The refrain after each murder count was the same for each victim, as read by Judge Carlos Samour - with only the name changed:
"We, the jury, do not have a unanimous verdict on this count, and...."
Under Colorado law, the verdict had to be unanimous for the death penalty to be accepted. But as "Juror 17" (unidentified) put it in today's Denver Post ('Juror Said One Said No To Death', p. 4A), one of the 12 jurors adamantly held out - not prepared to align the person's moral view (under which the final phase was adjudicated) of requiring the death penalty for James Eagan Holmes. As attested to by Juror 17 (ibid.):
"The person was solidly and definitely in that position and they weren't going to change."
And so ends a trial that cost over $2.5 million dollars, took 3 years to resolve, with over 300 witnesses and 1,000 pieces of evidence. As Denise Maes of the ACLU of Colorado put it (p. 3A):
"It is deeply unfortunate that our taxpayer dollars had to pay for one of the most expensive trials in the state's history only to achieve the same outcome offered by the defense before the trial began."
That was in reference to the defense's offer of a plea of guilty in return for a life sentence. But DA George Brauchler was determined to move forward with death though he had to know the huge bar he'd have to climb when the defense only had to cross the threshold of "reasonable doubt".
Of course, many of the victims' families were upset, such as Sandy Phillips - mother of Jessica Ghawi- who said (p. 4A):
"The thought that this monster gets to have visitations with his parents and gets to receive mail and pictures of his very strange girlfriends is hard to accept"
But Mrs. Phillips either forgets or ignores the fact she'd have had to "accept" it anyway, even if the death penalty verdict had come to pass. (Only 1 person has been executed in Colorado in the past 50 years.) As the Denver Post editorial put it:
"Even if Holmes had been sentenced to death no prudent person would have bet on his execution."
Indeed, the incessant appeals would have drawn out the case another 25-35 years (by some estimates) with no sure execution even then. Thus, whether the families realize it or not they have finally attained the closure they sought and oh, btw, life in prison won't be 'sweetbread' for Holmes. He will have to be under constant watch and exercise vigilance given "high profile killers are often targeted for violence".
Thus, the most likely place he'll end up is Sterling Correctional Facility which has a Management Control Unit Protective Custody housing for hard core, high profile and troubled killers.
He could also be sent out of state, but I doubt it,
James Holmes, aka 'the Joker', will now have to spend the rest of his life behind bars - and if he ever does regain mental health- perhaps wonder why he didn't take those anti-psychotic meds he was prescribed.
As I've noted before, this resolution is the optimum one for the victims' families because it allows them to get on with their lives without appeals being dragged out for decades as they surely would have been. (And Holmes' defense team promised.) Some families may yearn for swift "justice" (e.g. death) but eventually they will come to grasp that wouldn't have happened anyway. The "justice" they believe would be actuated expeditiously by a death verdict would only be postponed indefinitely as the appeals process dragged out years, then decades. Indeed, Holmes would likely end up - at age 27 now - living longer than most of the aggrieved older family members.
Showing posts with label Submerged Personality Disorder. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Submerged Personality Disorder. Show all posts
Saturday, August 8, 2015
Monday, April 27, 2015
The "Trial of the Century" Begins - BUT - Should James Eagan Holmes Be Found Insane?
Holmes, right, soon after being apprehended in July, 2012, and left the 'Joker' persona that erupted from his submerged consciousness
The 'Trial of the Century' marking perhaps one of the few times a mass murderer didn't off himself - begins today in Arapahoe County, Colorado. This is the trial of James Eagan Holmes, the Aurora Theater mass killer. The horrific tragedy left at least 12 dead and 58 wounded, and stands beyond comprehension in the annals of state mayhem, including the 1999 Columbine Massacre in Littleton.. Hundreds of people had thronged joyously into an Aurora Century -16 cinema, to see the midnight premier of 'The Dark Night Rises' only to be greeted by gunfire 25 minutes into the film. The shooter, evidently armed with two large (0.40 cal) Glock automatic handguns, and a Smith and Wesson MP15 assault rifle, mowed down fleeing theater goers at will, as blood spattered all over the cinema floor. Many of those who survived did so not by fleeing (because the shooter waited for victims to bolt to the exit), but by lying low or playing dead between the seats.
The state and its prosecutors will be out to execute Holmes, but his team of public defenders, including Tamara Brady, Daniel King, Kristen Nelson, Katherine Spengler and Rebekka Higgs - will be out to prove that he doesn't deserve to die as he was insane at the time and didn't know what he was doing.
Do they have a case or not? Let us recall a person cannot be tried for a crime unless he is competent to stand trial. To be competent, he must be oriented as to time and place, comprehend the charges against him, appreciate his legal peril, recall the events that caused him to be charged, and be able to communicate with and assist their attorneys to defend him.
Holmes meets all of these criteria except one - he doesn't recall the events that caused him to be charged. . Indeed, according to the (UK) Telegraph at the time, Holmes claimed that he did not recall the incident, period.. If that is true, he is incompetent to stand trial- but the state didn't buy it - so he is standing trial.
The issue of insanity remains and whether he knew what he was doing at the time and could be responsible for it. This is where Holmes' public defenders are making their stand, and let us note that according to The Denver Post yesterday (p. 1A) Holmes has already offered to plead guilty in exchange for a life sentence. But the prosecution, determined to exact ultimate punishment, refused. In a way this is mystifying, as it would have spared the affected families from years more appeals and motions - which the defense team has made clear they will invoke. And, let's be clear - being locked away for life in a high security prison - to especially have regrets aroused in later years, is no 'walk in the park'. To then think of what one could have been, and achieved, and then be forced to contemplate the reality.
We consider now the defense team's claim of Holmes' insanity at the time. How solid is it?
To recall for readers, The DSM-III, IV, V (Diagnostic and Statistic Manual of Mental Disorders) provides a classification of personality disorders and identifies 'clusters' within which specific disorders can occur. These include:
(A) Schizotypal, paranoid and schizoid personality disorders ('odd, eccentric' cluster)
(B) Borderline, narcissistic, histrionic and anti-social personality disorders ('dramatic, emotional, erratic')
(C) Submerged: Avoidant, dependent, obsessive-compulsive, passive aggressive personality disorders('anxious, fearful')
Each Cluster has discrete tendencies within itself:
(A) -> withdraw (no wants from others)
(B) -> exploit (want from others without seeing or responding to what others want from them)
(C) -> comply (want from others, but yields only to others' wants to avoid conflict)
As I showed in my several blog posts in July, 2012, beginning with Deconstruction of a Psycho Holmes' profile and attributes (as we have assimilated them from sundry reports) fit in with the tendencies in the last (C) ensemble and hence fit the profile of a submerged personality, not a schizophrenic. Also, I have had the experience of observing paranoid schizophrenics at the Black Rock (Barbados) Mental Health Sanatorium in the 70s, and NONE of them demonstrated any capacity for mega-violence of the form James Eagan Holmes manifested via his aggressive pseudo-ego, the Joker.
(A) Schizotypal, paranoid and schizoid personality disorders ('odd, eccentric' cluster)
(B) Borderline, narcissistic, histrionic and anti-social personality disorders ('dramatic, emotional, erratic')
(C) Submerged: Avoidant, dependent, obsessive-compulsive, passive aggressive personality disorders('anxious, fearful')
Each Cluster has discrete tendencies within itself:
(A) -> withdraw (no wants from others)
(B) -> exploit (want from others without seeing or responding to what others want from them)
(C) -> comply (want from others, but yields only to others' wants to avoid conflict)
As I showed in my several blog posts in July, 2012, beginning with Deconstruction of a Psycho Holmes' profile and attributes (as we have assimilated them from sundry reports) fit in with the tendencies in the last (C) ensemble and hence fit the profile of a submerged personality, not a schizophrenic. Also, I have had the experience of observing paranoid schizophrenics at the Black Rock (Barbados) Mental Health Sanatorium in the 70s, and NONE of them demonstrated any capacity for mega-violence of the form James Eagan Holmes manifested via his aggressive pseudo-ego, the Joker.
The question again arises: Why should he not recall the event? As I explained in my 'Parsing of the Submergent Psycho- Part II his incarceration "has torpedoed the 'Joker' (the aggressive pseudo-ego) who is thereby rendered impotent and inactive. What we are seeing is the first emergence of Holmes' authentic self and the expected SHOCK because frankly, HE doesn't know what the hell happened! After all, it was the pseudo ego 'Joker' that did the deed, then vacated or was vacated. Now, the authentic or previously submerged ego is left to wonder what the hell is going on."
So no wonder he has that vacant, million light years distant stare on his face. I also added (in the same blog):
"His self has been dissociated, and the guilty perp -ego is now gone, fled the coop as it were, to leave the authentic 'James Holmes' ego and self to bear the cost"
In other words, to spell it out, Holmes as his authentic (earlier submerged) self, truly can't recall the incident or what he did. He can't because a distinct, different ego (self) perpetrated it. This aggressive pseudo ego masterminded all the planning, as well as execution, while Holmes' submerged self was unavailable and 'out for the count'. His contact with therapist Lynne Fenton may actually have been a last ditch desperate effort to contact the mother-pseudo ego for some kind of relief. (With Fenton embodying the mother ego). We may never know.
So no wonder he has that vacant, million light years distant stare on his face. I also added (in the same blog):
"His self has been dissociated, and the guilty perp -ego is now gone, fled the coop as it were, to leave the authentic 'James Holmes' ego and self to bear the cost"
In other words, to spell it out, Holmes as his authentic (earlier submerged) self, truly can't recall the incident or what he did. He can't because a distinct, different ego (self) perpetrated it. This aggressive pseudo ego masterminded all the planning, as well as execution, while Holmes' submerged self was unavailable and 'out for the count'. His contact with therapist Lynne Fenton may actually have been a last ditch desperate effort to contact the mother-pseudo ego for some kind of relief. (With Fenton embodying the mother ego). We may never know.
The other real horror (apart from the lives shattered and lost at the theater) may be that the authentic self - who had no clue what was transpiring - may be executed for what his alter ego ("Joker") did to those 70 people at an Aurora movie theater.
If this sounds nutso, then further elaboration on "simpleton theory" is needed. Neuroscientist Robert Ornstein ('The Evolution of Consciousness') has associated specific modes of behavior with particular neuronal sub-assemblies to assign relatively distinct units of dominant behavior. He calls these sub-units "simpletons".
For example, every human {H} will be a composite of a number of simpletons, say:
{H} = [A] + [P] + [L] + [R] + ........
where [A] = Altruistic, [P] = Playfulness,[L] = lustful, [R] = reflective and so on.
A dozen or more such "simpletons" may "inhabit" each human brain - and come to the fore if the correct stimulus appears. As each one comes to the fore it represents one side of the Self. Note: this is not the same as saying "multiple selves" as in schizoid splitting or split personality. Each 'self' is legit and valid, since it arises from the person's own neuronal sub-assemblies.
Thus, a "hostile-aggressive" simpleton may appear if one is cut off in a lane of traffic, or is chewed out by one's boss. A "lust" simpleton may appear for any number of stimuli-images which I won't bother to detail, but which anyone can imagine! A "caring-loving" simpleton may appear in response to words of endearment, or an affectionate hug from one's spouse, or child. A "comic" simpleton may appear spontaneously - and proceed to play a practical joke, or take a humorous perspective on everything for the time it is "in control".
Ornstein points out that many humans "require time to get their simpletons in place" for particular situations. A father of two young children may need a half hour or more after he arrives home from work to "chill out" to allow his "hostile-aggressive" simpleton (say after getting snarled in a traffic jam) to depart, to make way for the "loving-caring" simpleton that can address his children's needs - without yelling at them, criticizing them or swatting them upside the head.
Ornstein points out that many humans "require time to get their simpletons in place" for particular situations. A father of two young children may need a half hour or more after he arrives home from work to "chill out" to allow his "hostile-aggressive" simpleton (say after getting snarled in a traffic jam) to depart, to make way for the "loving-caring" simpleton that can address his children's needs - without yelling at them, criticizing them or swatting them upside the head.
The consequences of simpleton theory as it pertains to crime - especially as in the Holmes' case - are mind boggling and include two aspects for consideration:
i) The typical human is not one steady persona (identity) but up to a dozen or more living together, with more or less equal power shared unless a disequilibrium event manifests.
ii) For a given misdeed or crime, which simpleton (brain sub-system) do you hold accountable? If you hold the whole person accountable you are perhaps assuming more than is warranted by our current brain architecture and its dynamic interplay. After all, why should one's WHOLE self be held accountable because the Lust simpleton briefly got out of control? Or because one's murderous-rage simpleton did?
ii) For a given misdeed or crime, which simpleton (brain sub-system) do you hold accountable? If you hold the whole person accountable you are perhaps assuming more than is warranted by our current brain architecture and its dynamic interplay. After all, why should one's WHOLE self be held accountable because the Lust simpleton briefly got out of control? Or because one's murderous-rage simpleton did?
In Holmes' case it appears a second "pseudo ego” was created to defend and protect his submerged, fragile true ego. This pseudo ego then evolved under duress to become the most powerful simpleton in his neural array - “the Joker”
What duress? Tragically, by the time Holmes’ protector ego (“Joker”) was released, it was already out of control on account of the cumulative stresses on the real self. Everyone in Holmes' world then became identified with the introjected parental or authority ego. The warped perception of the defender ego ("Joker") then decided the only way to achieve liberation from the introjected “parent” was to eliminate all who were seen as in its way. In this case, all “normal”, i.e. non-submerged people.
What duress? Tragically, by the time Holmes’ protector ego (“Joker”) was released, it was already out of control on account of the cumulative stresses on the real self. Everyone in Holmes' world then became identified with the introjected parental or authority ego. The warped perception of the defender ego ("Joker") then decided the only way to achieve liberation from the introjected “parent” was to eliminate all who were seen as in its way. In this case, all “normal”, i.e. non-submerged people.
Those whose personalities had not been coerced into psychological lockdown and submergence by a dominating parent. An alternate possibility, perhaps more convincing, is that the retributional "Joker" persona felt outraged and murderously envious of those normal folk (say in socialized units present at the theater) who were not developmentally stymied and hence whose lives were available for rich and authentic experience.
Why would the Ph.D. level have been the one that finally triggered release of Holmes’ Joker? I suspect that Holmes, lacking an authentic personality, was unable to deal with the extraordinary research demands at the Ph.D. level which necessitate originality. I mean, even if the thesis advisor offers you a thesis subject, you still must have the ability to carry out an original theory! It’s not simply like piling up As and making “honors” at lower levels. No real originality is needed to make the "Dean's List", after all. Even brilliance, so-called, doesn't assure originality at a high research level! (Aside: we know from a Denver 7 News report at the time by Keli Rabon that Holmes failed a preliminary oral exam before pulling out of the neurosciences program at the Anschutz campus of University of Colorado. A day later he purchased his most lethal weapon, the Smith and Wesson MP15. The ego fracturing stress had now been maximized.)
What Tamara Brady and her defense team colleagues need to do, if they wish to have Holmes' life spared, is use simpleton theory in concert with submerged personality disorder, as a basis for why he can't be held responsible for his actions at the time . This is because a more powerful pseudo-persona gained control of him (owing to his weak, submerged authentic ego).. Hence, his real consciousness was detached from the events which is why he can't recall anything now. In a very literal sense, his real self was an innocent bystander that could only watch as his body was taken over by the secondary pseudo-ego in the form of "the Joker".
I personally doubt this will fly - but it may be the only chance Holmes and his defense team has.
Saturday, July 20, 2013
One Year Later: The Joker's Insanity Plea Has Been Accepted
One year now after the horrific Aurora, CO theater massacre, which left 12 dead and dozens brutally maimed, James Eagen Holmes has had his "insanity" plea accepted by the judge and will face the consequences. How salient is this plea and what consequences might he face? Readers will recall that a year ago I put up three blog posts, starting with one entitled 'Deconstructing the Psycho' , wherein I examined in detail the probable basis for Holmes' derangement.
Holmes is definitely (ok, let's say instead with 90% probability) not schizophrenic - since his behaviors don't fit that cluster of traits as defined and explicated in the DSM-III and IV. To recall for readers, The DSM-III, IV (Diagnostic and Statistic Manual of Mental Disorders) provides a classification of personality disorders and identifies 'clusters' within which specific disorders can occur. These include:
(A) Schizotypal, paranoid and schizoid personality disorders ('odd, eccentric' cluster)
(B) Borderline, narcissistic, histrionic and anti-social personality disorders ('dramatic, emotional, erratic')
(C) Submerged: Avoidant, dependent, obsessive-compulsive, passive aggressive personality disorders('anxious, fearful')
Each Cluster has discrete tendencies within itself:
(A) -> withdraw (no wants from others)
(B) -> exploit (want from others without seeing or responding to what others want from them)
(C) -> comply (want from others, but yields only to others' wants to avoid conflict)
As I showed in my several prior blogs, beginning with Deconstruction of a Psycho Holmes' profile and attributes (as we have assimilated them from sundry reports) fit in with the tendencies in the last (C) ensemble and hence fit the profile of a submerged personality, not a schizophrenic. Also, I have had the experience of observing paranoid schizophrenics at the Black Rock (Barbados) Mental Health Sanatorium in the 70s, and NONE of them demonstrated any capacity for mega-violence of the form James Eagan Holmes manifested via his aggressive pseudo-ego, the Joker.
Let's also bear in mind another critical aspect as the trial unfolds: A person cannot be tried for a crime unless he is competent to stand trial. To be competent, he must be oriented as to time and place, comprehend the charges against him, appreciate his legal peril, recall the events that caused him to be charged, and be able to communicate with and assist their attorneys to defend him.
That standard has obviously been met, which is to say that the current manifestation of Holmes is indeed sane and competent to stand trial since he has exhibited that he understands the charges against him and the consequences. What is at issue then, is his state of mind when he donned the Joker outfit and took out his psychotic persona on dozens of hapless movie goers (including Caleb Medley, now still recovering from his head wounds, but facing a long, slow and painful rehab as well as speech therapy.)
When exactly did Holmes' sane persona emerge? Very soon after his apprehension and being put in the dock. As I noted when the first images became available, this legal bondage : had torpedoed the 'Joker' (the aggressive pseudo-ago) and thereby rendered it impotent and inactive. What we are seeing is the first emergence of Holmes' authentic self and the expected SHOCK because frankly, HE doesn't know what the hell happened! After all, it was the pseudo ego 'Joker' that did the deed, then vacated or was vacated. Now, the authentic or previously submerged ego is left to wonder what the hell is going on
So, what will in effect stand trial is the authentic ego, for the crimes of the earlier pseudo-ego which was given the name "the Joker". So no wonder he had that vacant, million light years distant stare on his face. As I also added (in the same blog):
His self has been dissociated, and the guilty perp -ego is now gone, fled the coop as it were, to leave the authentic 'James Holmes' ego and self to bear the cost
In other words, to spell it out, Holmes as his authentic (earlier submerged) self, truly couldn't recall the incident or what he did. He couldn't because a distinct, different ego (self) perpetrated it. This aggressive pseudo ego masterminded all the planning, as well as assembly of weapons, costume and the execution, while Holmes' submerged self was unavailable and 'out for the count'. (Or at the very most watching passively like a paralyzed bystander.)
The problem facing Holmes's defense is that they must convince the jury that he's innocent by virtue of insanity by sowing reasonable doubt. That means, convincing most of the jurors that the Holmes that committed the grisly deed in Aurora a year ago is not the same as the version of Holmes sitting before them. This is a tall order, perhaps too tall, as the natural tendency will be for people not to make the cognitive disassociation. They only way that might be salvaged is if a tape is available actually showing the deranged "Joker" in action that night a year ago- so that jurors can compare it to the (apparently) rational and sane person sitting before them.
So far as anyone is aware, no such tape exists - anywhere- so that the probability is that Holmes' will be faced with a guilty verdict. I still maintain that the main error made by the prosecution was in not accepting Holmes' attorneys initial plea deal (which would have sent him away for life) but instead going for capital murder and the death penalty. In other words, going for all the marbles. One juror who doesn't believe in the death penalty could therefore screw up this strategy. We will see.
Saturday, December 15, 2012
Another Whacko & A Murderous Rampage: What Gives?
Below: The recovered worm -eaten brain of a man who went insane with a machete in Barbados, ca. 1976. The worm cysts had triggered a violent reaction by impinging on his fear centers, in the amygdala. Might Adam Lanza have been driven by such parasites? An autopsy would need to be performed.
As the murderous rampage of Adam Lanza in Newtown, CT is assessed, questioning minds are (as usual) left with many more questions than answers, including:
1) Why, in a town one named as being 'safest in America" did a teacher (and mother of Lanza) find it necessary to keep a Bushmaster .223 rifle, Glock 9mm and another handgun?
2) Why did Adam Lanza resort to using his mom's "collection'' to kill her and then 20 children and 5 other teachers at the school?
3) Was the disorder that set Lanza off on his murderous spree in any way similar to what set off the Aurora, CO killer (James Eagan Holmes) in July?
Arguably, we don't know but certain surmises and speculations can be offered based on the information we do have, including that Adam Lanza tended to want to be alone and be left alone, and that he killed kids that his mother likely taught (new info this morning indicates she was more a substitute teacher than regular). So is this another case of submerged personality disorder?
Alexander Wolf and Irwin L. Kutash (Psychotherapy of the Submerged Personality) in their first chapter ('Historical and Theoretical Perspective', p. 13) emphasize that:
"A central characteristic quality of submergence is the need to be alone. The submerged personality cannot really reveal himself to anyone. The persons he claims as 'friends' are people who themselves, like him, have no close personal bonds. These have to subordinate themselves to his solitary need and ask for nothing in return. They must be loyal servants more than friends, providing only a listening silence for a man who has no interest in intimacy. His friends are to make no comment or to respond actively to his behavior."
This is significant because it links aspects of Lanza's behavior to why his first victim was his mother. Note that this type of submergent is called "avoidant" and is said to lack "object relatedness". (Kutash and Greenberg, 'Place in the Diagnostic Spectrum', p. 47). The authors also point out the crucial link to later (e.g. adult) behavior in childhood:
" In infancy the child is provided with satisfaction of all the basic physical needs such as food and physical comfort, but due to either a lack of parenting ability or life circumstance, the child is unable to receive much positive emotional stimulation or gratification. This scenario may be the result of a parent who is depressed or schizoid, or it may be due to a long term illness in which the child needs to be hospitalized. As the child enters the ego-emergence phase, independent strides are met with negative consequences such as punishment or anger.
This may be the result of having a parent who needs the child to remain a child in order to feel less threatened, or who needs the child to engage in activities that they themselves cannot fulfill."
Did the mother, a teacher at the school - also purchase her stock of weapons to ensure her role as "enforcer", i.e. to inhibit or prevent Lanza's emergence into adult independence? It's quite possible, but again we'd be rash to jump to hard conclusions until all the facts are in.
But the authors go on to note that as a result of this subjugation of innate personality to the parent's (usually the mother's) demands "ego development is thwarted". This is a result of a "complying pseudo ego" emerging which occurs as the individual's own authentic ego is submerged and is done to "stay out of harm's way". The submergent personality thereby exhibits little object relatedness since "they do not know how it feels to be gratified by another person".
In the case of James Holmes, I noted that when his pseudo-ego "Joker" was hatched, he'd received the shock of his young life by learning that - even after graduating with honors from UC Riverside in Neuroscience- the best job on offer was burger flipping at Mickey Ds! Holmes temporarily salvaged the situation (and postponed release of the murderous Joker) by finding an 'in' at the Univ. of Colorado, where he could pursue a Ph.D. and at least had the chance at a respectable future in neuroscience research. But it was not to be. While he skated through the baccalaureate work he met his match at the Ph.D.
Within a year he found himself on academic probation at the University of Colorado-Anchustz campus. He had "academic problems" according to campus spokewoman Jackie Brinkman. It doesn't matter what the immediate or specific source of failure was, the end result is that his grandiose self-concept now faced the imminent prospect of burger flipping . No Ph.D, no postdocs, leaving Colorado in disgrace...Mickey D here we come....or wait!
It was time to release the "Joker"! In other words, Holmes' Ph.D. failure triggered the release of the aggressive pseudo self since the capacity for true creative work was denied him by the need for submergence of his authentic self - where the energy, insight and true intelligence resided to succeed.
Adam Lanza's case is clearly different, and it appears that as a 20-year old still living at home he was either a submerged captive of his mother's more dominant personality or was unable to express his independent needs and goals- perhaps because she denied them. Again, further information is needed.
What is more a rational conjecture is that - as in the case of Eagan Holmes - Adam Lanza's life was "developmentally stymied" and hence not "available for rich and authentic experience". However, his aggressive pseudo-ego would naturally want to extend this miserable condition to all other humans in his immediate sphere. If his mother was the central object of hatred then whatever kids she came in contact with would emerge as proxy symbols of her power and control. In the end, he wasn't killing his mother once, but over and over and over again.....albeit symbolically.
Many theories will be put forward in the coming days on whether Adam Lanza was a "sociopath" or garden variety "psychopath" but the one which should never be discounted ab initio is submerged personality disorder.
Another more exotic take is that Lanza was perhaps under the control of brain parasites (see photo). We know that numerous violent instances have occurred, e.g. in the 3rd world, and also that worm infestations are becoming more and more common in the U.S. A. Parasitic worms, especially which burrow into brains, aren't everyone's cup of tea - but on account of global warming or for whatever reason, they seem to be proliferating and causing an epidemic. Mainly one species, identified as Taenia solium, or the tapeworm.
Less well known is that before the worms become adults they spend time as larvae in large cysts, which may find their way into the brain (see image) and cause a condition known as neurocysticercosis. Once having migrated to a brain, the cysts can thrive there for years feeding off the nutrients in the environs. As the cysts grow they can push relentlessly against critical regions of the brain causing a spate of symptoms. Some doctors in the Caribbean believe a number of cases where islanders have run amuck with machetes arose from cyst pressure on the amygdala - the "fear center" of the brain.
Is it possible that Lanza or other mass murderers had brains full of cysts which impelled their behavior? We don't know but an autopsy of the brain in this case might shed light. However, given the more northerly location (most worm infestations occur in the South) I will stick with submerged personality disorder as the more likely cause!
In the meantime, whatever the cause of psycho inception, this country needs to do more - much more - to control the accessibility to high powered weapons, which no hunter in his right mind would really need. That includes all AR-15s and Bushmaster .223s as well as Glocks of all calibers. Chris Hedges' UP this morning showed just how far the U.S. is as an "outlier" vs. other OECD nations in gun deaths.
Instead of always appealing to "prayers" in the wake of such mass killings, our leaders need to finally get off their collective butts and ACT - even if it means going up against the NRA in swing states! Those 20 kids killed by Lanza deserved a much better fate, and at least a decent chance of being safe in their school rooms. Worms or no worms in the brain, submerged personality or not....had those powerful weapons not been available to Lanza (or his mom) many fewer would have paid so dearly.
As the murderous rampage of Adam Lanza in Newtown, CT is assessed, questioning minds are (as usual) left with many more questions than answers, including:1) Why, in a town one named as being 'safest in America" did a teacher (and mother of Lanza) find it necessary to keep a Bushmaster .223 rifle, Glock 9mm and another handgun?
2) Why did Adam Lanza resort to using his mom's "collection'' to kill her and then 20 children and 5 other teachers at the school?
3) Was the disorder that set Lanza off on his murderous spree in any way similar to what set off the Aurora, CO killer (James Eagan Holmes) in July?
Arguably, we don't know but certain surmises and speculations can be offered based on the information we do have, including that Adam Lanza tended to want to be alone and be left alone, and that he killed kids that his mother likely taught (new info this morning indicates she was more a substitute teacher than regular). So is this another case of submerged personality disorder?
Alexander Wolf and Irwin L. Kutash (Psychotherapy of the Submerged Personality) in their first chapter ('Historical and Theoretical Perspective', p. 13) emphasize that:
"A central characteristic quality of submergence is the need to be alone. The submerged personality cannot really reveal himself to anyone. The persons he claims as 'friends' are people who themselves, like him, have no close personal bonds. These have to subordinate themselves to his solitary need and ask for nothing in return. They must be loyal servants more than friends, providing only a listening silence for a man who has no interest in intimacy. His friends are to make no comment or to respond actively to his behavior."
This is significant because it links aspects of Lanza's behavior to why his first victim was his mother. Note that this type of submergent is called "avoidant" and is said to lack "object relatedness". (Kutash and Greenberg, 'Place in the Diagnostic Spectrum', p. 47). The authors also point out the crucial link to later (e.g. adult) behavior in childhood:
" In infancy the child is provided with satisfaction of all the basic physical needs such as food and physical comfort, but due to either a lack of parenting ability or life circumstance, the child is unable to receive much positive emotional stimulation or gratification. This scenario may be the result of a parent who is depressed or schizoid, or it may be due to a long term illness in which the child needs to be hospitalized. As the child enters the ego-emergence phase, independent strides are met with negative consequences such as punishment or anger.
This may be the result of having a parent who needs the child to remain a child in order to feel less threatened, or who needs the child to engage in activities that they themselves cannot fulfill."
Did the mother, a teacher at the school - also purchase her stock of weapons to ensure her role as "enforcer", i.e. to inhibit or prevent Lanza's emergence into adult independence? It's quite possible, but again we'd be rash to jump to hard conclusions until all the facts are in.
But the authors go on to note that as a result of this subjugation of innate personality to the parent's (usually the mother's) demands "ego development is thwarted". This is a result of a "complying pseudo ego" emerging which occurs as the individual's own authentic ego is submerged and is done to "stay out of harm's way". The submergent personality thereby exhibits little object relatedness since "they do not know how it feels to be gratified by another person".
In the case of James Holmes, I noted that when his pseudo-ego "Joker" was hatched, he'd received the shock of his young life by learning that - even after graduating with honors from UC Riverside in Neuroscience- the best job on offer was burger flipping at Mickey Ds! Holmes temporarily salvaged the situation (and postponed release of the murderous Joker) by finding an 'in' at the Univ. of Colorado, where he could pursue a Ph.D. and at least had the chance at a respectable future in neuroscience research. But it was not to be. While he skated through the baccalaureate work he met his match at the Ph.D.
Within a year he found himself on academic probation at the University of Colorado-Anchustz campus. He had "academic problems" according to campus spokewoman Jackie Brinkman. It doesn't matter what the immediate or specific source of failure was, the end result is that his grandiose self-concept now faced the imminent prospect of burger flipping . No Ph.D, no postdocs, leaving Colorado in disgrace...Mickey D here we come....or wait!
It was time to release the "Joker"! In other words, Holmes' Ph.D. failure triggered the release of the aggressive pseudo self since the capacity for true creative work was denied him by the need for submergence of his authentic self - where the energy, insight and true intelligence resided to succeed.
Adam Lanza's case is clearly different, and it appears that as a 20-year old still living at home he was either a submerged captive of his mother's more dominant personality or was unable to express his independent needs and goals- perhaps because she denied them. Again, further information is needed.
What is more a rational conjecture is that - as in the case of Eagan Holmes - Adam Lanza's life was "developmentally stymied" and hence not "available for rich and authentic experience". However, his aggressive pseudo-ego would naturally want to extend this miserable condition to all other humans in his immediate sphere. If his mother was the central object of hatred then whatever kids she came in contact with would emerge as proxy symbols of her power and control. In the end, he wasn't killing his mother once, but over and over and over again.....albeit symbolically.
Many theories will be put forward in the coming days on whether Adam Lanza was a "sociopath" or garden variety "psychopath" but the one which should never be discounted ab initio is submerged personality disorder.
Another more exotic take is that Lanza was perhaps under the control of brain parasites (see photo). We know that numerous violent instances have occurred, e.g. in the 3rd world, and also that worm infestations are becoming more and more common in the U.S. A. Parasitic worms, especially which burrow into brains, aren't everyone's cup of tea - but on account of global warming or for whatever reason, they seem to be proliferating and causing an epidemic. Mainly one species, identified as Taenia solium, or the tapeworm.
Less well known is that before the worms become adults they spend time as larvae in large cysts, which may find their way into the brain (see image) and cause a condition known as neurocysticercosis. Once having migrated to a brain, the cysts can thrive there for years feeding off the nutrients in the environs. As the cysts grow they can push relentlessly against critical regions of the brain causing a spate of symptoms. Some doctors in the Caribbean believe a number of cases where islanders have run amuck with machetes arose from cyst pressure on the amygdala - the "fear center" of the brain.
Is it possible that Lanza or other mass murderers had brains full of cysts which impelled their behavior? We don't know but an autopsy of the brain in this case might shed light. However, given the more northerly location (most worm infestations occur in the South) I will stick with submerged personality disorder as the more likely cause!
In the meantime, whatever the cause of psycho inception, this country needs to do more - much more - to control the accessibility to high powered weapons, which no hunter in his right mind would really need. That includes all AR-15s and Bushmaster .223s as well as Glocks of all calibers. Chris Hedges' UP this morning showed just how far the U.S. is as an "outlier" vs. other OECD nations in gun deaths.
Instead of always appealing to "prayers" in the wake of such mass killings, our leaders need to finally get off their collective butts and ACT - even if it means going up against the NRA in swing states! Those 20 kids killed by Lanza deserved a much better fate, and at least a decent chance of being safe in their school rooms. Worms or no worms in the brain, submerged personality or not....had those powerful weapons not been available to Lanza (or his mom) many fewer would have paid so dearly.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)