Isn't Randy Kraft still alive? I imagine the author has decided not to actually try to arrange some type of conversation with him?
Center of the universe
31–40 of 122 posts
Re: Center of the universe
#32That's moderately horrifying. It's also a sad reminder - so many of us go through life having to chisel and scrape that kind of affection out of the world. I can see how having it freely given could be very enticing.
Parents of young children: the time to inoculate your children against this tool of sociopaths is now. Communicate your love with every word and embrace, and you'll fill a reservoir that will never go dry.
Re: Center of the universe
#33Once again, some admin has changed the title from better to worse---it was "How I met a serial killer when I was a marine", which is considerably more descriptive.
Considering there is frequently space-related articles here, it is particularly misleading.
I have to concur. I clicked on this article wondering if there was some sort of new discovery in astronomy. Still an interesting read, but the old headline was much more appropriate.
Re: Center of the universe
#34Once again, some admin has changed the title from better to worse---it was "How I met a serial killer when I was a marine", which is considerably more descriptive.
I agree, but I think there was a reason.
The name of the linked article is "Center Of The Universe". Not sure why they want the two titles to match but they do now.
Re: Center of the universe
#35More facts: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Randy_Steven_Kraft
Jesus, it just goes on and on and on... and in the end, there's no heroic manhunt, no great victory. He was caught driving drunk with a corpse in the passenger seat, so used to murder that he'd gotten lazy about it. You can't help but feel outrage that nobody stopped him... that the public wasn't sufficiently warned that any of these boys , these kids could have known there was a serial-killer stalking them.
Yeah, I've lived in this area my whole life and I'd never heard of Randy Kraft. Granted I was a kid during the time so perhaps I just had been kept in the dark (though I was keenly aware of the Night Stalker as a kid). So I just asked my dad and he'd never heard of him either. Crazy that something that large was happening under our noses and nobody knew...
Re: Center of the universe
#36Once again, some admin has changed the title from better to worse---it was "How I met a serial killer when I was a marine", which is considerably more descriptive.
Yeah, the other title was WAY better.
Could it be that this is done by an automated script? :/
Re: Center of the universe
#37Earlier quoted context omitted.
In retrospect, I'm pretty convinced he was going to try to get me to undress myself at his escalating suggestion w/out him ever touching me. He was extremely careful about not touching, "accidentally" brushing, etc, and keeping out of my personal space. I realize now that this was a survival mechanism for him, as if the spell were broken by some wrong move, he really could have gotten hurt badly in this sort of situa…
Some people seem to have an almost super-human level of charisma/ability to influence others (there is probably a D&D reference to be made here). Certainly the trope is common in fiction. See: The Mentalist (both the protagonist and antagonist share this ability) and several Agatha Christie novels with similar storylines. This guy sounds like a real-life Red John; able to subtly re-wire people's thinking so that they…
I worked with some of the best salespeople in telecommunications (retail) here in Australia, working for the second largest telco. They had this ability, and you can learn it with enough practice. By the time I left, I was #3 in the country for that telco.
It's scary to realise how powerful it can be. Once, one in of the guys had a girl who took two contract phones come back in utterly disbelief at what had happened about a half hour later: this was no ordinary buyers remorse.
The only way to avoid it is to not communicate with those people.
It helps with nearly everything you do in life. I find it amazing and scary.
Re: Center of the universe
#38Isn't Randy Kraft still alive? I imagine the author has decided not to actually try to arrange some type of conversation with him?
In the comments under the article someone asks him whether he's contacted Kraft. He has by mail but got no response.
Re: Center of the universe
#39More facts: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Randy_Steven_Kraft
Jesus, it just goes on and on and on... and in the end, there's no heroic manhunt, no great victory. He was caught driving drunk with a corpse in the passenger seat, so used to murder that he'd gotten lazy about it. You can't help but feel outrage that nobody stopped him... that the public wasn't sufficiently warned that any of these boys , these kids could have known there was a serial-killer stalking them.
I suppose a case could be made that the lack of media frenzy and nickname had something to do with society's approach to homosexuality and the "targets" being masculinity defined.
Re: Center of the universe
#40Once again, some admin has changed the title from better to worse---it was "How I met a serial killer when I was a marine", which is considerably more descriptive.
It's also clear from the comments that the person submitting this is the actual author. Ridiculous.