http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x3688137Oh my.
raccoon Donating Member (1000+ posts) Mon Jul-28-08 09:11 AM
Original message
Aren't you tired of hearing this sort of thing?
Neighbors described Adkisson (the man who went postal in the Unitarian Universalist church in TN) as a friendly man who would often work on his motorcycle outside and go on long weekend rides.
Melissa Coker, 44, said Adkisson had lived next door since she moved in four or five years ago. She said he had been a truck driver, but she didn't believe he had steady work in the last six months or so.
"He's just a really, really nice guy," Coker said. (Yeah, right.)
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080728/ap_on_re_us/church_...
You could probably find something nice to say about Ted Bundy, for crying out loud.
Yeah, me too.
Like I'm really tired of hearing what a generous man Vast Teddy is, when other people, and not he, end up paying bills incurred by his "compassion."
&c., &c., &c., &c., &c.
KharmaTrain Donating Member (1000+ posts) Mon Jul-28-08 09:16 AM
Response to Original message
1. They Did...
Bundy, in specific, was a textbook example of building up to knock down. "How could such a nice guy do this" bullshit. It's a standard "convention" of news coverage...trying to "humanize" the story by somehow turning a horrible creature into something likeable before they lower the boom. Or so it's thought.
What this type of "reporting" does is stick to the sizzle of the story. The victims are the result, the media becomes fascinated with the cause...trying to get into the head of a psychopath...and we have a culture that loves to play along. Look at the facination with CSI shows, Court TV and the like...people are fascinated with murder and the more sensational the more fascinating it is.
supernova Donating Member (1000+ posts) Mon Jul-28-08 09:42 AM
Response to Original message
4. Gives us genuine loners a bad name when some psycho goes off. I've heard them more aptly described as "failed joiners." It's not that they enjoy people sometimes and also choose to be alone (a true loner) but that they are repeatedly rejected for whatever reason and they just go off, like a stick of dynamite.
Classic sociopaths can "hide" their true natures with an engaging persona, which exactly what Ted Bundy was. Even the judge told him he could have had a very different life since he argued his own case so well.
TexasObserver Donating Member (1000+ posts) Mon Jul-28-08 09:45 AM
Response to Original message
5. He was a self described devotee of the Confederacy.
Sounds like a REALLY nice guy!!!
Those quotes tell me his neighbor is probably a major asshole, too.
It sounds to me as if this is one of those guys who hates "liberalism," and yesterday was the day he went Postal to strike back at progressives, particularly those who are supportive of gays. He's a hater, and if someone knew his tendencies and thought he was nice, they're probably haters, too.
ProfessorGAC Donating Member (1000+ posts) Mon Jul-28-08 09:50 AM
Response to Reply #5
7. That Would Seem To Explain Attacking A Unitarian Church
Can't get much more liberal than a denomination that has no dogma and accepts nearly every point of view.
An anti-liberal sure would see that as a prime target, i'd think.
Well now, the good perfesser just explained Democrats, liberals, and primitives to us.
Not in the way he intended, though, one suspects.
TexasObserver Donating Member (1000+ posts) Mon Jul-28-08 10:05 AM
Response to Reply #7
10. Yes, UU, especially that particular church, is an obvious target of liberal haters.
I feel law enforcement and media are soft peddling this because it is likely to have such motives.
He did not pick it as a random target. He smuggled the shotgun inside in a guitar case. He knew there was a musical event taking place. I'm sure in his part of the country, such a church would be the most visible evidence of encroachment in his community of those liberal ideals he so despises.
I've known a lot of people who self identified as devoted to the Confederacy, and every single one of them has been filled with disdain for every liberal ideal, for gays, and for minorities.
Well now, franksolich knows some southerners interested in, and even enthusiastic about, their history and heritage, and there's not a mean one among them.
I suspect the Lone Star primitive is projecting.
slackmaster Donating Member (1000+ posts) Mon Jul-28-08 09:47 AM
Response to Original message
6. You're right about Ted Bundy
A lot of people have said he was a real nice guy.
ProfessorGAC Donating Member (1000+ posts) Mon Jul-28-08 10:07 AM
Response to Reply #6
11. Especially Gacy
Pillar of the community, and all that.
Was Gacy the character who had a fan letter from Roselynn Carter?
I know Jim Jones did, but I sort of remember some mass-murderer did too.
