📝 “control out of control”:
jeffrey dahmer’s crimes were filled by a deep-seeded desire for complete control and dominance over his victims. dahmer used pills so that they were rendered unconscious, eliminating any demands, any resistance, and so that dahmer wouldn’t need to worry about their needs or desires. the action of drugging men also enabled dahmer to prolong his interactions with them, ensuring their continued presence, and easing his fear of abandonment, while exercising control over them and the situation at all times.
as dahmer’s need for control intensified, he sought after a more intense and permanent solution. becoming dissatisfied with the temporary affects of the pills, and viewing the murders as a ‘waste’, dahmer came up with the idea of creating a living zombie that would obey him, and have no needs or desires. in 1991 dahmer began to experiment with his new idea, by drilling holes in the heads of his victims, followed by injecting acid into the hole, in hopes that they would stay alive but strip them of their free will and ensure their total compliance without resistance. despite repeated attempts, his twisted fantasy of a live zombie to obey his every desire never did materialise.
“it never worked, it either didn’t work well enough or it was death.”
— jeffrey dahmer.
dahmer’s prolonged acts lead to profound desensitisation, where he became emotionally detached from his actions. this detachment was further reinforced by his tendency to depersonalise his victims, stripping the of their humanity by viewing them as ‘an object for pleasure instead of a living breathing human being’ to better facilitate his crimes.
“it made it possible (easier to do it) if i didn’t get to know them well — if i didn’t know them — i depersonalised them.”
— jeffrey dahmer.
despite dahmer’s obsessive desire to have control of others, he was out of control himself.
