Join me this Tuesday, January 9, at Monticello Public Library. I'll be speaking on Murder Book and forensic psychology from 6:30 to 7:30 pm. The sequel to Murder Book, I-94 Murders, is now finished and at North Star Press. Alicia Isom is the model featured on the cover. I appreciate the suggestions for other titles and covers I’ve received and I’m still mulling them over. We are also still considering book covers. It’s interesting how movies and TV shows emphasize over and over again how serial killers are predominantly white. They are in all the shows, right? It’s actually not true. About 31% of serial killers in the United States are of now of European Ancestry (formerly known as white). About 60% are African American, 8% are Chicano (Hispanic) and 1% are Asian. This suggests to me we have a significant poverty issue in our inner cities that needs to be addressed. I fear sometimes we are missing the seriousness of the problem by ignoring data we have. As a forensic psychologist I believe very strongly in the importance of evidence. It’s very difficult to resolve a problem without understanding the specifics of the problem. The evidence would suggest we have parts of the U.S. that are crazy dangerous. An interesting piece of serial killer data is that there are fewer women serial killers today (1/2 as many) as there was in 1900. At the same time, there are 4 times as many men serial killers today as there was in 1900. While women’s rights have progressively improved, women are killing less and men are killing more. One of my female college students suggested that with improved rights, women have less of a need to kill men. While murder data is concerning, it’s important to keep in mind that it is much better than it was 20 and 30 years ago. In 1980, there were 7 times as many male and 7 times as many female serial killers as there are today. It wasn’t just hair that was bad in the 1980’s. As long as I’m talking about cereal, I’ll mention that John Harvey Kellogg was a physician who was active in the Seventh-day Adventist Church who felt that eating a bland diet would reduce sexual impulsivity. This led to the introduction of Kellogg’s cereal. Prior to the popularity of Kellogg’s cereal, people ate leftovers from supper for breakfast. So next time someone offers you a bowl of cereal, consider the hidden message. Kellogg’s work took off from a theory offered by Presbyterian Minister Sylvester Graham who believed bland snacks could reduce sexual deviance. The Graham cracker was named after him. I have challenged my Sociology students with this discussion question for the last 3 years: “Should we provide Pakistan with billions of dollars in aid when we are also spending a trillion dollars to fight a war in Afghanistan against the Taliban, and the Taliban escapes into Pakistan where they’re protected? Shouldn’t there be some expectation of cooperation, or at least not continual badmouthing of the U.S., as a result of billions of dollars in aid?” Guess what? Our administration finally asked the same question this week. Good news! Even better, the response from Pakistan was they feel they can have a better relationship with the U.S. now, suggesting they may be more cooperative if the loss of aid becomes an issue. Remember when we landed a couple of helicopters in Pakistan and killed Osama Bin Laden? Great job military and Obama administration! Pakistan was a little miffed that we didn’t tell them we were paying a visit, but the reality is we can’t trust them. I support the American decision 100%, although I have to admit we would be a little irritated if another country landed helicopters in the U.S., killed a citizen and departed, basically telling us, “Just forget about it and move on.” Evidently Pakistan is now willing to do this. Kelsi Stuckmeyer went over 1000 points in Pierz girls basketball this week! Congratulations Kelsi—great person, great student, and great basketball player from a great family! Congratulations Marvin and Ruth Stuckmeyer! Quotes: On New Year's Eve, Marilyn stood up in the local pub and said that it was time to get ready. At the stroke of midnight, she wanted every person to be standing next to the one person who made their life worth living. Well, it was kind of embarrassing. As the clock struck, the bartender was almost crushed to death. "Youth is when you're allowed to stay up late on New Year's Eve. Parenting is when you're forced to.” (my modification of a Billy Vaughn quote) "Now there are more overweight people in America than average-weight people. So overweight people are now average… which means, you have already met your New Year's resolution." Jay Leno "My wife was afraid of the dark... then she saw me naked and now she's afraid of the light.” Rodney Dangerfield Thanks for listening, Frank A visit by Brenda, Pam and Alex to Washington DC Christmas at Frank and Brenda’s
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AuthorFrank F. Weber is a forensic psychologist specializing in homicide and sexual and physical assault cases. He uses his unique understanding of how predator’s think, knowledge of victim trauma, actual court cases, and passion for writing true crime thrillers. His Award Winning books include "Murder Book" (2017) "The I-94 Murders" (2018) "Last Call" (2019) and "Lying Close" (September 2020). Archives
April 2024
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