Craig's List Killer a Young Republican

[AllieB]

http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2009/04/26/if_there_were_any_clues_he_hid_them_well/

Excerpt:

Markoff's intensity showed itself not only at the poker table and in his studies, the friends said, but also at parties, where he drank hard and went out of his way to debate politics, aggressively asserting his support for the Iraq war and gun rights with his more liberal classmates.

Excerpt:

Markoff arrived for college in Albany shy and unsure of himself, said Patrick Gillihan, a classmate who pledged a medical fraternity with Markoff. But he gradually gained confidence and began to make friends. He joined a Republican Club and volunteered at the emergency room of a local hospital, where he eventually met his fiancee, Megan McAllister.

Still, Gillihan and other friends said, Markoff maintained a kind of reserve that could make him difficult to know. Some friends said he acted haughtily toward people he felt were not his equal, and that could include women, whom he sometimes derided in jokes that some felt were inappropriate.

-------------------------

Friends and colleagues describe him as tightly-wound, controlling, feeling above the law and better than others. Is conservatism a mental illness?

[madokie]

1. Hell that sounds like it could be written about one of our war criminals

you know the deciding kind

[AllieB]

3. Exactly. Or Ted Bundy-also a Young Republican.

[DemoTex]

11. Yeppers. The Bundy/Bu$h syndrome ..

Ted Bundy and George Bu$h: Separated at birth?

[AllieB]

12. Wow. The resemblance is uncanny.

:scared:

[madokie]

13. exactly

and not in looks only.

[d_b]

52. lol

still awesome as ever

[brucefan]

2. Color me shocked.n/t

[Thrill]

4. Problems with women and people of color? Yup Typical Republican

Lock that coward up and throw away the key

[AllieB]

6. I'm starting to think conservatism is a mental illness.

Authoritarian personality disorder.

[mzmolly]

47. Actually, at least one study backs you up on this.

http://www.reason.com/news/show/34935.html

[Rabrrrrrr]

5. Conservatism a mental illness? Could be, according to some psychologists.

http://terpconnect.umd.edu/~hannahk/bulletin.pdf

Fantastic article.

Analyzing political conservatism as motivated social cognition integrates theories of personality (authoritarianism, dogmatism–intolerance of ambiguity), epistemic and existential needs (for closure, regulatory focus, terror management), and ideological rationalization (social dominance, system justification). A meta-analysis (88 samples, 12 countries, 22,818 cases) confirms that several psychological variables predict political conservatism: death anxiety (weighted mean r = .50); system instability (.47); dogmatism–intolerance of ambiguity (.34); openness to experience (–.32); uncertainty tolerance (–.27); needs for order, structure, and closure (.26); integrative complexity (–.20); fear of threat and loss (.18); and self-esteem (–.09). The core ideology of conservatism stresses resistance to change and justification of inequality and is motivated by needs that vary situationally and dispositionally to manage uncertainty and threat.

[Lasher]

10. And to the Department of Homeland Security.

Funny, how Republicans are whining about this report:

Rightwing Extremism: Current Economic and Political
Climate Fueling Resurgence in Radicalization and Recruitment>

[AllieB]

14. If only this report was taken seriously.

These people are really frightening.

[Dogmudgeon]

15. Let's be careful about this

Liberalism could just as easily be pathologized -- I've seen it done, at least in print.

The Soviets built an entire system of mental hospitals (the "psikhushka" system) around the "scientific fact" that being anti- or non-Communist was a form of mental illness. And along the same lines, the Church of Scientology makes a great deal of hay (and cash) out of demonizing psychology and psychiatry.

Keep in mind, too, that many Liberals act a lot like Freepers when their (our) hot-buttons are pushed. If there is anything with the potential to bite us in the ass, it's the misuse of the behavioral sciences.

--d!

[AllieB]

18. Most liberals do not act like Freepers.

Yes, there are some dogmatic personality types among liberals, but they're few and far between. You should read John Dean's book "Conservatives Without Conscience". A liberal can see many sides of an issue typically.

Also, by the time the Soviets established mental hospitals, the 'Marxist' or 'Communist' mindset was closer to the fascism practiced in Germany and Italy than during the years prior to Lenin's death. Stalin's legacy of iron-handed paranoia was more of an influence on the path that the Soviet Union took than the original revolution.

[Lorien]

24. There's a difference between the ways that our brains function. Conservative

brains become fixed ideologically; once they adopt a "fact" or idea they are unable to shift their beliefs about it, no matter what kind of new information they are given about the issue. Liberals, on the other hand, have brains that can accept new information more easily and are able to alter or adjust their views accordingly. There was a study done on this a few years ago which helps to explain why Freepers behave the way they do; they ARE far more radical than we can ever be because their brain chemistry makes it difficult for them to be any other way.

[bvar22]

37. OOPS!

Wrong place.

[Ikonoklast]

53. I second reading that book.

Dean has a very good take on what exactly makes the authoritarian right-wingers tick.

Fear of everything, mostly.

Good read.

[DCKit]

58. Oh shit. I'd show that diagnosis to one of my sisters...

but it would only result in yet another prescription.

Honestly, I could breeze right past most of that in my dealings with "THEM", but the complete inflexibility of thought gets me every time. It's pointless to argue with someone who will never, ever change their mind.

Well, that and the whole murder thing.

[leveymg]

7. KNR - Right-wing politics and an authoritarian personality go along with homicidal mental illness

But, not necessarily, always. Too often.

[Sultana]

8. I'm shocked, I tell ya

NOT!

[lpbk2713]

9. No shock and awe here.

There will probably be fewer envelopes postmarked 'Boston' with white powder inside now that
he's in the pokey. And fewer calls to the OxyRush RW Hatefest hour from Boston as well.

[mother earth]

16. Proof positive of what the GOP attracts, they appeal to the worst

and know how to feed that faction.

[Arkana]

17. Why doesn't this surprise me?

[villager]

19. So if he'd killed as part of "foreign policy," he'd have gotten away with it... ?

Well, it's a rhetorical question, I guess....

[AllieB]

20. Can you imagine if he hadn't been caught and became a doctor?

Responsible for the life and death of his patients?

[malaise]

22. The best news is that he was caught at 23

and not at 50. He would have killed many more women.

[SOS]

35. That's the silver lining in this case.

Boston is fortunate that this violent, alcoholic, right-wing, psycho will never become a doctor.
Imagine being a black woman arriving in his ER.....

[Lorien]

21. How many more of these will Limbaugh and other RW talking heads

create? When will we say "ENOUGH" and reinstate the Fairness Doctrine so that the Right no longer can so easily lead the young into becoming so paranoid and hateful?

[malaise]

23. I suspect that this one was influenced more by some Fundie

institutions as well as by his own issues about women stemming from his parents' divorce. He hates women, particularly those involved in the sex industry. Imagine the state of his head if he was also listening to Rush.

[AllieB]

26. Truly scary, isn't it?

As someone said above, at least he was caught at 23. Had he become a doctor, one would have feared for his patients.

[Horse with no Name]

25. Ahhh good. At least he was unmasked before he was allowed to

unleash his madness on unsuspecting people (ie women who were raped that he refused to give morning after pills, etc).
With no disrespect intended to the ones that were his REAL victims.
I do not think that conservatism is a mental illness, however, I find it strange that most sociopaths are drawn to that political leaning.

[AllieB]

36. It's along the same track of 'Not all Republicans are racists, but almost all racists are Republican

Not all conservatives are sociopaths, but most sociopaths in the Bundy/Markoff/Bush vein are Republicans.

[zanne]

27. Ah yes...all those emotionally stable gun freaks...

Of course, that doesn't count to gun fanatics, because what the Craig's List killer did was ILLEGAL. Therefore, they are not responsible for any crimes or fatal accidents attributed to gun excess. They only OWN guns; it's not like they actually DO anything with them except shoot at targets, for Pete's sake. God, the stupidity.

[nichomachus]

28. The amazing thing

Is that two days after he killed the woman in Boston, while his picture was being shown on TV and in the newspapers -- very widespread coverage -- he went a few miles south of Boston and did it again.

That is the sign of a true sociopath. If I killed someone -- hell if I'd just robbed someone at gunpoint -- and my picture was in the paper, I'd be hiding under the bed or heading for the border. This guy took the murder weapon and repeated the exact same MO.

Also, I find it incredible that someone who is a scientist didn't realize that all of his online identity and email history is readily available from the ISPs.

[malaise]

30. Not really - he knew that no one

was looking for a good looking young Rushican. Just check the crap on the supporters page they started for him. Boston Globe has the details.

He wouldn't hurt a fly - he's so kind, sweet, gentle and Xtian.

[nichomachus]

31. I don't doubt his supporters are self-deluded, but

only a good-looking young Rushican could have pulled off the murder at a posh hotel.

Had he been a down-and-outer or a gang banger from "the hood," security would have been all over him like stink on shit.

Only a well-scrubbed blond guy in J. Crew clothes can waltz slowly out of a four-star hotel, checking his Blackberry, after killing a woman in an upstairs hallway.

[AllieB]

34. Exactly-no one's going to stop the 'All American Boy' as a suspect.

Kudos to the Boston Police for wrapping this up so quickly.

[malaise]

41. So true n/t

[ProudToBeBlueInRhody]

63. Seriously, that's what every family member says

I see plenty of people of all races, religions and creeds who line up to defend anyone of their family that gets arrested. It's human nature.

I didn't even know he was a Rethug until I saw this post.

[Ranting_Wacko]

29. I'm shocked! Shocked!

"... Well, not THAT shocked."

[Hepburn]

32. I am totally shocked....

...imagine that....a Republican sexual pervert....:sarcasm:

[TahitiNut]

33. "Good-looking" ... more and more I'm seeing that as a Petri dish for development of ...

... personality disorders. For some strange reason, we give the "good-looking" far too much slack in their behavior, projecting onto them attributes that are sheer imagination and projection.

When we take a look at the high school Dick and Lynn Cheney, we see the "good looking" ... and I know of few people more pathological. Same for Rumsfeld. The sociopathic personality disorders seem to thrive in vessels deemed 'attractive' to boob-tubers.

[SoCalDem]

43. Our lizard-brain is automatically geared to prefer "good looking"

and the "good-looking" ones get a societal "pass"..

It's not fair, but it just IS.. :(

[TahitiNut]

44. Well, SOME of it correlates to 'healthy' and 'fit' and able to bear children, work the fields, and

... run from predators. A clear complexion correlates to free of smallpox, chicken pox, measles, plague, etc. Mammaries are for nursing children. Flexible hips indicate an ability to bear children. Strong backs indicate an ability to do stoop labor. So, there are LOTS of visual clues to natural selection.

At the same time, the "pleasant demeanor" gets a free pass in social settings and isn't subjected to the kind of scrutiny some might receive.

[SoCalDem]

45. Pretty people get a pass..and the pleasant demeanor

many exhibit, allows them to be even MORE evil ..

[tblue37]

54. Dick and Lynn Cheney were not "good looking" in high school--though as

a football captain and a drum majorette, they were undoubtedly part of the popular clique. Maybe in their high school they were considered good looking, but if so, it would have to be because there weren't many (any) really good looking people in their school. I have seen high school pics of them, and they are very ordinary looking, not good looking at all.

[Sequoia]

66. That boy is not good-looking to me.

Moles all over his face, puffy cheeks, darting eyes, lank hair. Most likely flabby skin too. I guess he has the classic boy next door look. The kind of boy those moms and dads on that dating show where they want their daughter to date instead of the goth boyfriend she already has.

[trthnd4jstc]

38. What percentage of Republicans are Psychotic Homocidal Maniacs?

[Greybnk48]

39. Well, he told his family that the worst was yet to come out!

His affiliation with the young Repugs may be it. :sarcasm:

I think being a card core repug or neocon indicate some sort of mental pathology. The #1 manifestation seems to be a complete lack of caring for people they perceive as different from them.

[AllieB]

40. The insensitive joke telling is not merely politically incorrect in this case

but indicative of pathology.

[ProudToBeBlueInRhody]

65. Nah, they might find out he secretly had "the gay"

That, or that he dinged up Doctor Fenton's BMW at the country club last week is the worst thing any Rethug parent can hear.

[WI_DEM]

42. Until he is actually convicted he is still the Craig's List murder suspect

I agree the evidence is looking bad and he sounds like a jackass but he still gets his day in court.

[AllieB]

46. I agree he's entitled to his day in court.

But the evidence keeps piling up against him.

[malaise]

48. The bullets match and

his finger prints have been found at another scene so he's in big trouble.
He may be in even more trouble. If he's been collecting underwear trophies (as reported) and he's only accused of killing one woman and robbing others, exactly whose underwear has he been collecting. There may be other bodies.

add

[AllieB]

49. I just read that-about the trophies.

I wonder if there are other crimes that he committed-say, when he was an undergrad or in high school-that were until now unsolved.

[malaise]

50. Truth will out

The fingerprints are now on the record.

[NashVegas]

51. True. But He Can Also Still Be Called

an asshole.

[tblue37]

55. Well, his interaction reported with his family suggests that he

feels guilty about these crimes, and that he is guilty of even more, since he has told them there is more coming, and it is worse. Legally he is innocent until convicted (or until he cops to a plea), but we are not in a court of law here, and if he has already essentially admitted to the crimes, we don't have to be too concerned about legal niceties in the language of our dicussion.

[malaise]

59. Well his legal chances aren't looking very good

http://www.thebostonchannel.com/news/19304073/detail.html
<snip>
Philip Markoff, the man accused in the "Craigslist Killer" case, is broke and faces more than $100,000 in debt, the Boston Herald reported Monday, citing court documents.

Markoff, 23, a second-year medical student at Boston University, owes $130,000 in student loans and cannot afford to pay an attorney, the paper said. One court document labeled the accused killer as "indigent."

-----------------
http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20274975,00.html
<snip>
The case of accused Craigslist Killer Philip Markoff has taken a decidedly new turn with the admission of a male Boston corporate professional who told NBC News that, based on his own experience, Markoff used Craigslist to seek out men as well as women for sexual activites.

"I posted an ad on Craigslist under 'male for t,' which stands for 'males for transsexuals,' " said the man, who requested his name not be revealed, for fear of jeopardizing his job. "That's where he found me."
----------------
And surprise surprise the wedding is off. That lady better count her lucky stars. Funny how she believes in him so much but hasn't visited him.

[AllieB]

71. Surprise, surprise.

But, I'm thinking he chose transgendered folks to rob them just like the women. They were vulnerable and not likely to come forward.

[malaise]

73. I think he preyed on people that Rushicans love to hate

He probably thought he was doing the country a favor by robbing those who were not promoting Rushican family values. Remember killing adults is not a Rushican value. I suspect the young man is batshit crazy with Rushican and Fundie propaganda.

Doesn't it seem somewhat strange that his own family won't provide a lawyer.

[AllieB]

74. His family won't provide a lawyer?

Or maybe can't afford one? :shrug:

I'm sure an ambitious public defender will take the case. How does one get to be 100K in debt gambling-over and above the student loans? At 23 years old?

[malaise]

76. I know student loans don't come cheap

but that's a lot of debt for a 23 year old. He was never going to finish medical school. Was probably marrying that poor woman for some 'insurance' money. She's very lucky he was caught.

[Lex]

79. Did someone suggest he shouldn't get his day in court?

:shrug:

[mrbarber]

56. How asisine.

Guy was/is a wacko, who cares if he attented some republican clubs? What, are you trying to suggest than anyone who has any kind of conservative leanings must be a cold blooded killer?

Grow the hell up, innocent people died and your trying to use it to make some "jibe" at the right wing?

[stanwyck]

75. We're talking about a pattern

I have no idea what you're talking about here...asisine? What is that exactly? Speaking of patterns, we had an extensive thread during the teabagging parties of the signs people were holding. You wouldn't believe the number with misspellings and grammar errors.

[AllieB]

81. Nice attack, complete with feigned indignation.

You should read the OP again. I was talking about a pattern, and not implying that all conservatives are cold-blooded killer. :eyes:

[DCKit]

57. "Is conservatism a mental illness? "

At this point, do you really need to ask?

Seriously though, it seems to be an awfully comfortable place for psychopathic personalities to relax and just be themselves.

[Political Heretic]

60. Hey I feel better than others and I'm not a conservative! :D

hehe

[ProudToBeBlueInRhody]

61. Yup, certified asshole.

Not surprised. If he was such a killer, why wasn't he enlisted?

[mainer]

62. Ah. The model torturer's accomplice in the interrogation room.

This is just the kind of doctor the CIA would recruit to stand by with the tracheotomy tray.

[GentryDixon]

64. My great great grandfather was a Republican.

He kicked his wife, my great great grandmother, to the curb after 50+ years of marriage, and while she was ailing, and married another woman.

Those repubs have no shame. :puke:

[Common Sense Party]

68. Yep. You never see a Democrat do that.

We are without sin.

[AllieB]

70. That has nothing to do with him being a Republican

and everything to do with him being an asshole.

[JonLP24]

67. His fiancee is an Obama supporter and a liberal

His case hasn't even went to trial yet so I will reserve my judgment on if he is guilty. Especially when the only evidence I have is news articles.

[AllieB]

72. Do you have a link to that?

Interesting-opposites attract.

[WorseBeforeBetter]

80. Link? (n/t)

[Hubert Flottz]

69. "Is conservatism a mental illness"

I believe it is...no known cure so far. The symptoms mimic Spuffet's Disease. George Bush is in the final stages of Spuffet's Disease and has been for some time. George W probably wears a dirty diaper too, if the truth be known. I think most of them wear those when they get to stage XXX like Dumpling' Dave Vitter..

[dflprincess]

77. It's hardly surprising that a sociopath would be attracted to a political philosophy

that believes an indiviudal has no responsibility to society.

[anonymous171]

78. Not surprising. nt