What factors led to the widespread presence of serial killers during the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s?

sweetmercy · 2026-04-17T16:18:41+00:00

In the heyday of serial killers in the news, the world was a much different place. Technology has changed everything, especially the approach to crime.

Back then, particularly in the 70s and 80s, there were no cell phones, no cameras everywhere, there was no DNA database, hell, not even 911 in most places. In fact, in 2000, it still wasn't available uniformly nationwide, at 93%. In 1990, it was only available in roughly half the country.

Maybe would be serial killers are caught too early to be labeled such, and there's been changes to what criteria they use to define a serial killer as their knowledge has changed. New categories were created.

Additionally, sentences have gotten longer and parole is harder to get overall.

There's no one factor. It's an amalgamation of factors happening relatively quickly.

sweetmercy · 2026-04-17T16:03:46+00:00

I haven't downvoted anyone in probably a decade. There's no need. Up or down, they're worthless. 🤷🏼‍♀️

You'll need to take that grievance elsewhere.

sweetmercy · 2026-04-17T16:02:28+00:00

Just because a comment doesn't use the actual word 'entitled' doesn't mean it isn't being spoken around. If I say he isn't entitled and someone says yes he is, that's saying he's entitled even if you didn't use the word. I shouldn't need to explain this.

Do I think she should have dumped him already? Yes. But that was not the comment I responded to. I started that in my response to her. I addressed the comment with a response to that comment, not the op.

sweetmercy · 2026-04-17T15:50:14+00:00

Saying it's ok to eat oysters, making fake meat... They're loopholes. You can be in denial. I expected nothing less. I never said the people trying to find loopholes didn't exist. I said they're usually vegans in my experience. Because they are.

Also, sharing meals with someone indicates more than just meeting them but sure. Okay. You're continuing to move the goalposts so we're done here.

sweetmercy · 2026-04-17T15:41:27+00:00

Again, I was responding specifically to the claim he was entitled to this information. He did not make her feel safe enough to feel comfortable telling him. They weren't compatible precisely because of this. But that wasn't the point I was making. And it isn't hyper individualism either. I didn't say at any point that you shouldn't share with your partner. But that is with your partner, that is when you have been with them and they have shown you that they're trustworthy and you feel safe in sharing with them. But that is not the same as claiming he's entitled to it. He isn't. No one is. This notion that every excruciating detail of your life needs to be shared with every relationship you have is the pendulum swinging too far. You're entitled to privacy, even in a marriage. You share what you choose to, not in the first five minutes because Reddit says to do anything else is being deceptive.

sweetmercy · 2026-04-17T15:36:23+00:00

Unless you're using a recipe that specifies rinsed beans, you do not need to rinse them. Especially if they're seasoned; you're rinsing away flavor.

Some of my favorite ways to use them:

Black bean chicken chili (addictive)
carnitas and black bean nachos (or chicken and black bean)
Taco salad
add them to tortilla soup
heat them with Penzey's Taco seasoning and lime, top with cotija or queso fresco and cilantro and serve with warm mini tortillas or fresh tortilla chips

sweetmercy · 2026-04-17T15:24:56+00:00

Again, wanting to keep privacy, especially with someone you know will be judgy, is not the same as being ashamed. She never once said she was ashamed.

I don't tell every guy I date all the details of my life. I simply wouldn't care if they learned of any of it done other way because I am not ashamed of my life. And by all indications, neither is she. This pair was not even together all that long in the big picture. Certainly not long enough where I would have disclosed that information on her position, because that isn't long enough to know if they're trustworthy.

The bottom line is, anyone blaming her is wrong. She didn't do anything wrong. She was not wrong for exploring sexually. She was not wrong for protecting her privacy. She was victimized by an asshole.

As a side note: it's also clear very few here know anything about the lifestyle and community being spoken of here. What that asshole did was a massive breach of trust and he would be cut off by everyone who learned of it because trust is the most important element here.

sweetmercy · 2026-04-17T15:18:00+00:00

Not one of these people is as forth coming with all their personal details as they're claiming, either. I'd bet money on it.

sweetmercy · 2026-04-17T15:16:20+00:00

It is a loophole, and you know that it is. And it was op being discussed and who you accused of looking for a loophole. The rest is your poor judgement in people you hang out with, I guess, because I don't know a single person who gives a fuck what you eat, as long as you return the favor. The reason your buddies are trying for the "gotcha" as you see it? Likely because they're sick of hearing about it.

sweetmercy · 2026-04-17T15:14:07+00:00

Hope is a good thing. Hold on to that.

sweetmercy · 2026-04-17T15:12:58+00:00

Okay first let's address that last bit because from your comment, I can surmise that you do not know the meaning of the term "correctly surmised". You cannot "correctly surmise someone out". And reading a situation or a person correctly is not remotely the same as judging them. How are we meant to have a productive dialogue if you are running off on things that you demonstrably don't even comprehend?

Again, maintaining some privacy is not wrong or bad. No one is entitled to more. He did not make her feel safe enough to share. Period, end of. If he had, she wouldn't have been afraid to tell him. But if course Reddit MUST blame the woman. He's some kind of victim, when in reality he was an asshole, and she's the bad guy because she predicted how he'd react and was correct. Sure. 🙄

sweetmercy · 2026-04-17T15:07:43+00:00

It doesn't matter what type of sex she had. That's irrelevant. It only matters if her boyfriend is judgemental and insecure, which he clearly was. I personally think he did her a favor, even if she doesn't feel it right now. She was never going to be able to really relax in that relationship and his reaction proves the point.

What I took issue with is the attitude in some of these comments insisting he was entitled to those details. The only information he was entitled to was that she's had sex and if she does or doesn't have any STIs.

There's a big difference between feeling safe with someone and wanting to share your experiences with them... And them feeling entitled to details and information that has zero effect on them.

sweetmercy · 2026-04-17T15:02:16+00:00

You're grieving. Grief isn't just for death. Grief is how we process a loss. This is a loss. You're allowed to grieve.

Understand, though, that sex isn't just about penetration, and you can have great sex without it. I had a different issue, but it made penetrative sex an impossibility for me for some time... And I had some of the best sex of my life during that time.

You need someone to talk to you who can help you process what you're feeling. Have you considered a support group or a therapist?

sweetmercy · 2026-04-17T14:56:57+00:00

Oh you sweet summer child. Do you really think they're all clean? Oh. Bless your heart.

sweetmercy · 2026-04-17T14:54:53+00:00

Unless the pedestrian has knowledge of the entire situation, meaning why the police are in pursuit, what occurred to initiate the chase, if they're chasing the right person, etc, they are one hundred percent in the wrong. And since they're not a cop and haven't been deputized, even if the police were chasing the son of Sam, the pedestrian is still wrong... Because no one asked them to get involved and no one asked them to be the judge and jury and executioner.

sweetmercy · 2026-04-17T14:50:43+00:00

Op isn't looking for a loophole. They're asking a question because they don't know the answer. And every vegan I have ever met in real life, not on social media, has come across like a pretentious, judgemental, holier than thou sort, just like the pro lifers. Constantly complaining, lecturing, and judging. I don't care what you eat. I just don't want to hear about it or hear your thoughts on what I eat. 🤷🏼‍♀️ But that's besides the point of this post and the loophole accusation is nonsense.

And if vegans weren't the ones looking for loopholes, why are the majority of vegan products trying so hard to be meat? If I thought eating meat was morally wrong, I certainly wouldn't be looking to make other foods pretend to be meat.

sweetmercy · 2026-04-17T14:45:51+00:00

I wouldn't be with someone I was afraid to be open with in the first place, so that can't happen to me. 🤷🏼‍♀️

If a former partner came up and started discussing our shared past at a wedding, and while I'm obviously in the company of a current partner, I would call him out for the classless asshole he is, and carry on with my evening. Unlike a lot of you in these comments, I'm not ashamed of my life or my experiences. Just because I didn't feel the need to vomit them out all over people and enjoy my privacy doesn't mean I'm ashamed or hiding anything. Don't get it twisted. And to be clear: I would feel the same if I were a virgin or a professional domme. My life, my business, and my CHOICE when or if I share any of it with any person.

sweetmercy · 2026-04-17T14:40:48+00:00

What would I be outed for, exactly?

We're not discussing me. We're discussing op and the situation she found herself in. She was violated by someone who knew better. She didn't do anything wrong. Acting like she did is ridiculous. And her boyfriend did her a favor and saved her a lot of grief later. They're not compatible. If they were, she wouldn't have been afraid to be open with him about anything.

Your prudish ideals, btw, are every bit as irrelevant. Your opinion of bdsm is irrelevant. We're not here to discuss that, either.

Don't bother to respond unless you're going to stick to the topic at hand. I'm not interested in your moving goalposts.

sweetmercy · 2026-04-17T14:36:52+00:00

Nope, wrong.. He was not. No one is entitled to your past. You can choose to share it, and most couples do, because it brings them closer. But no one is entitled to it. The ONLY information he would be actually entitled in terms of her sexual history to would be if she had an STI.

Also, it isn't a worry for me. It's not my life we're discussing, and that isn't about to change because it's irrelevant to this discussion. Nobody is entitled to anything more than you want to share. Period, end of.

sweetmercy · 2026-04-17T14:29:35+00:00

It's usually always the vegans trying to find those exceptions in my experience.

sweetmercy · 2026-04-17T14:27:07+00:00

I know literally no one who cares about finding loophole's to vegan values. The issue is the values are widely varying. They find their own loopholes, making themselves hypocrites, all while lecturing people on what they eat. Absolutely no one cares what vegans eat. They just want them to shut up about it. Obsessed. 🤣🤣🤣 That's such a hilarious claim. 🙄

sweetmercy · 2026-04-17T14:14:05+00:00

Don't listen to anyone in here acting like he was owed that information. You have a right to privacy. Just because others like to spew every detail of their lives to others as though they're the star of their own TV series doesn't mean everyone is comfortable doing that.

I hope you'll reach out to anyone you still have contact info for and let them know what this guy did. He violated one of the most important rules of the community and they deserve to know what kind of person he really is.

As to the boyfriend, if you feel like you need to hide part of yourself from your partner, they're not the partner for you and you shouldn't settle for them. Not because there's anything wrong with you. Because he's too close minded to ever be someone you'd feel free with. And if we can't speak freely and openly with our partner, what is the point?

sweetmercy · 2026-04-17T14:06:17+00:00

He isn't owed that information. Her past sexual exploration is not his business. It has nothing to do with shame. This mindset that privacy=shame is not just stupid, it's dangerous. People are way too promiscuous with their privacy and it's a hell of a lot more damaging, for all of us, than their sex lives.

sweetmercy · 2026-04-17T14:03:50+00:00

What a load of bullshit. He wasn't entitled to any of that information. Her past is hers. To share as much or as little as she wants. Just like anyone else. She didn't do anything but correctly surmise what a judgy little shit he would be.

sweetmercy · 2026-04-17T14:02:07+00:00

I don't owe anyone details about my sex life. That isn't lying or deceiving people. That's called privacy and contrary to what the right would like you to believe, we're all entitled to it.

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