Aspies For Freedom

Autistic Serial Killers?
By: Robert Moran[/size]

Autistics are the perfect serial killers. At least that is what J. Arturo Silva and several colleagues have stated in a series of papers on the psychopathology of autism, written for the Journal of Forensic Science and the Journal of Forensic Psychiatry.

Silva states that Jeffrey Dahmer and Ted Kaczynski may have had Asperger's. In Silva's report he states that Dahmer and Kaczynski both seemed aloof when dealing with other people. One of the characteristics of Asperger's is that we often forget that other people have feelings, and it is true that serial killers don't put much importance on the feelings of their victims. How could they when they are usually dismembering their victims or dispatching them in an even more emotionally remote fashion: mail bombs?

[Uh... maybe they were sociopaths? Does that maybe make more sense for serial killing terrorsits and canibals? ]

While most autistics forget about other people's feelings, there are often times that we remember.

Silva states that most serial killers often have repetitive behaviors, a characteristic of Asperger's, especially in the ritualistic manner that they kill.

[So do people with OCD and so do people with several other psycal conditions. Why presume Asperger's?]

The pathology of autism is the one thing all pathological disorders have in common. [What?? That makes no sense whatsoever!] We are often unable to empathize with others. I, for one, am no exception.

I can think of various examples where this has happened, perhaps too many to count.

Psychopaths, because of their delusional states, are often never cognizant of the feelings of the people around them, yet autistics can learn to recognize that others do have feelings through behavioral training and because we do not suffer from delusional behavior.

We're not crazy. We just lack common sense. [???? How ****** up is this guy???]

While Silva's claim may be plausible, it is also possible [ try "certain"...] that serial killers may have some other psychopathological disorder. Autism is referred to as a pathological disorder. It is often called autistic psychopathy. It shares several characteristics with schizophrenia including obtuse, ritualistic behavior. But while other pathological disorders also can create delusional states, autistics do not suffer from them.

While most psychopaths, a word which is derived from the word psychopathology, are dangerous criminals, autistics for the most part are the victims of crime.

Without knowledge about the nature of autism, reports such as Silva's can be. Such misunderstanding may unfairly cast a dark shadow over the autistic community.

Still, there is a link between Asperger's and crime, as some recent court cases have shown. But while those cases did not involve psychopathic behavior, the link is still evident

These cases, though sensational, can be dangerous and useful at the same time by creating fear in people who have not encountered someone with Asperger's, but also by creating awareness about the disorder.

Aspies are good at ANYTHING requiring logic, precision, and obsessiveness. Just because one of the thousands of things that fit that description is "serial killer" doesn't mean we're going to be serial killers. Especially since the rest of the qualifications for "serial killer"--no conscience, penchant for cruelty, disregard for law--are definitely NOT on the Aspie skill list.

Technically, we could be really effective serial killers. We'd be good at it--we're more logical than most people, and most murders are solved because the killer is thinking emotionally when they occur, and so leaves clues (or even confesses). An Aspie's attention to detail, in-depth analysis of subjects of interest, and logic-based thinking would indeed allow him to get away with serial-killer style muders more easily than an NT.

But you know what? There's one thing that gets in the way of our being serial killers--a conscience. Aspies have consciences, just like anybody else. In fact, we tend to be idealists, meaning our consciences are unusually strong; and we tend to be rule-oriented, meaning we're less likely to do things that are illegal.

It takes a sociopath to be a serial killer. AS, if present in a sociopath, would just make a serial killer more effective--just like it makes a non-sociopath Aspie a better computer programmer. A non-Aspie sociopath would still kill people (if he decided to do so); he'd just get caught more quickly.

(I'm aware most sociopaths aren't killers. I had one for a stepfather, and he never killed anyone. Just beat people up, conned people, and stole people's stuff.)

Just because someone has the skill to be a serial killer does not mean he will choose that path. And Aspies simply don't choose that path, unless they're also sociopaths.

They're really stretching it when they say Aspies are serial killers. Just because we're logical doesn't mean we'll apply it to killing people. Just because we'd be good at something, doesn't mean we're going to do it.

Oh, and terrorists? LESS likely to be Aspies. Aspies are less likely to blindly follow political causes, to think emotionally, or to do things that are illegal. All of those are required in a terrorist.

Yeah, all we have are the means... motive and opportunity are a lot harder to come by.

Hehe. Yeah, erkolos, we're not all the same. Some of us tend towards a bit of anarchism. I think that stems from being rejected by the established system for quite a while, and rejecting it right back...

?????

Both my grandmas were adults in the fifties, and they're still alive. In fact, everybody who was born in the 1930s would have been young adults in the '50s, which would put them in their 70s now.

But anyway, back to the article. It seems to be just another example of some deluded *%^# saying that this person and that person who committed a crime possibly had Asperger's, therefore there must be a link.

Is there a link between brown hair and crime because a few brown haired individuals happened to commit crimes?

The Virginia Tech massacre isn't going to make this any better.

Bad People will always grasp at the possibility to blame their Badness on something else than their own choice. There have been Bad People putting the blame on Dissociative Identity Disorder without having that disorder - the only one I know of that actually had DID, was William (Billy) Milligan. His case is well known, afaik. Some claim PTSD; amnesia; large intake of sugar (the twinkie defense?); schizophrenia (those that do suffer from schizophrenia often deny that they have it and say they were forced to do what they did).

One notion that is wide spread is that we, as society, is at a high point when it comes to human development. A lot of things are possible today that weren't so just a few decades ago. Is it hope that makes us believe that notion?

Or their defence team will.

Australia is largely owned by foreign investors too.

Thinking now of "a link between autism & serial murder" I see nothing but hot air and maybe a feather or two. Isn't logical thinking one of the corner stones of AS/HFA? Is killing, or the victimization of a more vulnerable person, on a repetitive basis logic? No, not in my mind. SK:s have, at some point in their past developmental process, linked violence to their sexual drive. The sadist doesn't get off on the actual infliction of pain but on the reaction to the pain. The UNAbomber wasn't an SK, btw. They call it something else. Don't remember what, though.

Having no insight into the policies of US universities or unis in general I can only guess... I don't think the unis could do that without getting S U E D.

Good! I'm glad I wasn't the only one!

I only looked at the first two pages of this thread, so apologies if I repeat anything that has already been said.

First off, I'm of the view that Cho was not Autistic. He was the victim of racial bullying when he arrived in America and responded accordingly. He refused treatment or help at the time it was needed (an ASD person would not have done that), and as he was definitely not LFA he would have had the intelligence to know that using a gun to kill was wrong.

Now on the other hand (re terrorists) terrorism doesn't just go for what we generally term terrorism (as in 9/11 for example). Terrorism is defined as creating mass fear by an act of any description. Now I admit to engaging in what could be described as a touch of terrorism - by openly stating (for all the right reasons) that I would be spying on certain forums - for my own protection. I don't like it, but I felt I was left with no choice because these idiots were spreading a lot of slander about me, and I needed to catch them red handed - or make them shut up about me (which was the core reason for the spy remark).

As a result of that, I caught one and have a defamation case all set to go (except for a mailing address for the idiot!)

I don't have access to my email at the moment (I'll get that on Wednesday) but I could quote something I said to one of my parents which included a comment to the effect of "listen to me I'm even talking like a terrorist!"

My point is - how far are we prepared to go to protect our respective worlds? I'm not defending the ideal of terrorism - but the source of such feelings needs to be noticed and taken into account. It's frightening and it's a major problem that not enough NT's in power are taking as seriously as they should.

People at my friend know that I am autistic but most of them like to call me "autistic psychopath" because I once or twice had the urge to torture and kill them.
I tortured someone badly last year but it was fun.
I never hate people; I'm neutral about them.
There is only one people whom I love.
The person whom I really love does not know that I like to do sadistic stuff so I suppose I am like 2 people like the guy on Mr. Brooks (LOL).
I like people who are like me (ASD) but I dislike normal (NT) people.
I sometimes tell myself to be more human but it only works for a while.

Autism doesn't make people kilers! WHEN THE HELL WILL PEOPLE GRASP THAT SIMPLE LITTLE CONCEPT?!!