May 7
From community helper to murderer: John Wayne Gacy
Netflix is putting an end to the big, bad guy image. It caught me off guard and the feeling will be the same for you.
The rise in true crime shows
You’re probably not the only one wondering why nowadays Netflix seems to have a new true crime show every day.
The explanation, whether we like it or not, comes down to a darker side existing in human nature. Our fascination with true crime shows is our way to seek to understand that.
This leads us to John Gacy’s documentary, which not only features a true story, but it contains the original interview tapes from when he was in jail.
If you’re a clown, you can get away with anything
At least, that was what John thought when he came up with the character of Pogo The Clown.
Pogo The Clown was present at public events, in the rooms of sick children at hospitals… everywhere someone needed to cheer up.
This would be all fine and dandy if the only reasoning behind Pogo The Clown was to bring joy to people… instead, this character came to exist because “You can get away with anything if you're a clown.”.
More than bodies: a gay in the closet
In the ’70s, it was heavily frowned upon to be gay.
Even though Gacy never admitted to being gay, the fact that his victims were all young boys definitely speaks volumes.
One can wonder, if being gay wasn’t seen as a sin…
If it wasn’t something your family could disown you for… would we have never experienced Gacy’s wrath?
Why: Personality shift
After watching with completely undivided attention (okay, maybe there were some bathroom breaks), all that was on my mind was this question.
I mean, why would someone who genuinely enjoyed being an active and helpful part of a community, turn into a murderer?
As previously mentioned in the introduction to this post, if you have a fancy for understanding humanity’s dark side, then buckle up, as we’ll be figuring out John Wayne Gacy.
How much of an impact does upbringing have?
Normally, the easiest route to understanding an atrocity committed by someone is to look at their early years.
However, John reports a fairly ordinary childhood, except for his abusive father, who probably also contributed to the sadistic tendencies shown by him.
Later, they manifested into assaulting another boy, gaining some time at a reformatory.
What would make someone turn on their loved community?
Your mind likely attributes being an outcast as the main reason to justify something like this.
However, as a proud business owner of a contractor company and a regulator of the state of Illinois, John was far from an outcast.
What drove him to the murder of 33 people from his community?
His growing frustration with having others in positions above his.
Some say that John Gacy was the biggest mistake of his time, but I say that someone should have seen the ticking timebomb he was.
