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minimized his destructive actions to the level of only being impolite and regretting things, but not the crimes that he had committed.
Data 25
Ted Bundy : There is no way in the world that killing me is going to restore
those beautiful children to their parents and correct and soothe the pain.Appendix ii, no. 49, line 10-12
The statement above is manipulative because Ted compared the act of killing him to the fact that it would never restore his victims. He had indirectly minimized
his violent behaviour and crimes towards his victims. He implicitly wanted to say that killing him would be ineffective since the victims were all dead, so it will never
bring them back to their family or diminish the pain that their parents felt.
4.2. Language Manipulation Motives
Following the findings about language manipulation strategies in Ted Bundy’s statements, the analysis carries on to introduce the language manipulation
motives which underlie his statements by using the theory of Braiker 2004. In order to figure out the motives, the analysis focuses on Ted Bundy as an individual,
including reflecting on his background, crime cases and the other facts attached to him as a person.
4.2.1. To Advance Manipulator’s Own Purposes
As explained in the Chapter II, manipulators will say and do everything necessary in order to advance their own purposes. They feel the need to have their
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personal gain upon other people. This language manipulation motive underlies 18
statements of Ted Bundy. Data 1
Reporter : Did you ever physically harm anyone? Appendix i, no. 10
Ted Bundy : Ever physically harmed anyone? No, no. You know, again, not in the
context that you’re speaking of.Appendix i, no. 11 The conversation above took place in 1977 after Ted was suspected of
committing 36 murder cases in Colorado, Oregon, Utah, Florida and Washington. Right at that time, he denied the accusation of his crimes. He refuted the indictment
upon him for the purpose to defend himself from the penalty. He wanted to manipulate people in order to make people believe in what he claimed, that he had
never physically harmed anyone. In fact, he had not only harmed, but he killed his victims, yet he denied the accusation to liberate himself for the possible punishments
that he might receive.
Data 3
Ted Bundy : I’m not guilty of the charges that have been filled against me.
Appendix i, no. 15, line 2 Reporter
: And the allegations? Appendix i, no. 16 Ted Bundy
: And the allegations. Appendix i, no. 17 The conversation above took place in 1977. Ted claimed that he was not
guilty of the charges and allegations that had been filled against him. He denied that
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he had committed the crimes which were suspected done by him. He used this language manipulation as an attempt to free himself from the sentences that might be
given to him for committing those crimes. There is always a tendency of criminals to deny their crimes, just like what Ted did in the conversation above. His purpose was
to stand up for himself and decline the charges and allegations upon him.
Data 4
Dr. Dobson : One of the final murders you committed was 12-year-old Kimberly
Leach. I think the public outcry is greater there because an innocent child was taken from a playground. What did you feel after that?
Were they normal emotions after that? Appendix ii, no. 45 Ted Bundy
: I can’t really talk about that right now. I would like to be able to convey to you what that experience is like, but I won’t be able to talk
about that.Appendix ii, no. 46 The conversation above took place in Florida State Prison in 1989, just a few
hours before his death execution. In here, the interviewer asked a direct question about a particular murder which actually gave Ted the chance to tell the truth.
Kimberly Leach was one of Ted’s final victims before he was finally sentenced to death. The 12-year-old girl was kidnapped from school and later raped
and murdered by Ted. The question that the interviewer asked could be an enlightment for so many people who had constantly questioned why Ted was capable
of being totally merciless even towards a little girl. Yet, Ted chose not to answer it by saying, “I can’t really talk about that right now. I would like to be able to convey
to you what that experience is like, but I won’t be able to talk about that.” If he could
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not talk about it right at that moment, which was a few hours before his death execution, then when would he be able to talk about it again? There would be no
time later, which he surely knew. Nevertheless, he chose not to talk about it on purpose because he wanted to distance himself from his crimes.
Ted, perhaps, did not expect that the interviewer would give such a direct question towards him. He, who was well-known as a manipulative person, wanted to
keep the revelation for himself. Sharing his experience about killing a little girl would make him appear as a real malicious person, and he surely did not want that
image stick to him, especially when he had to confess it directly just a few hours before his death execution.
Data 5
Dr. Dobson : For the record, you are guilty of killing many women and girls.
Appendix ii, no. 3 Ted Bundy
: Yes. Yes, that’s true. Appendix ii, no. 4 Dr. Dobson
: How did it happen? Take me back. What are the antecedants of the behaviour that we’ve seen? So much grief, so much sorrow, so
much pain for so many people. Where did it start? How did this moment come about? Appendix ii, no. 5
Ted Bundy : As a young boy of 12 or 13 certainly, I encountered in the local
grocery stores and the local drug stores, just softcore pornography. And you know the anecdote, young boys do explore the back rows,
sideways and byways of neighborhoods, and oftentimes, people would dump the garbage and whatever they’re cleaning their houses.
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From time to time, we would come across pornographic books of a harder nature, more graphic. This also included detective magazines.
And I want to emphasize this. The most damaging kind of pornography – and I’m talking from hard, real, personal experience –
is those that involve violence and sexual violence. Because the wedding of those two forces – as I know only too well – brings about
behaviour that is just too terrible to describe. Appendix ii, no. 10, line 5-14
The conversation above took place in Florida State Prison in 1989, just a few hours before Ted’s death execution. The interviewer asked Ted a question that took
him back to recall how he first started his destructive behaviour. Ted answered that it all started with his experience with pornography. He, as a young boy, had the
curiosity to explore this object further that he employed himself in reading and watching pornography, especially that involved violence and sexual violence. As his
explanation progressed, he claimed that this kind of pornography had the most damaging effect on people, because it could bring too-terrible-to-describe behaviour.
His explanation above shows that he was making rational excuses to cover up his guiltiness. His motive was to manipulate people to absorb everything he said and
make people consider it to be true and understandable.
Data 6
Dr. Dobson : It pornography fueled your fantasies? Appendix ii, no. 13
Ted Bundy : In the beginning, it fuels this kind of thought process. Then, at a
certain time, it is instrumental in crystallizing it, making it into
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something that is almost a separate entity inside. Appendix ii, no. 14
The statement above was uttered by Ted regarding how pornography was seen as a fuel to his fantasies before he finally took a step further to actually apply it
in a real life. By asserting that pornography fueled his fantasies, he indirectly wanted people to focus more on the damage that his addiction to pornography could bring,
rather than his crimes. His motive was to manipulate people into thinking that he committed those crimes under the influence of pornography. He implicitly conveyed
that pornography had the responsibility in every crime that he had done, because it stimulated him to act on his fantasies.
Data 7
Dr. Dobson : How long did you stay at that point influenced by pornography
before you actually assaulted someone? Appendix ii, no. 17 Ted Bundy
: Well, yeah, you see.. That is a very delicate point, in my own development. We’re talking about having reached the point or a grey
area that of course, well.... Appendix ii, no. 18 Dr. Dobson : You don’t remember it? Appendix ii, no. 19
Ted Bundy : Well, I would say.. I would say a couple of years. Appendix ii, no. 20, line 1
In the conversation above, it is obvious that in the beginning, Ted was trying to avoid the question. Dr. Dobson as the interviewer asked him how long he stayed at
the stage of being influenced by pornography before he finally assaulted someone.
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Ted, on the other hand, responded the question by stating unclear statements and it was clear that he was not able to come to a direct answer. Only when the interviewer
asked him once again that he ultimately said “...a couple of years”. Ted’s motive of dragging the issue was to avoid himself from the issue of
assaulting someone. He had put a lot of focus on describing how the pornography influenced his behaviour, but he did not want to talk about the behaviour itself.
Therefore, when the interviewer inserted the word “assault someone”, Ted felt the need to distance himself from the sensitive issue. He repeated saying things that did
not make sense such as “Well, yeah, you see.. That is a very delicate point, in my own development. We’re talking about having reached the point or a grey area that
of course, well....”, before finally coming out with an exact answer.
Data 8
Dr. Dobson : Do you deserve the punishment the state has inflicted upon you?
Appendix ii, no. 48 Ted Bundy
: That’s a very good question. I don’t want to die. I’m not gonna kid you. I deserve, certainly, those extreme punishments society has.
And I think society deserves to be protected from me and from others like me. That’s for sure. What I hope will come of our
discussion is that I think society deserves to be protected from itself. As we have been talking, there are forces at loose in this country,
especially this kind of violent pornography, where, on one hand, well-meaning decent people will condemn the behaviour of Ted
Bundy while they’re walking past a magazine rack full of the very
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kinds of things that send young kids down the road to being Ted Bundys. That’s the irony, because I’m talking about going beyond
retribution, which is what people want with me. Appendix ii, no. 49, line 1-10
By stating, “That’s a very good question”, Ted actually avoided making the question become sensitive to him. However, he also claimed that he surely did not
want to die, implying that he surely felt intimidated by the death execution. Later on, he stated that he did deserve the extreme punishment that society had, which was still
not a direct answer to the question. The next thing that he stated, though, was completely a different point. He
said, “What I hope will come of our discussion is that I think society deserves to be protected from itself.” First of all, take a note that Ted considered this a discussion,
not an interview. He did not see himself as a subject, but he was a part of the discussion on parallel with Dr. Dobson. Secondly, he changed the subject from the
issue of whether or not he deserved the punishment to his idea of society needed to be protected from itself. He tried to manipulate people into thinking that he was not
as dangerous as the possibility that there might be another “Ted Bundy” in the future. Ted even entitled it as an irony, that people would condemn his behaviour,
but did not realise that any kids could turn to be just like him as the result of being addicted to pornography. Ted affirmed that he was talking beyond the retribution.
What he implied was that he did not want people to focus on him and his horrible crimes, but on the possible horrific scenes that might happen in the future, crimes
committed by any young kids. His motive was to manipulate people’s perception in
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order to set himself aside from his crimes and the death penalty as the following consequence.
Data 9
Dr. Dobson : You, as I understand, were raised in what you considered to have
been a healthy home. You were not physically, sexually, or emotionally abused? Appendix ii, no. 7
Ted Bundy : No. No way. And that’s part of the tragedy of this whole situation.
It is because I grew up in a wonderful home with two dedicated and loving parents, as one of 5 brothers and sisters. We, as children, were
the focus of my parents’ lives. We regularly attended the church. They’re two Christian parents. Theydid not drink. They did not
smoke. There was no gambling or physical abuse or fighting in the home. Appendix ii, no. 8, line 1-6
As mentioned in the previous sub-title, that the statements of Ted Bundy above contain lies. His motive was to defend his family’s name out of his crimes. He
would like to clarify that it was not his family background that played a role in shaping him as a murder. He provided an information that he grew up in a wonderful
religious home and had loving parents. While in fact, the fact mentioned earlier in the previous discussion shows that his early childhood was problematic, since his
biological father was unknown. He was also made to believe that his grandfather was his father and his mother was his older sister. Knowing this piece of fact, it is
understandable to presume that Ted’s statements above could be invalid. He stated it
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for the purpose to protect his family from any consequences of the crimes he committed.
Data 13
Reporter : So you’re not guilty? Appendix i, no. 14
Ted Bundy : I am not guilty? Does that include the time when I stole a comic
book when I was 5 years old? Appendix i, no. 15, line 1-2 The conversation above took place in 1977, when Ted denied that he had
murdered several girls and women who were missing at that time. When the reporter confirmed to him if he was not guilty, he tried to make a little joke while laughing
and answered, “I am not guilty? Does that include the time when I stole a comic book when I was 5 years old?” By stating this statement, his motive was to show
people that he was not aware of what kind of guiltiness that the reporter referred to, because he simply wanted to cover his crimes. He used the joke to give the
impression that he was innocent.
Data 15
Dr. Dobson : You had gone about as far as you could go in your own fantasy life,
with printed material, photos, videos, and then there was the urge to take that big step over to a physical event. Appendix ii, no. 15
Ted Bundy : Right. It happens in stages, gradually. It doesn’t, necessarily not to
me, happen overnight. My experience with pornography that deals with sexual violence is that... Once you become addicted to it, and I
look at this as a kind of addiction, and like other kinds of addiction,
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you’d keep looking for more potent, more explicit, more graphic kinds of material. Like an addiction, you keep craving something
which is harder, harder; something which gives you a greater sense of excitement, until you reach the point where the pornography only
goes so far. You reach that jumping off point where you begin to wonder that maybe actually doing it will give you that was just
beyond reading about it or looking at it. Appendix ii, no. 16 In his statement above, Ted was describing how his addiction to pornography
grew. He stated that his addiction to pornography made him crave for something which was harder and gave him further pleasure. He reached that jumping point from
only reading and looking at pornographic contents to doing it in the real life. By stating, “Like an addiction, you keep craving something which is harder,
harder; something which gives you a greater sense of excitement, until you reach the point where the pornography only goes so far. You reach that jumping off point
where you begin to wonder that maybe actually doing it will give you that was just beyond reading about it and looking at it.”, his motive was to influence people into
thinking that he was a vulnerable person and could not resist himself from the effect that pornography had on him.
Data 16
Ted Bundy : I was dealing with very strong inhibitions against criminal and
violent behaviour that been conditioned and bred into me from my neighborhood, environment, church, and school. I knew it was
wrong to think about it, and certainly, to do it was wrong. I was on
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the edge, and the last vestiges of restraint were being tested constantly, and assailed through the kind of fantasy life that was
fueled, largely, by pornography. Appendix ii, no. 20, line 1-6 Ted claimed that his childhood environment was totally against criminal and
violent behaviour. He said that he completely realised that commiting violence and crimes was absolutely wrong. However, he asserted that his self-control against those
things was constantly being attacked by his fantasy and addiction to pornography. By stating these statements, Ted’s motive was to persuade people to think that he did not
intend to do it in the first place. He knew the boundaries between bad and good, because he was raised in such a good environment. Nevertheless, he stated that it was
his fantasy life, which was largely fueled by pornography, that kept testing him to the point where he could not resist himself from doing those bad things anymore.
Ted probably knew very well that a lot of people would most likely consider what he said to be true, especially when he said it in a few hours before his death
execution. Therefore, he used this chance to make himself appear as a normal person, aside from the fact that he was a serial killer.
Data 17
Dr. Dobson : Do you remember what pushed you over that edge? Do you
remember the decision to go for it? Do you remember where you decided to throw caution to the wind? Appendix ii, no. 21
Ted Bundy : It’s a very difficult thing to describe. The sensation of reaching that
point where I knew I couldn’t control it anymore. The barriers I had
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learned as a child were not enough to hold me back from seeking out and harming somebody. Appendix ii, no. 22
Ted’s motive by stating the statements above was to let people know that he had learnt the barriers which enabled him to separate himself from doing harmful
actions, yet at some point, he preferred not to explain further by saying, “It’s a very difficult thing to describe.” He wanted to make people understand what he went
through and how he had struggled to unleash himself from those horrible actions, yet he just could not.
The “barriers” which he referred to included religion and social value which he claimed to have been taught to him since he was a child. In spite of this, it was not
enough to hold him back from harming somebody. He stated this to manipulate people into believing that no matter how good he had been as a child, still he had no
strength to refuse the urge to act on his fantasy which had been caused by pornography.
Data 18
Dr. Dobson : After you committed your first murder, what was the emotional
effect on you? What happened in the days after that? Appendix ii, no.
31
Ted Bundy : It was like coming out of some kind of horrible trance or dream. I
can only liken it to, and I don’t want to overdramatize it, but to have been possessed by something so awful and alien, and then the next
morning wake up and remember what happened and realize that in the eyes of law, and certainly in the eyes of God, you’re responsible. To
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wake up in the morning and realize what I had done with a clear mind, with all my essential moral and ethical feelings intact at that moment,
absolutely horrified that I was capable of doing something like that.
Appendix ii, no. 32, line 3-9
In the conversation above, Ted was asked about how he felt after he committed his first murder. His statements totally show that he attempted to sound
very natural and honest about his feelings. When he said, “....and then the next morning wake up and remember what happened and realize that in the eyes of law,
and certainly in the eyes of God, you’re responsible.” he intended for people to think of him as a person who was fully aware of social and religion norms. His intention
was to present himself as an obedient person who was only “being possessed by something so awful and alien” to do horrible crimes that caused suffering to his
victims.
Data 19 Ted Bundy
: I want to emphasize this. The most damaging kinds of pornography
– and I’m talking from hard, real, personal experience – are those that involve violence and sexual violence. The wedding of those two
forces – as I know only too well – brings about behaviour that is just too terrible to describe. Appendix ii, no. 10, line 9-13
On one hand, his motive by stating the statements above could be seen as good and very thoughtful. However, looking at the context of speaking, it is clear
that he had another intention with him. By putting the label “the most damaging” to pornography, he indirectly displayed himself as a separate being from his crimes. He
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stated that he was talking about this based on his personal experience. His motive was to portray pornography as a bad actor to his crimes.
Aside from the fact that pornography could surely influence people in a bad way, it is important to note that the speaker of the statement was Ted Bundy, a serial
killer who was reaching his death execution. He was sure that pornography that involved violence and sexual violence could bring behaviour that is too terrible to
describe, which certainly included his behaviour. He intended to seek for something to be responsible for his crimes, so that he was not alone bearing all the guilt by
himself.
Data 22
Ted Bundy : The issue is how this kind of literature pornography contributed
and helped mold and shape the kinds of violent behaviour. Appendix ii, no. 12, line 4-5
Ted claimed that pornography was a kind of literature which had contribution in molding and shaping his violent behaviour. This is a manipulative statement, since
at one point, people could say that he is right. He did not put the blame directly on pornography. He used the term “contributed” which has softer meaning.
At another point, needless to say, it is obvious that he was trying to manipulate people’s perception in a subtle way. He wanted people to focus more on
the cause of his violent behaviour, rather than the behaviour itself.
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Data 23
Dr. Dobson : Would it be accurate to call that a sexual frenzy? Appendix ii,
no. 23 Ted Bundy
: That’s one way to describe it – a compulsion, a building up of this destructive energy. Another fact I haven’t mentioned is the use of
alcohol. In junction with my exposure to pornography, alcohol reduced my inhibitions and pornography eroded them further.
Appendix ii, no. 24 In his statement above, Ted revealed that it was not only pornography which
contributed in his violent behaviour, but also alcohol. He claimed that how pornography and alcohol worked was that both of these things united together in
making him act violently towards his victims. His manipulation motive was to direct people into thinking that he was too consumed by pornography and alcohol that he
could not hold back himself from the effects that those two things caused.
Data 24
Ted Bundy : No man is truly innocent. I mean we’ve all transgressed in some
way in our lives. And as I say, I’ve been impolite, and there are things that I regret having done in my life, but nothing like the things
I think that you’re referring to. Appendix i, no. 19, line 3-5 Ted stated this statement in 1977 when he kept denying that he had
committed crimes. His motive by stating the statement above was to defend himself from the charges that the law had filled against him. He manipulated people into
believing that he was surely not a perfect person who had never done mistakes. He
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declared that he certainly had ever done things which he regretted, but those things were nothing like what the reporter referred to, which were the crimes. He wanted to
make people believe in him and deceived them to change their perception towards him.
Data 25
Ted Bundy : There is no way in the world that killing me is going to restore
those beautiful children to their parents and correct and soothe the pain. Appendix ii, no. 49, line 10-12
Ted’s motive by stating the statement above was to let people know the fact that there would be no point in killing him, because it would not bring back
everything that had been lost. He wanted to make people become aware once again his death execution would never restore the victims. He intended for people to see
and fully realise that probably killing him would not be beneficial, considering that it would also not soothe the pain of the victims’ parents.
4.2.2. To Attain Feelings of Power and Superiority
