Comments on: My Friend Dahmer by Derf Backderf is Time's #4 non-fiction book of the year http://boingboing.net/2012/12/18/my-friend-dahmer-by-derf-backd.html Brain candy for Happy Mutants Fri, 24 May 2013 17:00:00 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.4.1 By: ChickieD http://boingboing.net/2012/12/18/my-friend-dahmer-by-derf-backd.html#comment-1611816 ChickieD Wed, 19 Dec 2012 16:33:00 +0000 http://boingboing.net/?p=201385#comment-1611816 Got and it is amazing. I have a bit of thing about Dahmer. He seemed to have a pretty normal life and then did such horrible things. I read his dad's book and it was interesting but didn't give me any ideas about how he got from suburban teen to serial killer. I thought this book gave me the best idea of what was going on with him prior to the killings. And I loved loved loved the art. He totally captured the times. Got and it is amazing. I have a bit of thing about Dahmer. He seemed to have a pretty normal life and then did such horrible things. I read his dad’s book and it was interesting but didn’t give me any ideas about how he got from suburban teen to serial killer. I thought this book gave me the best idea of what was going on with him prior to the killings. And I loved loved loved the art. He totally captured the times.

]]> By: Tim H http://boingboing.net/2012/12/18/my-friend-dahmer-by-derf-backd.html#comment-1611811 Tim H Wed, 19 Dec 2012 16:27:00 +0000 http://boingboing.net/?p=201385#comment-1611811  It makes Dahmer so human that the author has to go to lengths in the afterword to assure the reader that there is no sympathy with the violent acts themselves.   It makes Dahmer so human that the author has to go to lengths in the afterword to assure the reader that there is no sympathy with the violent acts themselves. 

]]> By: signsofrain http://boingboing.net/2012/12/18/my-friend-dahmer-by-derf-backd.html#comment-1611756 signsofrain Wed, 19 Dec 2012 15:20:00 +0000 http://boingboing.net/?p=201385#comment-1611756 This is an awesome book. It really does humanize Dahmer. You actually feel sorry for him. The guy was a teenage alcoholic (presumably to deal with his dark thoughts), he reeked of booze in school and the counsellor couldn't even be bothered. His family, teachers, and friends all let him down.  I found it reminded me of Columbine, where Brooks Brown and his parents had pointed out to Eric's parents and the police that Eric Harris was unstable, violent, and was making death threats. An investigation was promised to Brooks and his family and was never followed up on. Eric Harris slipped through the cracks and so we had Columbine. (Not discounting Klebold's involvement but we know a lot more about Eric than we do Dylan from public information) It makes me wonder if Adam Lanza slipped through the cracks too. If someone had been paying attention and giving a shit about that young man... This is an awesome book. It really does humanize Dahmer. You actually feel sorry for him. The guy was a teenage alcoholic (presumably to deal with his dark thoughts), he reeked of booze in school and the counsellor couldn’t even be bothered. His family, teachers, and friends all let him down. 

I found it reminded me of Columbine, where Brooks Brown and his parents had pointed out to Eric’s parents and the police that Eric Harris was unstable, violent, and was making death threats. An investigation was promised to Brooks and his family and was never followed up on. Eric Harris slipped through the cracks and so we had Columbine. (Not discounting Klebold’s involvement but we know a lot more about Eric than we do Dylan from public information)

It makes me wonder if Adam Lanza slipped through the cracks too. If someone had been paying attention and giving a shit about that young man…

]]> By: Rezeya Montecore http://boingboing.net/2012/12/18/my-friend-dahmer-by-derf-backd.html#comment-1611536 Rezeya Montecore Wed, 19 Dec 2012 04:16:00 +0000 http://boingboing.net/?p=201385#comment-1611536 "Children no longer obey their parents and every man wants to write a book." Every generation looks for its own little scapegoat, while we solve the same problems (or don't) over and over again. “Children no longer obey their parents and every man wants to write a book.” Every generation looks for its own little scapegoat, while we solve the same problems (or don’t) over and over again.

]]> By: Robert http://boingboing.net/2012/12/18/my-friend-dahmer-by-derf-backd.html#comment-1611489 Robert Wed, 19 Dec 2012 02:54:00 +0000 http://boingboing.net/?p=201385#comment-1611489 Surely every decade has a self-obsessed sickness? Surely every decade has a self-obsessed sickness?

]]> By: Marc Mielke http://boingboing.net/2012/12/18/my-friend-dahmer-by-derf-backd.html#comment-1611417 Marc Mielke Wed, 19 Dec 2012 01:27:00 +0000 http://boingboing.net/?p=201385#comment-1611417 I thought this came out a long time ago. Turns out a much shorter version came out in 2002, so I wasn't dreaming it. Sounds pretty interesting. I thought this came out a long time ago. Turns out a much shorter version came out in 2002, so I wasn’t dreaming it. Sounds pretty interesting.

]]> By: millie fink http://boingboing.net/2012/12/18/my-friend-dahmer-by-derf-backd.html#comment-1611416 millie fink Wed, 19 Dec 2012 01:24:00 +0000 http://boingboing.net/?p=201385#comment-1611416 Well-deserved recognition. I read it a few months ago and highly recommend it. It's a chilling humanization of a kid who looked, in retrospect, clearly on his way to becoming a monster. Well-deserved recognition. I read it a few months ago and highly recommend it. It’s a chilling humanization of a kid who looked, in retrospect, clearly on his way to becoming a monster.

]]> By: Michael Manchester http://boingboing.net/2012/12/18/my-friend-dahmer-by-derf-backd.html#comment-1611393 Michael Manchester Wed, 19 Dec 2012 00:47:00 +0000 http://boingboing.net/?p=201385#comment-1611393 "the sickness of that self-obsessed decade" Thank goodness that's not a problem anymore. “the sickness of that self-obsessed decade”

Thank goodness that’s not a problem anymore.

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