Was he a psychopath? Or is he proof that psychopaths, while lacking empathy and a natural conscience, can still feel the urge to be a good citizen? Like belonging?
I've watched tonnes of interviews and documentaries about serial killers, and done a lot of research, and I can tell which serial killers are talking out of their asses when it comes to apologies. Ted Bundy had a fantastic social mask, but you can tell he developed that soft spoken, nice citizen mask very well. He was never remorseful for what he did. He was a genius but, like a lot of psychopathic killers, his risk taking fucked him up in the end.
But Dahmer seems different. He developed strange sexual urges and had to drink alcohol to try and put it out of his mind and became an alcoholic. He couldn't commit a lot of his acts without being drunk, and it was to lower his inhibitions, and get rid of the part of him that was saying "don't do it". Or at least that's the impression I gained.
To me, he wasn't a psychopath, but he just couldn't fight his urges anymore and numbed his conscience. He seemed generally regretful for what he did. I can tell he didn't feel a massive emotional sense of remorse, which leads me to believe he was a psychopath, but I personally believe there was generally a part of him that wanted to be good.
What do you think?
