The speculation that the LU rape allegation may have been false and thus served as a catalyst for JM to continue raping and murdering really disturbs me. I'm not saying people shouldn't share their speculations and I appreciate all points of view. This one just gets to me because it takes the responsibility for JM's crimes away from him and puts the blame on the woman at LU who accused him of rape. Even if by a slim, statistically non-probable chance this LU accuser was not telling the truth, he still would be making the choice to take it all out in the most horrific ways on other people. There's no excuse for his alleged crimes. I get that it's probably easier to cope if there's some sort of logic. Maybe there is, but I'm so uncomfortable with the idea that his life was ruined by a false rape accusation so he became a serial rapist and murderer. It totally blames the victim.
Whatevs, thanks for sharing how you feel about this-- a lot of us feel the same way--me included! I came of age during the height of the feminist movement, and, believe me, I am all about victims' rights and women's rights. I would never blame the victim, and I'm sorry if it were my posts that made you feel that way.
My gut feeling is that this accusation at LU was true--that it happened the way the victim said it did. But in an effort to understand JM's behavior, I look at all possibilities. So I tend to consider things, (even if I don't think they are likely), just to make sure I'm seeing the situation with absolute clarity. I also try to remember that JM may have PERCEIVED the situation differently. And even if his perception differs from that of most logical people, it is his perception and therefore, his reality. When people consider all of this, it does NOT mean they are blaming the victim. They are not taking the responsibility for JM's actions away from him. He, and only he, as an adult human being, is responsible for what he does. For that matter, even if the accuser blatantly lied, she would in no way be responsible for JM's reactions to that or his later behaviors. That's all on him.
I just like to try to figure out the "why," which is actually kind of silly from this distance, but still is something we sleuthers do every day. Crime doesn't happen in a vacuum, and we can always point to things in the criminal's experience that affected them is some way or another. That's why I have a love/hate relationship with my background in psychology....it sort of forces you to see that (IMHO) there is probably the potential for good and bad in everyone. It's not like when we were kids and we could always ID the good guys by their white hats and the bad guys by their black ones. But, having said that, IMO, there is an evil force in the world which we have to combat, and knowing the "why's" helps us do that. I agree with you we cannot take the responsibility for JM's actions away from him, no matter what his experiences have been. It's all about choices....he made his choices, and now he will have to suffer the consequences of them.
Hope I've made sense! And I truly am aware of the full scope of heartache he has most likely caused for so very many people, and I hate that. Thanks for bringing this up, and now I hope I haven't bored you to tears! Lord knows we have enough of those, don't we?
