Friday, August 5, 2011

Wolf

http://www.cnn.com/2011/CRIME/08/04/florida.bundy.blood/index.html

To me, Ted Bundy still exists as the ultimate cautionary tale of our age. Nearly a fable in his story’s simplicity and clarity. The wolf in sheep’s clothing.

Not that whatever made him a monster was simple. I’m sure that was a perfect storm of genetics and environment, coincidence and design.

But the thing that he was. Handsome, charming, clever, and lethal. If you met him in a bar you’d give him a shot. And possibly you'd end up dead. Or if he was co-worker, you wouldn’t be averse to a little office appropriate flirtation. And years later you might read a story and think, “Oh, that was Ted from the 2nd floor.” And never get over the chill of knowing you’d smiled upon evil.

So, I think for many women, when a story gets added to the little mental file that you keep: things to remember. And when you’re out with your girls some night, and someone says, “Oh, he’s cute,” you find yourself thinking, “Yeah, so was Ted Bundy.”

2 comments:

glorm said...

Ted Bundy is the most interesting serial killer to me. If they solve more of his murders, he can't get any more jail time and the victims won't come back, but at least they would be solved.

He wasn't in denial; he knew exactly what he had done. He was crafty and manipulative. Then at the end, when he realized it really was going to be an "off with his head" scenerio, he decided to do some admitting.

And, yes, it is scary to think that that nice, friendly man you work with could be a Ted Bundy.

FirePhrase said...

The ones that seem to have a "reason" for it, no matter how insane (like they want the person to be theirs forever, or their getting some sort of satanic power), they are actually more understandable. Just getting your jollies killing someone and getting away with it - that's just so outside of understandable. And they have not desire whatsoever to conform to society's expectations, or sense of compassion. And that's compassion in the latinate sense of fellow feeling. Empathy. Scary as hell.

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