen and young adult, and alcoholism.
(Since this man had his come-to-Jesus moment, he had a near-miraculous release from the alcoholism. And the beginning of a change in his sexual passions and behavior. This was part of a lifetime of learning about God's healing for psychological/emotional wounds...which is the focus of that man's ministry.)
One pertinent detail from that testimony: the schizophrenic mother engaged in aberrant sexual behavior with her pre-pubescant male sons.
About Elliot Rodger: it's possible that there was sexual abuse from a trusted female in his history. This might be related to the beginning of therapy at age 8... But this barely counts as an educated guess.
And if true, any details that would be available are buried in confidential psychological files.
Thanks for the link.
ReplyDeleteI read a bunch of this, from the start, and then the later part.
This guy was certainly twisted. But, he was not psychotic. There's no sign of the disordered thinking - his writing, while disturbing, is well ordered and rational. He certainly misunderstands how he is perceived, especially by women, but not in a psychotic way. His choice of how to deal with it is not reasonable, but it is not delusional - it is rational within his world of experience.
It's no wonder that the psychiatric system could do nothing with him.
I see him as a product, admittedly at the far edge, of modern society. He comes from a broken family. There isn't a hint of morality or leadership. There is no religion. He is spoiled rotten and totally materialistic. He has a huge sense of entitlement, to the point of clear narcissism. The travails he experienced are not unique to him, but his solution was relatively unique (sadly, not totally unique).
Anders Breivik would seem to have been in the same category, and yet his core problem was schizophrenia. Unfortunately, we are not going to be able to examine Rodger.
ReplyDeleteI think someone who thinks the solution to his problems is concentration camps to starve all women to death probably has something really deeply wrong. Maybe not psychotic, but certainly, not right in the head.
The deeper in I get, the more peculiar he seems. Reacting with disgust to porn is NOT a typical pubescent teenaged response. (It should be, but it isn't.)
ReplyDeleteIs there a commonality with the Texas teen who was acquitted on the grounds of "affluenza"?
ReplyDeleteCheers
Clayton,
ReplyDeleteI have heard a minister give a testimony that included being revolted by porn as a teenager. He also mentioned a paranoid-schizophrenic mother, same-sex attraction as a teen and young adult, and alcoholism.
(Since this man had his come-to-Jesus moment, he had a near-miraculous release from the alcoholism. And the beginning of a change in his sexual passions and behavior. This was part of a lifetime of learning about God's healing for psychological/emotional wounds...which is the focus of that man's ministry.)
One pertinent detail from that testimony: the schizophrenic mother engaged in aberrant sexual behavior with her pre-pubescant male sons.
About Elliot Rodger: it's possible that there was sexual abuse from a trusted female in his history. This might be related to the beginning of therapy at age 8... But this barely counts as an educated guess.
And if true, any details that would be available are buried in confidential psychological files.