Ted Bundy's Final Interview

[BarbTherese]

Personally, I do think that pornography is harmful.  I think that explicit visual violence is harmful.  To my mind, these can desensitize a person to a point where sexual aberrations of all kinds including violence as well as violence that is explicit (and to my mind often on our televisions now) can all become an acceptable norm to a person - or has the potential to do so.  I didn't need a TB final interview to cause me to make these conclusions and as horrific as it was, I am glad I watched it.  It is a reminder of what can exist in our midst and to appearances as normal and appealing as ordinary society.

 

To me, even the sexual is becoming more and more explicit in movies and televisions.  Not all that long ago, there was simply a fade out with the roaring of an ocean - or similar.  A person needed to conclude what might have been taking place.  Not so nowadays.  And the violence depicted in movies and televisions may not be real, but it can be truly horrific depicting reality and I simply cannot watch it - not the sexual either.  Again, to my mind, it is worsening.  As we accept something or other on our television or movie screens without loud protest, it is not too long before we sight worse.  I was horrified by the movie "Psycho" (Alfred Hitchcock) and the first time I had ever sighted such horror, but nowadays we see far worse and actually depicted, not implied.

 

 

[PhuturePriest]

That's the thing with psychopaths, they can easily come across as ridiculously believable. They also enjoy playing with people. Do I think he's lying about his porn use? No. But do I think he's genuine and remorseful? Not in a million years.

 

“I’m the most cold-hearted [expletive] you’ll ever meet.”

“I don’t feel guilty for anything. I feel sorry for people who feel guilt.”

“I just liked to kill, I wanted to kill.”

“I’m as cold a [expletive] as you’ve ever put your [expletive] eyes on. I don’t give a [expletive] about those people.” 

 

The issue with your theory is, of course, the fact that Ted Bundy wasn't a psychopath. How do I know? There's a law against putting people to death if they are psychologically deranged. They're only allowed to execute people of completely normal mental capacities. The fact they killed him shows either A, they broke the law, B, this law wasn't put into effect yet, or C, he was, in fact, a normal person whose mental state was altered by violent pornography, which is completely plausible. Men who give up watching pornography after years of addiction admit that the more they got into it, the more they needed to watch violent and extreme videos, which only got worse over time. Once they stop watching, after a while their mental states return to normal and they feel repulsed by the things they used to watch. I have a friend on here who did a lot of studies about psychology in college, and she said she knew a person who had these experiences.

Edited June 17, 2014 by FuturePriest387

[HisChildForever]

I'm not saying his words are to be taken without a grain of salt but he man made this interview literally less than twenty-four hours before his life would be extinguished. If he was lying or manipulating, one has to wonder what the motive would have been. 

 

Simple answer: because he could. He was a psychopath.

 

Imo Bundy was drawn to pornography because of his disorder. In other words, pornography was a symptom, not a cause. Now I am in full belief that, over time, "regular" porn just doesn't do it anymore and the user eventually finds himself aroused by sadistic porn. This was likely the case for Bundy. I believe the porn supported his psychopathy, it didn't create it.

[HisChildForever]

The issue with your theory is, of course, the fact that Ted Bundy wasn't a psychopath. How do I know? There's a law against putting people to death if they are psychologically deranged. They're only allowed to execute people of completely normal mental capacities. The fact they killed him shows either A, they broke the law, B, this law wasn't put into effect yet, or C, he was, in fact, a normal person whose mental state was altered by violent pornography, which is completely plausible. Men who give up watching pornography after years of addiction admit that the more they got into it, the more they needed to watch violent and extreme videos, which only got worse over time. Once they stop watching, after a while their mental states return to normal and they feel repulsed by the things they used to watch. I have a friend on here who did a lot of studies about psychology in college, and she said she knew a person who had these experiences.

 

A person with a psychotic disorder cannot be put to death, correct. But psychopathy is not a psychotic disorder.

[CatherineM]

FP- a psychopath isn't psychotic. One knows right from wrong, the other doesn't. By the way, the US still executes the mentally ill and mentally disabled. One of the main reasons I am opposed to it.

BT-your comment about desensitization is apt. Ted not only killed women, he routinely went back to have sex with their decomposing bodies. You'd have to be pretty desensitized to do stuff like that.

[PhuturePriest]

A person with a psychotic disorder cannot be put to death, correct. But psychopathy is not a psychotic disorder.

 

Your terminology is confusing me. "Psychopathy" is no longer the official term. It is now called "Antisocial Personality Disorder", which I think we can all agree sounds much less interesting, and certainly less dangerous than it is. Is that what you are referring to? How is the incapability of feeling love, empathy, or any kind of affection towards others not considered a psychotic disorder?

[HisChildForever]

Your terminology is confusing me. "Psychopathy" is no longer the official term. It is now called "Antisocial Personality Disorder", which I think we can all agree sounds much less interesting, and certainly less dangerous than it is. Is that what you are referring to? How is the incapability of feeling love, empathy, or any kind of affection towards others not considered a psychotic disorder?

 

Psychopathy has never been an official diagnosis. Antisocial Personality Disorder is a personality disorder, not a psychotic disorder, and is a part of the psychopathy "diagnosis" (Factor 2, if you want to talk PCL-R).

[HisChildForever]

To clarify, psychopathy and ASPD are not the same thing. You can have ASPD without being a psychopath.

[PhuturePriest]

Psychopathy has never been an official diagnosis. Antisocial Personality Disorder is a personality disorder, not a psychotic disorder, and is a part of the psychopathy "diagnosis" (Factor 2, if you want to talk PCL-R).

 

Very intriguing. I will of course look into this, but I question the decision not to label psychopathy as an official diagnosis. If something like stammering has been officially declared as a speech disorder, than something like incapability of feeling love and compassion is certainly a disorder of the normal human experience.

Edited June 17, 2014 by FuturePriest387

[HisChildForever]

Very intriguing. I will of course look into this, but I question the decision not to label psychopathy as an official diagnosis. If something like stammering has been officially declared as a speech disorder, than something like incapability of feeling love and compassion is certainly a disorder of the normal human experience.

 

Look at it this way...psychopathy is like the twisted love child of narcissistic personality disorder and ASPD. Personality disorders are no walk in the park when it comes to treatment. In my clinical opinion, and based on research, "recovery" from psychopathy is slim to none. Treatment is typically geared around showing the person how (for example) adhering to societal rules would provide them with the most benefits. You have to cater to the narcissism.

 

"Psycho" and "psychopath" look a lot like "psychotic" but the two are completely different. Psychotic would be, for example, schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorders.

[PhuturePriest]

Look at it this way...psychopathy is like the twisted love child of narcissistic personality disorder and ASPD. Personality disorders are no walk in the park when it comes to treatment. In my clinical opinion, and based on research, "recovery" from psychopathy is slim to none. Treatment is typically geared around showing the person how (for example) adhering to societal rules would provide them with the most benefits. You have to cater to the narcissism.

 

"Psycho" and "psychopath" look a lot like "psychotic" but the two are completely different. Psychotic would be, for example, schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorders.

 

I understand what you're saying. But we shouldn't avoid labeling it as a disorder just because we can't treat it yet.

[BarbTherese]

I think that psychopathy is regarded as a disorder that falls under antisocial disorder.

 

 I think you will find that the psychopath is not "psychologically deranged" (although I am not too sure what you mean by that term).  The psychopath is not a psychotic person who does not know right from wrong.  The psychopath does know right from wrong but does not care about the social and moral morality of acts.  Psychopaths are completely normal in every way knowing right from wrong. They differ from so called 'normal' or most common in society where those factors that constitute their antisocial personality disorder are concerned, and even where their antisocial psychopathic disorder factors are concerned, they still know what is right and what is wrong socially and morally.

Insanity Defense: Psychopaths and Sociopaths http://law.jrank.org/pages/7670/Insanity-Defense-Psychopaths-Sociopaths.html

 

Whether his mental state was altered due to violent pornography is unknown.  It may have been that he fed his already psychopathic condition with pornography.  Either could probably logically apply.  TB states or implies that pornography was the cause of his mental state, but as stated, not wise to put full trust in the narcissistic and psychopathic brutal serial killer that TB was and by his own admission (at least the serial killer part).  Narcissism and psychopathy is a conclusion only although I think most all experts in their field re TB might agree.  One of the features of a psychopathic personality is to lie and deceive without compunction and convincingly so.

Edited June 17, 2014 by BarbaraTherese

[BarbTherese]

Be all that as it may, nothing whatsoever is beyond God's Loving Mercy and we can only judge from appearances or what seems apparent.  I do hope and pray that TB made his peace with God before he died and perhaps it was prior to that final interview and no real way of knowing beyond any doubt.

[HisChildForever]

Narcissism and psychopathy is a conclusion only although I think most all experts in their field re TB might agree. 

 

Right, it's widely accepted that he was a psychopath.

[HisChildForever]

I understand what you're saying. But we shouldn't avoid labeling it as a disorder just because we can't treat it yet.

 

It's a disorder, just not an official diagnosis. It's difficult to measure things like "lack of empathy" (Factor 1) which I think is why there's been hesitance in that area. Psychopathy is more criminogenic too.