Sunday, October 2, 2022

Netflx's Dahmer - The Biggest Injustice Was Given a Pass - Dahmer's MIlitary Timeline


Netflix recently released a series on Jeffrey Dahmer that thoroughly examined what makes someone like Jeffrey commit acts of violence as he did for many years. I thought the story was excellent. It was very thorough including the following topic that impacts human development:
  • Prenatal Care 
  • Mental Health of the Mother
  • Genetics
  • Early Childhood Development
  • Impact of Alcohol/Addiction
The series also shined a light on social justice. (Spoiler Alert) One can not but help to wonder how many lives could have been saved if the police responded to the numerous calls to Jeffrey's apartment responsibly.  The performances were excellent. I would recommend the story as a window to horrific events that happen to our society. 

One cannot help to want to learn more about Jeffrey Dahmer. There are amazing first-hand accounts on YouTube that chronicle his life and the story on Netflix. The story does an injustice in some ways to the victims by not sharing one key component that could have saved more lives than any other event. It was Jeffrey's enrollment in the Army that was considerably more important. Episode 4 for some reason gave this part of his story a pass. A significant one at that. A far greater injustice regarding impact than the Milwaukie police department. 

On military.com, it does confirm that Dahmer served as a military medic. The movie hints that he experimented while learning about prescription drugs. You see a scene where he invites a soldier to have a drink and practices his craft by drugging the drink. It only suggests that he drugged the soldier and had a small fantasy with him while he was unconscious. No graphic harm was shown in the movie which leads us to believe there were issues in the army at that point.  

In all actuality, a complaint was filed by Preston Davis for 2 sexual assaults in October of 1979, Preston was left alone and isolated with Dahmer and he penetrated him while unconscious. Another account while in the military came from Billy Capshaw. He was tortured by Jeffrey during drunken binges. Dahmer would assault him with an iron bar. Worse yet, this was brought to the attention of superiors and it went on for 18 months. Superiors choose to ignore the complaints. The larger irony is their experiences impacted their own evaluations from the military according to accounts that can be found on survivingjeffreydahmer.org. 


The incident was so serious that when Dahmer was convicted in 1991, Germany (West Germany at the time of military service) opened up cold cases of missing men during the time he served in Germany. Dahmer was given an honorable discharge due to his drinking. There is no mention of the crimes that were brought to anyone's attention. 

There are a lot of missed opportunities to explore what impacted Dahmer during this time period. One has to remember that in 1981, boot camp was brutal in the military. Imagined a traumatized young male with tendencies to kill as his first victim died prior to enlisting. Dahmer was most like triggered by the experience. Some evidence that might prove this theory to be true is that he shared and bragged to his fellow enlisted soldiers that he killed a man prior to enlisting in Ohio. Sound familiar? Similar to the police, people in power dismissed the warning signs. Lastly, consistent with Dahmer's story, the two people he raped and attached reported he was racist and when drunk committed very bizarre acts. 

The timeline of these events was considerable when you think about it. The focus on the Milwaukie police would happen much later. If something was done during his time in the military, it could have avoided the deaths before his apartment in Milwaukie. It would have also potentially saved the lives of individuals that were committed at his grandmother's house.

The lesson here is to be careful with bias and learn the facts about cause and effect. By leaving out this crucial detail of Dahmer's life, it is almost like the crimes committed by the Milwaukie Police Department. Silence is what led to tragedy. That's the lesson of Dahmer that could have been dealt with in a responsible manner that was missed in its entirety.












No comments: