Week 15 Journal Response
Focus on causal relationships this week. Look for stories related to cause and effect. Try to make a connection to the different causal relationships we have been studying this week.
Make sure to include a link, summary, and analysis. Minimum 250 words. Comment below.
Professor Ramos' Blog 
https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2019/10/joker-joaquin-phoenix-psychology
Because I am doing my causal analysis on the Joker, I found it useful to research what causes lead the Joker to become insane according to the 2019 film. This article provided a neurocriminologist Adrian Rain’s opinion and analysis of the Joker, where the nature vs. nurture theory is very relevant, explaining the causes and effects of the Jokers life. Was he born with a mental illness, or did his unfortunate life lead to his insanity? Raine explained how, and why, the Joker was driven to deeply troubling acts of violence due to a combination of genetics, childhood trauma, untreated mental illness, and societal provocation. Raine believed the Joker had underlying Schizotypal personality disorder, which is like a “watered-down version of schizophrenia” which was triggered by his traumatic childhood, and young adulthood.
The joker’s entire life portrayed in the film was a display of cause and effect- all of his unfortunate experiences and trauma caused him to lose to his mental illness, thus all of the crimes he committed were the effects. His mental illness was treated by medication but appeared to not work for him, he then chose to stop taking them. That moment in the movie was pivotal as it was at that point his intense crime streak began. All of these factors were the causes, and the effects were the crimes he committed, which then made him become a monster in the eyes of society.
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https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1985/06/27/us-held-mengele-after-war/db2d487b-dfd0-47ae-b8a5-987de28e8b89/
I chose this article because it attracted me by the title, “US Held Mengele After War”. I had not realized that Dr Mengele had been captured by US authorities, but since he had never tattooed his blood type on his arm as had most SS officers, his identity was not confirmed. He was then discharged, and went on to live a fugitive life in both Europe and America.
Mengele was supposedly extremely narcissistic, and his son even said that he would stand in front of the mirror just admiring himself. At one point, in 1948, Mengele was captured by Italian authorities but later released for the “mistaken arrest”. He lived a calm and peaceful life after the war in general.
In another interview that his son had with him, Mengele never believed that he had hurt anyone during his time at Auschwitz, and tried to justify everything with the firm belief that Aryans were supreme. He was not sorry for any of his actions, which he said were all because of his orders. This is something so crazy to me, because I don’t understand how even after the war he did not realize all the pain he had caused directly.
This article relates to the English 102 class in that we are discussing cause and effect analysis of monsters. I also want to dive deeper on Mengele’s doctrine and racial beliefs, and how he justified killing and hurting so many people including young children. It is astounding to me how Mengele escaped though the US had held him after the war, and how he went on to live a normal life later, though he was extremely undeserving of one. His actions were extremely treacherous, and there should have been consequences.
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In the article by the guardian it goes over the stocks markets showing positive improvement as new drug trials are issued. The coronavirus has effected the total stock market due to business shutting down putting investments in jeopardy. In addition it also goes over foreign stock prices as well since it has become a global pandemic for the whole world. They speak of The Dow Jones which is the top 30 companies that are trading which can give a glimpse into the total market. Since the possibility of a new vaccine coming into play the dow is now showing positive growth as well as the foreign markets .
The most obvious reason for this recent market crash is due to the global pandemic that has spread around the world. As for the effects it has not only effected the market but shareholders like myself. Peoples life investments could be placed into the hands of the people and doctors. Although it can creates a tragic loss it also creates an opportunity to buy into the market at the lower prices and receiving high payouts once the market returns back to its normal growth . So even though it may effect the market at this point in time it also creates new opertunities for investors looking for a way in .
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2020/apr/29/world-stock-markets-coronavirus-treatment-remdesivir-drug-trial
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https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/wicked-deeds/201902/inside-the-mind-serial-killer-dennis-rader-aka-btk
This article talks about Psychological trait that Dennis Rader (BTK Killer) has. It explains his narcissistic trait as he wants to be self centered and everything has to be about himself. The Doctor often wrote to him to get his story behind his killings and his second life. He then tells his diagnosis and why he did those such monstrous things.
The main cause was his narcissism as he wanted to be the centered of the world the best killer in the world. He would write letters to the police and news station to get a name for himself. He would sign it BTK for Bind Them, Torture Them, and Kill Them. One letter said, “when will I get a name for myself as I’m more important than Jack the Ripper and Ted Bundy”. (another article says that). His narcissistic trait also led him to get caught as he thought people forgot about him so he did another killing and was later caught by the police. This article really shows the main cause and the effects that follow this cause.
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https://www.crimeandjustice.org.uk/publications/cjm/article/social-study-serial-killers
I decided to do this article called Social Study of Serial Killers. The writer of this article discusses why the modern phenomena of serial killers is more abundant in society now more than ever. It is still considered a rare form of homicide, but there are reasons why serial killers become serial killers. One of the causes is that our society now relies on social medial. Social Media can blow up stories even minor stories overnight creating a culture of celebrity. Serial killers can become famous through social media and some seek out this attention and want to become well known for what they have done and thrive off of the attention. Serial killers in our society are constantly depicted in movies, novels, and video games. Which is familiarizing people with the intimate dynamics of serial killers thus opening the chance for someone to try and imitate the serial killers that are portrayed in this media. The article also mentions how serial killers in the past dealt with being in small downs and could easily be considered suspicious since everyone in town would know each other, and rumors would spread quickly. In modern day they tend to be in highly dense populated areas where they can blend into the background.
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https://www.psycom.net/coronavirus-mental-health
I chose this article because I heard that the COVID-19 outbreak had severely negative effects on those with depression and anxiety, so I wanted to learn more about it. The article discusses how hard the stay-at-home order and COVID-19 outbreak have been on those with various mental illnesses. This article shows a causal relationship. Those who have anxiety and depression are feeling worse than ever due to being isolated and lonely because of the stay-at-home order in place. They cannot see family or friends, so they feel like they are all by themselves with no one to reach out to. For those with anxiety, hearing about the rapid rate that COVID-19 is spreading at only causes more anxiety which can lead to panic attacks. In the medical field it is common knowledge that panic attacks mimic heart attack symptoms, So as you can imagine this is incredibly frightening for those who suffer from it. Further more, panic attack symptoms include shortness of breath and rapid breathing which are also symptoms of COVID-19, so those with anxiety only panic MORE when they have a panic attack because they don’t know at the time if it is a panic attack or symptom of COVID-19. The article discusses the importance of reaching out if you feel like you need to talk to someone, as there are online resources to help those in need during these trying times. If this pandemic would not have occurred, those with mental illnesses wouldn’t be suffering as severely right now. This is why it illustrates a causal relationship.
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https://abc7.com/pets-animals/how-to-combat-post-quarantine-separation-anxiety-in-dogs/6145273/
-What if Ed Gein was diagnosed with a mental disability at a young age. Doctors may have recognized that he would have a separation anxiety from his mother and recommended he get a dog, or see a counselor.
-What if the Jedi, like Yoda or Oli specifically having had concerns about Anakin had embraced Anakin like a father figure. Anakin was really fatherless, had this one change happened, I dont think that Cancellor Palpatine would have been so influential in the life of Anakin if he did not fill the fatherly figure.
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Commodus was an emperor of Rome, he was a young man who did not expect to be deceived by the ones who he loved. Although, it was common for individuals to be assassinated by their family or close friends when they were emperor. Commodus was envied by his own friends and sister who wanted to have his power. So, she organized men within the senate to plot on the assassination of Commodus. Commodus was naive to his sister’s jealousy that she had for him. So, he did not expect his sister to try and terminate him to take over his status in Rome. The assassination took place at the gladiator games; an individual from the senate attempted to kill Commodus but failed. Commodus soldiers were able to prevent him from being attacked; then the soldiers interrogated the man who tried to kill him. The man stated that the emperor’s sister orchestrated the whole scheme. When Commodus found out that his sister was the cause of the assassination, he sent her and the rest of her people to exile to an island called Capri. Within a year, he had the individuals executed for their actions. This attempt to assassinate the emperor had left Commodus cold-hearted. As time went by, he was upset with his wife for not conceiving his child; so he also sent her to exile on Capri island. His actions were cruel and sometimes childish; however, the cause for him being cold-hearted would have to do with not trusting those who are close to him because those individuals were the ones who deceived him.
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https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.biography.com/.amp/crime-figure/richard-ramirez
In this article that I chose for this week it talks about serial killer Richard Ramirez also known as the night stalker. He dives into his criminal record, his life story and the troubles he went through as a child. As a child he developed epilepsy because of the immense abuse that he suffered from his father. He had a lot of head injuries at an early age, hitting his head twice very hard which took him to the emergency room and later on caused the epilepsy. He was also extremely addicted to drugs and was even arrested for it it and began to practice Satanism. Ramirez begin spending an enormous amount of time with his cousin who was a Vietnam veteran but always told Ramirez about the abuse that he had inflicted on Vietnamese women during his time in Vietnam. Later on at 13 years of age Ramirez witnessed his cousin murder his wife. After Ramírez was arrested investigators believed the amount of head injuries, abuse from his father, and influence from his cousin was the major cause for him doing this terrible things. I chose this article because I believe it gives you a really clear picture of the causes and effects that went on in Ramirez’ life. Having epilepsy from so many head injuries must’ve been hard on him and he simply chose a life that was very bad. Ramirez needed a better influence rather than his cousin who was an abusive man himself and could’ve stayed away from his abusive father. The epilepsy of course unfortunately happened from accidents but it could’ve been a factor to why he did what he did. Maybe other than epilepsy there were bigger issues that Ramirez was suffering from but never knew.
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I will be doing a casual effect of Pedro Alonzo Lopez, he stated in a interview with Dr. Ron Laytner and he said that he knew at age 8 that he would be a killer. Which makes me think he was born a killer, after being rape at 12 years old and in jail. You would think that drove him to kill. But no, it was a illness that he had as a child way before being rape multiple times and homeless. His dad who he never meant but was a member of Colombian Conservative Party during the Civil war. One night he got into a fight with his wife, on December night in 1947 and stormed out into the darkness. He hired a prostitute named Belinda Lopez de Casteneda and spent the evening with her. She ends up pregnant and had Pedro Alonzo Lopez. She was only three months along when Reyes was murdered by a rebellious mob. When Pedro Lopez was born six months later, he became the seventh of Belinda Lopez’s thirteen children. He also states that witnessing countless acts of prostitution of his mom damaged him psyche. I think the causal relationship would be Sufficient cause because he could have been born with the condition to want to kill. Also Reciprocal cause because he could have been a killer at birth but the rapes and the homeless drove him more to want to kill, when a cause leads to an effect that in turn strengthens the cause.
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cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prevent-getting-sick/social-distancing.html
The article that I chose to write about for this week’s Journal response is an article from the CDC about social distancing. This article explains the difference and significance of social distancing quarantine and isolation. Social distancing also known as physical distancing is basically explained in the name people have to avoid groups, crowded places and mass gatherings. Article list the possible ways that covid-19 can spread and how it is more likely to spread through contact. Then it goes on to explain why practicing social distancing helps so the spread of covid-19. They provide tips for social distancing such as following guidelines from authorities in your area. Also that quarantine is for individuals who might have been exposed to the covid-19 and need to be kept away from others and it is not the same as social distancing.
The way that this correlates to what we have been learning about cars rule relationships is that the current cause of change is the covid-19 pandemic and has affected everyone’s lives dramatically. To simplify the idea of this pandemic in the terms of cause and effect it would start with the spread of the Coronavirus. This event caused a chain of different effect stemming from the simple act of the partial solution of social distancing for example the food industry has been greatly affected by lack of customers. Humans are social creatures by nature and I am sure people were not aware of how much they truly come into contact with others whether it be at work or the grocery store. As people practice social distancing it really does have an effect on the spread of the coronavirus so being safe by staying home as much as possible will be the best action to take until we are told it’s safe to do otherwise.
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When big convulsive economic events happen, the implications tend to take years to play out, and spiral in unpredictable directions. This is the article By Neil Irwin published on the NewYork times on April 20, 2020. The article talks about the effect of coronavirus pandemics on the world economy. The writer talks about the End of the World Economy as We Know It or what actually happened on the world economy nowadays, and what would be the long term effect of these pandemics. The author gave an explanation on how we are connected with all over the world, and how one country’s economy affect others country even on the later days. The world economy is an infinitely complicated web of interconnections. We each have a series of direct economic relationships we can see: the stores we buy from, the employer that pays our salary, the bank that makes us a home loan. But once you get two or three levels out, it’s really impossible to know with any confidence how those connections work. And that, in turn, shows what is unnerving about the economic calamity accompanying the spread of the novel coronavirus. In the years ahead, we will learn what happens when that web is torn apart when millions of those links are destroyed all at once. And it opens the possibility of a global economy completely different from the one that has prevailed in recent decades.
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Since my monster is Charles Manson, I decided to investigate him by listening to a podcast between Joe Rogan and Tim O’Neill, the author of “CHAOS: Charles Manson, the CIA, and the Secret History of the Sixties.” Based on his research, Tim O’Neill believes that Manson was potentially a part of prison experimentation conducted by the CIA. Further, O’Neill is convinced that this is a key cause to why Manson initiated multiple murders. These assertions are supported by evidence O’Neill gathered by viewing documents of Manson’s parole and his imprisonment. Based on these documents, Manson encountered multiple agents involved with LSD testing including his own Parole officer, who even tried to get clearance for Manson to go to Mexico to work on an agricultural plant; an agriculture plant O’Neill suspects was a front considering it disappeared a few years later. Furthermore, Manson was documented to regularly visit the clinic where much of testing was conducted. On O’Neill’s assertions, Manson may not have conducted the killings purely for Helter Skelter or out of anger about his music career. He suspects that maybe the CIA allowed Manson to do what he did as means to discredit the image of the hippie. There is a ton of more evidence and in depth arguments O’Neill presents in his book. This is very interesting as no one seems to be refuting the validity of any of it. I’m not sure if I buy into the fact that it was a part of an elaborate plot against hippies, but it is undeniable that Manson had some connection with authority figures of great stature and that his ties to LSD are more complicated than initially thought. O’Neill had been working on this for decades and I think that reading the book for myself will greatly benefit my conduction of the Manson essay. This is one cause practically no one had great consideration of until this book.
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serialkillershop.com/blogs/true-crime/john-wayne-gacy
My causal analysis will be on John Wayne Gacy. This website gives tons of information on him. How he grew up, became successful and eventually a serial killer. His childhood is explained as abusive as his father would constantly beat him and emotionally abuse him. Always blaming Gacy for his failures. Anything Gacy would do would be a failure to his father. Even though Gacy had a heart condition and was in the hospital several years of his life, his father would tell him that he was faking his illness. Nothing Gacy ever did made his father proud. And his father would physically abuse him with a razor strap. When Gacy was molested by a family friend, he suffered in silence rather than telling his parents because he didn’t want his father to insult or abuse him. He grew up to be pretty successful with his own contracting building business and was an active citizen in his community. I found many causes as to why Gacy became a serial killer reading his biography. It will be interesting write about the causes and find the evidence to support it all.
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The article that I have picked is an interview that Charles Cullen has with CBS and they ask him certain questions in this interview to get a better understanding of Charles Cullen mindset, and to as of why he murdered these people, what his motive was, and how he felt being called a murder. In the interview Charles Cullen was asked if he got pleasure out of killing his victims he said no he thought he was ending their suffering, however most of his patients were experiencing no pain at all. Charles could only respond that he wasn’t there to justify his actions. He also admitted that if he was to never be caught he would’ve kept murdering innocent people. One thing that stood out to me in this interview is the fact that Charles Cullen believed that he was helping this victims by killing them to end their suffering. Charles used this to justify his actions and not look at himself as a monster. This also shows Charles Cullen has mental instability as almost all of his patients were not even suffering pain the way he described.
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