A strange coincidence with the Seinfeld episode is that, when Elaine was trying to convince her boyfriend to change his name, she was looking through names of professional athletes, and one of her suggestions was O.J. This of course was several months before the Nicole Brown Simpson murder.

"The child who is not embraced by the village will burn it down to feel its warmth" - African proverb.

That bullying from his peers is heartbreaking.  It has to stop.

That was some Carrie-level bullying.

The yearbook club story is so devastating... obviously what Rifkin did was unforgivable and he made the active choice to do that but I'm pretty upset by his childhood. No kid deserves that.

Hearing of his bullying and struggles in his youth broke my heart.

LMFAO. I lost it when he said eligible for parole in 2197. :D

Always amazing to me how teachers are either oblivious or choose to not see when a student is being bullied.

Grim childhood- bullying really is an issue, and it seems that it's even more so in the US- all those high school shooters...

Very thorough and logical discussion. I’d like to hear more about protective narcissism. Bullying indirectly led to the loss of 17 lives.  We need to be kinder to each other.

It's so sad. You have to wonder if he'd had at least one friend, maybe he would have never done this. Bullying has been a problem for a very long time. It appears to make some kids stronger but it goes very badly for others.

Living in a society where you are unsure if trusting more a police officer or a serial killer’s word scares me a bit.

I saw Joel Rifkin bullied in high school. I remember seeing members of the Cross Country Team harassing him.

1:42 minutes in to a 20 minute video of a serial killer "[about his first murder]  he promised himself that he would never kill again"  

cue curb your enthusiasm theme



great video as always, stay safe and take care

I've always been interested in the psychology of serial killers.  Thanks for this video!

I really wish we would take bullying far more seriously and prosecute such acts where appropriate and place both parties into therapy immediately to address the damage it does and to rehabilitate the offender.  Nearly always the bullies get rewarded for their behavior while the victims spend a lifetime living with the consequences of a shattered sense of self, complex PTSD, and associated personality disorders or traits and health consequences.  I spent my entire adolescence bullied incessantly dozens of times per day for 6 years uninterrupted, bullied by most of the school and a number of teachers simply for being seen as “different” and an “outsider” when I moved to a rural school at age 12 and was rejected after just a few months (magnified by the fact that the move itself was traumatic).  The abuse completely destroyed my physical health by age 18 leaving me permanently disabled and even 36 years in I have never gotten past the damage done during those six years even at age 48 (myriad chronic health issues, disturbed sleep, severe chronic pain, disability, complex PTSD, strong Avoidant traits bordering on AvPD, and virtually no close friendships or relationships in all the years since due to an inability to trust anyone).  

We really need to recognize bullying, especially repeated and ongoing bullying, for the crime it truly is as it is just another form of child abuse.  It really should not surprise us when abuse like described in this video leads some to commit vicious crimes or launch a school massacre aimed at those who often spent years persecuting a victim to their breaking point and beyond as I do not think most people can even comprehend the amount of rage a teen can bottle up inside due to years of unending abuse by so many for so many years with no escape in sight.  Those who perpetrated the childhood abuse that contributed to the victim’s descent into madness really ought to have to share in the criminal consequences for the crimes their own abusive acts ultimately set into motion.  The saddest part really is that his victims had nothing whatsoever to do with his original victimization and that had the abuse not been perpetrated to begin with he may very well have grown to be a productive and responsible member of society instead of a mass murderer looking for his own innocent victims to abuse.

Can you please analyze James Holmes? His psychology is incredibly abnormal

Joel Rifkin seems to have willed himself into being a serial killer. I've heard him speak and thats always the impression I got. Thank you for this dissection, Dr Grande.  🌹👍

I remember that Seinfeld episode 😂👍

Could you do one on Richard Simmons and the psychology of him and his disappearance?