The Murderer Next Door

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Fred Fuller

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Comments, anyone?

lpl/nc

Edited to add: ran across the link here- http://www.jamesakeating.com/maajak1.html
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http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050703/LIVING/507030340/1007

July 3, 2005
Murder part of human nature
New book points out that most killing isn't done by so-called hardened criminals.

Rage: Diane Zamora (above) and David Graham (above right) are spending their lives in prison for the 1995 murder of Adrianne Jones. Zamora and Graham were Texas high school seniors at the time, and Jones was a sophomore who had a fling with Graham. -- Associated Press file photos

By Marina Pisano
San Antonio Express-News

SAN ANTONIO -- They were young, good-looking high-achievers, sweethearts looking ahead to marriage and promising military careers, but first they coolly decided they had to kill the one person standing in the way of their happiness.

In December 1995, in Mansfield, Texas, high school seniors Diane Zamora and David Graham bludgeoned and shot sophomore Adrianne Jones.

Graham had admitted to fiancee Zamora that he had sex with Jones, and Zamora convinced him the killing was necessary to purify their love after the stain of infidelity. She was a midshipman at the U.S. Naval Academy when she told roommates about the murder, and they reported it. He was a cadet at the Air Force Academy. The two, after confessing and recanting, were convicted in 1998 and sentenced to life.

How could two seemingly nice, normal people commit such a cold-blooded, gruesome crime? Evolutionary psychologist David M. Buss explores just that question and other murder cases in his provocative, sometimes disturbing new book, "The Murderer Next Door: Why the Mind Is Designed to Kill," (Penguin Press, $24.95).

It could happen to any of us, argues Buss, who studies the psychological mechanisms that, like bodily organs, have evolved to solve adaptive problems. Based on his research, he theorizes that murder is an adaptive part of human nature that has evolved over thousands of years, much as predator avoidance or fear of darkness are evolved adaptations.

Unnerving as it sounds, his research reveals the great majority of men and women have had at least one vivid fantasy about killing someone. The theory doesn't hold up for some sociologists and psychologists who say that, while violence and killing are part of human nature through history and people might kill to survive, social experiences and pathology are major factors in murder. And having fantasies about killing a sexual rival doesn't mean you hide in the hatchback of a car, as Zamora did, and emerge to bash in your rival's skull with a dumbbell.
=====SNIP===== follow link for remainder of article==========
 
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The example story is old news. Tragic story. Ruined 3 lives. Young and dumb. But the antis would point out that violence is really only among those who know each other, not strangers, and therefore introducing a gun into a family situation is 43 times more likely to cause the death of a family member than to be used defensively to kill a violent aggressive stranger. :barf:

As for the instinctual/psycological aspects, of course murder and violence is innate/natural. That's how Thog took Ug's meat and woman for himself, and thus passed on his murderous genes. Simple evolution / survival of the fittest / law of the jungle. Fundamentally at the base level, we're cavemen. It's only the ability to supress our natural inclinations to kill through teaching & nurturing about morality, along with the penalty for law-breaking (carrot & stick), that makes us a civilization. I suppose we'll learn next from Mr. Buss that water is wet.
 
So we must all be encased in blocks of Lucite for everyone's safety... :rolleyes:

Most folks are capable of killing in self defense, but deliberate murder is a bit beyond the large majority of people.

Well, in our society, in others you may get different results. ;)

Not that it would matter if the vast majority of people were willing to defend themselves instead of handing off that responsibility to whoever they think will do it for them. :banghead:

Sorry for that opinionated rant, just had to get it off my chest. :)
 
Can't help but to see the true meaning of the story is: iIt's not thier fault they murdered someone-it's human nature! (So is self control.)

More moral relativism-even with murder now.

Bah-a pox on them.

Chris
 
... his research reveals the great majority of men and women have had at least one vivid fantasy about killing someone...
Click to expand...

And I've had at least one vivid fantasy that I was ruler of the world... So I say, "arrest David M. Buss" ... How come nobody's moving??

I don't understand!

You mean my fantasy about being ruler of the world doesn't mean anything??
 
They think murder is evolved into us such as the ability to walk upright? If that were true people wouldn't have to be held accountable in the same way that it's not a crime to have excess body hair.

I don't believe murder is hard coded into our DNA like a cancer that is bound to occurr when you hit a certain age. It's a psycological urge suppression issue and it's not unavoidable.
 
I think there are certain events that, when witnessed or experienced, can drive us over the edge of sanity or reason, and make us do things of which we're later ashamed or embarrassed. In extreme circumstances, yes, I think this could lead to murder. However, I fail to see that DNA or "nature" has anything to do with this - it's the experience, rather than the basic circuitry, that triggers the problem.

I can offer an example from my own experience. During one of the interminable flare-ups in the Angolan war, a patrol found a village that had been raided by a patrol from one of the guerilla/terrorist (take your pick) armed forces in the area. All the young men of that village had recently been "enlisted" (read "kidnapped and forced to serve") by another group. In revenge for this village's "treason" in supporting their opposition, the patrol killed all the remaining members of the village, after savagely beating and raping everyone they could get their hands on. They even impaled living children on fence-posts and left them to die there. When the "civilized" patrol found the village, and saw what had been done, they collectively decided to punish those responsible. They had a "radio malfunction" for three days while they tracked down the guilty, and when they'd found them, they made sure that none of them got away. Only after it was all over did their radio suddenly and miraculously regain function, to the relief of their superiors.

Under normal circumstances, that patrol would not have disregarded orders, the so-called "rules of war", etc. - but having seen the devastation left behind by the guilty, they "lost it" badly enough to put aside their civilized veneer and do something about it. The same happened sometimes in Vietnam, with American patrols, didn't it?
 
It could happen to any of us, argues Buss, who studies the psychological mechanisms that, like bodily organs, have evolved to solve adaptive problems. Based on his research, he theorizes that murder is an adaptive part of human nature that has evolved over thousands of years, much as predator avoidance or fear of darkness are evolved adaptations.
Click to expand...
BS! No it can't. If you have morals and normal brain function, you know right from wrong. This is nothing more than petty junk science at work here. An "excuse" for murder. Move along, nothing for you to see here...

Greg
 
Most folks are capable of killing in self defense, but deliberate murder is a bit beyond the large majority of people.
Click to expand...
The research done is strong evidence that the above contention is not correct.

It is extremely telling that 91% of men and 83% of women stated that they didn't act on their fantasy due to the fear of being caught. Cost outweighed benefit.

This shows that the men and women who had those vivid fantasies of murder were rational not that they weren't potential murderers.

It would be interesting if the researcher had asked "Would you have acted on your fantasy if there was no chance of being caught". I wonder what the percentages would have been then. Still 91/83 I'd bet.
 
It could happen to any of us...
Click to expand...
Yeah, right. We are all just barely slugs who crawled out from under rocks. Who are we to judge others? Blah, blah, blah. Typical Liberal mentality.

We have all loved and lost; we have been broke; we have all been insulted, humiliated and shamed. Nearly everyone gets back up, loves again, forgives, forgets, moves on with a new career, a new life.

Only a tiny fraction falls apart and kills.
 
I call horsefeathers.

Most murderers already have long records before they kill.
 
Thanks for the comments.

From the latter paragraphs of the article, note the following:

====================
The research, including reading descriptions of thousands of homicides, some of them grisly, left Buss feeling disturbed and uneasy. But he is convinced his work carries valuable lessons.

First of all, the idea that humans were peaceful in the past and that contemporary problems and media are causing all the violence is a myth. As part of human nature, killing has long been an effective solution to many adaptive problems. Our minds are designed to kill.

It's not like every time people are humiliated or hurt, they'll murder, Buss says. But women who dump boyfriends, abused spouses who leave, successful people with seething rivals, children living with hostile stepparents -- all need to be vigilant of homicide "tripwires."

"You have to protect yourself from people who are thinking about killing you," Buss concludes. "Murderers are waiting. They are watching. They are all around us."
=============

Shortly after the creation story is told in the Bible, the first murder is described. In Genesis 4:8 we are told that Cain slew his brother Abel. The same story is reflected in the creation stories of other cultures as well, it is a recurring theme throughout history and literature. People kill other people. They always have, it seems they will continue to do so for the forseeable future. We are shocked by children who kill. We hardly turn a hair anymore at stories of women who kill. It seems everyone is getting into the act of murder, and the list of motives is almost as long and varied as the list of names of victims.

I don't know how many people who have commented so far have read the entire article, or have given much thought to who it is in our society who kills and why they do it, and especially how likely they are to kill one of us. That last is the reason I posted this, to offer what is essentially further encouragement not to live in Condition White, and to encourage loved ones to maintain Yellow as well. The recent thread on the confession of the BTK killer had a lot to do with this, I freely confess.

The motives of those who kill don't really matter so much in the long run, or the psychology, or the whos and whys and hows. If you have the misfortune to walk through the parking lot a druggie mugger with a pistol or knife has staked out you may well be the next victim of homicide to make the news. Unless you are doing the things that make him decide not to choose you as a victim. Unless you are prepared to stop him from victimizing you if his senses are too dulled to allow him to discern that you are not prey.

My point in posting this and asking for discussion was to indicate that it is not really the 'they' who really matter, it is not really their motives or methods. It is we the good guys who matter, our level of awareness, our training, our ability to use what we have and our willingness ultimately to be armed whenever legally possible that really matters most. There is no one to look after us when the ball opens, we are on our own or even worse we have loved ones to keep out of harm's way. We have to do that, and we have to do it quickly and correctly. That is what really matters, not the psychologist's or the criminologist's studies and statistics. All of us know the risks of going stupid places with stupid people and doing stupid things, all of us know the things that people get killed over most often. We know to avoid troubles like that.

It's the trouble we cannot avoid we have to be most prepared for, the random greed- or drug- or alcohol- fuzzed decision made, or crazed delusion created by, whatever sort of person is wandering around loose out there who puts us next up in his personal batter's box. That is why I so often say, and really mean...

Stay safe,

lpl/nc
 
People have vivid dreams of multi-thousand dollar shopping sprees, but that does not make them rich.

People have wild romantic fantasies, but that does not make them great lovers.

If vivid fantasies of violence were a valid indicator of homicidal tendencies, novel and movie writers would tend to be well-represented in prison, instead of bookstores and movies. I like Tom Clancy techno-thrillers. But neither Mr. Clancy nor I are submariners, special operations troopers, etc.

I think someone has cause and effect reversed. Again.

Some idiots dream of Man as meat puppet. Only then will their idiot Utopian fantasies actually have a chance of success.
 
IMO most of you are missing the critical point noted in the research and that is that:

When people were asked what kept them from carrying out their murderous fantasies, they said it was fear of getting caught. That's the reason more people don't kill, Buss says.
Click to expand...

That is critical. It says that basically we're all still animals with animal drives and instincts. The only thing that keeps us from behaving like animals is fear of the law and the consequences.

When people stop fearing the law then they pretty much do what they want.

Can anyone say Islamo-Terrorist? Anyone... Anyone... Buehler?

Rationalize all you want but people are first and foremost biological creatures, animals. Intelligence gives us a greater range of action than enjoyed by animals. The fact that we are social in nature and the restrictions that evolved as a result keep most of us from exercising actions we are biologicly wired for but that doesn't mean the desire isn't there.

As an example: If people were all that peace loving and goody two shoes that the blissninnies want everyone to believe would there be WAR? I think not. Man is wired to fight, males are wired to be warriors. It's what we do and it's quite possible that war is the evolved social outlet needed to release those needs every now and then vice releasing them every day which would lead to the utter dissolution of the social group.

Man is the killer ape. It is only the thin veneer of civilization that keeps most of us from acting on our animal instincts. We need to remember that.
 
There are enough unsolved murders that people who kill others still think they are smart enough not to get caught. I do not fear law so why don't I murder? Because I have a prime mandate not to hurt others. I believe it is conscience which is evolved in us.

Websters defines the opposite word "devolve" as "to degenerate or deteriorate". Now that IMO more accurately describes a murderer. :D
 
Unnerving as it sounds, his research reveals the great majority of men and women have had at least one vivid fantasy about killing someone.
Click to expand...


Sorry, got to go-using this logic, Julia Roberts and Cindy Crawford should be knocking any moment. :rolleyes:


Larry
 
The media's obsession with "cheerleader" murders comes from the almost irresistible combination of pubescent girls and violent crime.

Men commit murder almost 15 times more often than women, and blacks 8 times more often than whites. Therefore statistically your chance of getting whacked by a pretty white pom pom girl (the media's favorite perp) is almost non-existent.
http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/homicide/tables/oarstab.htm

On the other hand, the vast majority of murders are for gain by criminals; money, drug turf etc. Again, middle class folks need not apply.

This guy sounds like a borderline paranoid constantly looking for the redneck he pissed off at the lights, or the black guy he dissed on the street, or the lover he rejected in favor of a younger model.

Get over yourself.

You are not that important that anyone wants to murder you.

There are about 20,000 homicides a year http://www.drugwarfacts.org/causes.htm in a country of almost 300 million http://www.census.gov/main/www/popclock.html so unless you are in a street gang you are OK.

Just don't compare the missus to your latest conquest to her face

G
 
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