Slog
News & ArtsWednesday, August 5, 2009
Crime I Sleep Alone
Posted by Charles Mudede on Wed, Aug 5, 2009 at 11:55 AM
CNN reports:
A gunman walked into an LA Fitness gym outside Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, turned off the lights and fired off 50 rounds, killing three women before killing himself Tuesday evening, police said. The man didn't speak but was carrying a gym bag with a note inside it...A law enforcement source identified the gunman as George Sodini, a 48-year-old gym member...
...[T]he law enforcement source said that the gunman in the note "talks about his hatred of women."
CNN also reports:
He felt lonely, said he hadn't had a girlfriend since 1984. He said his father didn't love him. And he detailed plans to kill young women.George Sodini, the 48-year-old man police blame for killing three women and wounding 10 others in a suburban Pittsburgh gym, left behind an online diary that is as shocking in places as it is profane in others.
It offers a rare glimpse into the mind of a suspected killer who police say walked into an aerobics class, turned off the lights and fired more than 50 rounds from multiple handguns.
A sample of his blog:
From July 20, 2009:I have slept alone for over 20 years. Last time I slept all night with a girlfriend it was 1982. Proof I am a total malfunction. Girls and women don't even give me a second look ANYWHERE. There is something BLATANTLY wrong with me that NO goddam person will tell me what it is.
From July 23, 2009:
I just looked out my front window and saw a beautiful college-age girl leave Bob Fox's house, across the street. I guess he got a good lay today. College girls are hoez. I masturbate. Frequently. He is about 45 years old. She was a long haired, hot little hottie with a beautiful bod. I masturbate. Frequently.
The appearance of the blogger/killer:
A quick reading of the crime: A misogynistic madman kills three women at the very place where many women work hard to achieve a desirable appearance in a male-dominated society, a society that worships the "bod" of youth.
1
So Charles, you seem downright somber in writing about this massacre. I take it you find this less laugh-inducing than a plane crash.
3
Ah, I'd hate to say this but by looks alone, he is not really that bad looking. Just by his looks, though his eyes are kinda creeping me out.
4
i agree with everyone else that has said that the guy must have been giving off some crazy strong psychopath vibes, because he's pretty good looking and in awfully good shape for 50.
6
Hard to say without having met him, but from the little pic he appears to be an good looking guy so whatever was turning people off had to be his personality. I do have to wonder if he was creepy or just fell into one of those self-fulfilling prophecy mentalities (like the good ol' "girls don't date nice guys" mindset).
8
There is something seriously wrong if a guy in that good of a shape and supposedly active in the dating scene since 1982 (when he would he what...? the "More desirable" age of 30) cannot get laid.
He probably gave off major "I'll give you classy Lingerie... MADE FROM THE SKIN OF MY EX-GIRLFRIEND" vibes.
He probably gave off major "I'll give you classy Lingerie... MADE FROM THE SKIN OF MY EX-GIRLFRIEND" vibes.
10
He was good looking, in good shape, and had $250K in the bank? How was this guy not rolling in pussy?
Put me in the same camp of opinion as 4 and 6.
Put me in the same camp of opinion as 4 and 6.
12
He was a psychopathic loner who, when he tried to pick up women (which probably wasn't often), turned them off with his obvious hatred for them. Every time he was spurned, it probably took years for him to get up the gumption to try again.
That's my guess anyway.
That's my guess anyway.
13
Honestly, I feel sorry for str8 guys. Even the most unattractive gay guy can find someone who'll stick it in him or allow him to stick it in them. Maybe someone should have introduced this guy to Craigs List.
14
" I just looked out my front window and saw a beautiful college-age girl leave Bob Fox's house, across the street. I guess he got a good lay today. College girls are hoez. I masturbate. Frequently. He is about 45 years old. She was a long haired, hot little hottie with a beautiful bod. I masturbate. Frequently."
Yeah, I can't see what was wrong with him. Creepy-tastic.
Yeah, I can't see what was wrong with him. Creepy-tastic.
18
"I masturbate. Frequently."
This piece of shit. I'm sure Pittsburgh has an alternative weekly with plenty of night-walkers in the classifieds. Fucking pay for it and stop killing people.
This piece of shit. I'm sure Pittsburgh has an alternative weekly with plenty of night-walkers in the classifieds. Fucking pay for it and stop killing people.
21
@18 - I can confirm that Pittsburgh does have an alternative paper, and that there are tons of such classifieds. Took me aback the first time I saw them, in fact.
This guy was probably to egocentric to think that he should have to stoop to pay for it. He obviously had some serious mental health problems. I just don't know how he was able to hide it for so long.
This guy was probably to egocentric to think that he should have to stoop to pay for it. He obviously had some serious mental health problems. I just don't know how he was able to hide it for so long.
22
Incomprehensible. Maybe - like Charles Whitman - they'll find a humongous brain tumor that provoked his horrific actions. Otherwise, we have to buy the excuse that loneliness sparked this creep's reactions. (Good people, lonely or not, hungry or not, desperate or not, don't kill innocent people.)
23
This guy was crazy - he couldn't hookup with anyone because he despised them too much. If he wasn't so self obsessed and cared more about what women want than what he wants them to do maybe he would have been capable of establishing a relationship.
Charles, I agree with your surface observations of this crime.
Charles, I agree with your surface observations of this crime.
24
The sad thing about this is that there are literally millions of men in this country alone that live a life like his. They are not satisfied with the women they have. This is even more tragic because 3 women died that were innocent.
However this scenario plays out all the time, the difference is it is usually a rape instead of a murder. If these guys could get some help, some self confidence, surely there would be many many many suicides and rapes and assaults prevented every year.
A lot of misogyny comes from guys who feel like they have no options with women and turn bitter. Guys like this need to do a few things and they will instantly live a better life. They should get in shape first (he already was) then get a hold of some dating coaching. I am sure some people on SLOG have seen the pickup artist show and although it's easy to find douchebags in that scene there are a lot of great guys who help desperate lonely losers like this every day.
However this scenario plays out all the time, the difference is it is usually a rape instead of a murder. If these guys could get some help, some self confidence, surely there would be many many many suicides and rapes and assaults prevented every year.
A lot of misogyny comes from guys who feel like they have no options with women and turn bitter. Guys like this need to do a few things and they will instantly live a better life. They should get in shape first (he already was) then get a hold of some dating coaching. I am sure some people on SLOG have seen the pickup artist show and although it's easy to find douchebags in that scene there are a lot of great guys who help desperate lonely losers like this every day.
26
Elle Woods failed me!
"Exercise gives you endorphins. Endorphins make you happy. Happy people just don't shoot [other people]. They just don't."
"Exercise gives you endorphins. Endorphins make you happy. Happy people just don't shoot [other people]. They just don't."
28
@23,
I think you just described why he hadn't had a girlfriend since he was in his early 20s. Young women are more likely to put up with boyfriends who don't bring much to the table, who take and take and don't give anything back. As women mature, they're less likely to put up with that shit, thus leaving guys like this, who fail to mature themselves, in the lurch.
I think you just described why he hadn't had a girlfriend since he was in his early 20s. Young women are more likely to put up with boyfriends who don't bring much to the table, who take and take and don't give anything back. As women mature, they're less likely to put up with that shit, thus leaving guys like this, who fail to mature themselves, in the lurch.
29
Huh--the CNN picture is (surprise!) less flattering that the one he chose for his blog: http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/08/05/penn…
30
Misogynistic madman = dissocial personality disorder
I find it disturbing that someone so well read in Freud has so little understanding of modern post-Freudian psychology...
I find it disturbing that someone so well read in Freud has so little understanding of modern post-Freudian psychology...
31
go to the cnn homepage and see a different photo:
www.cnn.com
he looks nothing like this photo. i don't know how long the transformation took, but the picture up at cnn is certainly a lot more like what i expected to see.
www.cnn.com
he looks nothing like this photo. i don't know how long the transformation took, but the picture up at cnn is certainly a lot more like what i expected to see.
33
I felt sorry for him. I too have had a largely loveless life. Though he had less sex than me, which I didn't think was possible. I most actively dated from late teens to early 30s. Got discouraged as no relationships formed, so cut back on dating. Eventually had two relationships, one two years, one eight months. Then I just gave up. I haven't been out w/anyone in eight years. It's easy to do. It makes me feel sad that I may never have sex with another soul. But I never felt the urge to kill anyone else over it. I feel sorry that someone could be filled with such rage themselves.
35
CNN just posted another picture of him, apparently the picture with the blue shirt is old. The newer one he looks bloated as hell.
36
@35, but still, how much younger is he in the other photo? and does it really matter? he hated women to the point of madness, and that is at the bottom of this crime.
38
The bloating could be an indicator of anabolic-androgenic steroid (AAS) use. Normally, for a guy in his age bracket who exercises regularly, this would not lead to psychosis, as it might in a teenager. But if he was already psychotic, with major chemical imbalances, AAS use could really mess him up.
Factor in the possibility that he might not be able to stick to the strict dosage calendar required for safe AAS use, and you've got a bomb waiting to explode.
Factor in the possibility that he might not be able to stick to the strict dosage calendar required for safe AAS use, and you've got a bomb waiting to explode.
39
Not that we'll ever know this, but I'm betting the guy had a small cock, and huge unresolved issues around it. I'm a queer guy who has seen a lot of penis in my day, and I've come to believe that most of the worlds troubles are fundamentally driven by guys who feel inadequate in the cock department (or much less often, guys with big dicks who are ashamed because they think they're freaks).
I'd virtually guarantee that this dude had a small cock (or a cock he perceived as small thanks to too much porn watching) which led to his sexual and social frustration.
I'm not excusing his insanity or his behaviour - just hypothesizing as to the cause.
I'd virtually guarantee that this dude had a small cock (or a cock he perceived as small thanks to too much porn watching) which led to his sexual and social frustration.
I'm not excusing his insanity or his behaviour - just hypothesizing as to the cause.
40
The thing that makes me sick is that a man going crazy and killing/raping random women is so common that it's hardly even news. Where are the female serial castrators at? Why don't women hunt and kill men the way men do women?
42
Blecky @ # 40 :
WE live in a patriarchical misogynistic society - that's why men hunt and kill women and not the other way around. Men are trained to view women as property so tend to treat them as such. ( BTW, men are damaged by a sexist society as much as women are - they are as restricted in their life choices as women are. ) Women are typically socialized to be nice at all costs ....That is why feminism is a struggle for a more egalitarian society.... one where no one's choices are arbitrarily restricted by sex/ gender.
WE live in a patriarchical misogynistic society - that's why men hunt and kill women and not the other way around. Men are trained to view women as property so tend to treat them as such. ( BTW, men are damaged by a sexist society as much as women are - they are as restricted in their life choices as women are. ) Women are typically socialized to be nice at all costs ....That is why feminism is a struggle for a more egalitarian society.... one where no one's choices are arbitrarily restricted by sex/ gender.
43
And, yes, I know - some radical feminists behave as if all men are to blame for patriarchy and are therefore to be hated. That is why my definition of feminism differs from theirs ....
45
@35,
The new photo looks stretched out, like CNN chose to stretch it horizontally rather than put black bands on either side.
The new photo looks stretched out, like CNN chose to stretch it horizontally rather than put black bands on either side.
47
@42,@40 feminism, scheminism... I'm gonna get me some testosterone, roofies, rubberbands, a box cutter and go bar hopping. Wish me luck.
48
He shouldn't be buried. He should be ground up in a tree-chipper and then flushed into a waste treatment plant along with the rest of the sewage.
49
Tetelestai Church in Pittsburgh, PA - "Be Ye Holy, even as I have been Ye holy! Thus saith the lord thy God!", as pastor Rick Knapp would proclaim. Holy shit, religion is a waste. But this guy teaches (and convinced me) you can commit mass murder then still go to heaven. Ask him. Call him at (724) 325-2655. If no answer there, he should still live at 439 9th Street, Oakmont, PA 15139. In any case, guilt and fear kept me there 13 long years until Nov 2006. I think his crap did the most damage. Their web site: http://www.tetelestai.org.
51
< The thing that makes me sick is that a man going crazy and killing/raping random women is so common that it's hardly even news. Where are the female serial castrators at? Why don't women hunt and kill men the way men do women?>
Sylvia Seegrist and Tammy Felbaum are 2 who spring to mind. But Tammy is a MtF transsexual, so does she count?
Sylvia Seegrist and Tammy Felbaum are 2 who spring to mind. But Tammy is a MtF transsexual, so does she count?
52
It's tempting to compare his pictures: The CNN one he looks like what we'd expect and in his blog post he looks pretty fantastic (is the blog photo even him? I once internet-dated a man who sounded awesome over email—turned out his picture was a total fake and a old fat guy showed up for our meeting.)
But whether this dude is a babe or a dog, the fact remains that love often eludes both the beautiful and the ugly. You can analyze why so-and-so is unattached all you like, but love is the one thing in our lives we cannot control, unlike our careers, etc. You can work hard at finding love, and that certainly helps, but even the best people are often unattached. Does that mean they are lonely? Sometimes, but it doesn't have to define their existence.
But whether this dude is a babe or a dog, the fact remains that love often eludes both the beautiful and the ugly. You can analyze why so-and-so is unattached all you like, but love is the one thing in our lives we cannot control, unlike our careers, etc. You can work hard at finding love, and that certainly helps, but even the best people are often unattached. Does that mean they are lonely? Sometimes, but it doesn't have to define their existence.
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