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2004:55 states that manipulators often hide their weak feelings in order to appear as a person with bold self-confidence. This is proven in Ted’s case, as he was trying to
create a persona that he was a person who was influential in breaking the mystery of his own behaviour.
4.2.3. To Feel in Control of Manipulator’s Own Emotions
As described in Chapter II, manipulators need to feel in control of their own emotions. They do not want to lose their control and finally being controlled by
others. They intend to manage their emotions as fine as possible in order to succeed in manipulating people. This motive underlies 4 statements of Ted Bundy.
Data 11
Dr. Dobson : If I were able to ask the kind of questions that are being asked, one
would be, “Are you thinking about all those victims and their families that are so wounded? Years later, their lives aren’t normal.
They will never return to normal. Is there remorse?” Appendix ii, no. 39
Ted Bundy : I know people will accuse me of being self-serving, but through
God’s help, I have been able to come to the point, much too late, where I can feel the hurt and the pain I am responsible for.
Appendix ii, no. 40, line 1-3 In the conversation above, Ted was asked if there was remorse that he felt
when thinking about his victims and their families. This issue was certainly sensitive to him, because he was directly asked about his victims whom he had murdered. This
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interview took place in 1989 just a few hours before his death execution, and he surely knew that his answers would be judged carefully by people.
By stating “... through God’s help, I have been able to come to the point, much too late, where I can feel the hurt and the pain I am responsible for.” he would
like to show people that he was able to feel the normal emotions. He showed that he was in charge of his own emotions, that he was capable of feeling the hurt and pain
that he was responsible for. Ted had been always seen as a heartless man. The crimes that he had
committed shaped his image as a cruel person. A lot of people had questioned his normal emotions, because he did not seem to regret what he had done over the years.
Therefore, by saying that he had been able to feel the hurt and pain that he had caused to his victims and their families, his intention was to make himself appear as
a person who had changed emotionally and was able to manage his own emotions.
Data 12
Ted Bundy : I can’t begin to understand the pain that the parents of these
children and young women that I have harmed feel. And I can’t restore much to them, if anything. I won’t pretend to, and I don’t
even expect them to forgive me. I’m not asking for it, because that kind of forgiveness is of God. If they have it, they have it. If they
don’t, maybe they’ll find it someday. Appendix ii, no. 47 In his statement above, Ted appeared as a person who was strong enough to
accept the fact that his deeds were absolutely unforgiveable. He seemed to have realised enough that he could not restore what he had done. Therefore he did not
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expect the parents of his victims to forgive him. By saying so, he would like to show people that he was able to manage his emotion as calm as possible when talking
about the forgiveness that he might not deserve. He sort of twisted the idea by saying, “....because that kind of forgiveness is
of God. If they have it, they have it. If they don’t, maybe they’ll find it someday.” His motive was to let people know that he was completely fine and understood that it was
not easy to forgive him, therefore he said that the forgiveness essentially came from God. By stating so, his motive was to show people that he was not in the state of
demanding forgiveness, rather he was capable enough to control his emotions since the forgiveness from God was more important to him.
Data 14
Ted Bundy : People say, “Ted Bundy didn’t show any emotion, there must be
something in there.” I showed emotion and you know what people said? “See, he really can get violent and angry.” There’s no one right
way for me to act. Appendix i, no. 4, line 1-3 His statement above was uttered in 1977 when he refused to admit that he had
committed crimes. As seen in the statement above, he sounded like he really understood what people thought of him, how people judged him, and how people
saw him as a person. Hence, he would like to show that he was essentially a normal person with normal emotions. He implicitly wanted to convey that it was the people
who had been wrong in judging him. Ted’s statements above implied that people had a double-standard when
judging him. Therefore, he showed that he was better than anyone else in
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understanding himself by saying, “There’s no one right way for me to act.” Braiker 2004:56 states that for the manipulator, only one person can be right, and that must
be him. By saying the statements above, Ted indirectly had expressed that he did not want to be controlled by others about how he should act. He was the one who was
right and people had misjudged his emotions, that is what his statements implied.
Data 21
Ted Bundy : I’ve been told that the parents of these girls are fairly decent
people... I don’t know. I really feel for them because apparently these people suffered some incredible tragedy in their lives. The loss
of a loved one is probably the most extreme kind of loss one could suffer in this life, and I’d say, I feel as much for them as anybody
can. Appendix i, no. 20 His statement above was spoken in 1977. He was pretending to feel sorry for
the victims’ families. Not only that, he expressed how much he empathised for these people who, according to his saying, suffered some incredible tragedy. His motive of
using this manipulative statement is to show that he was just like other people who felt sorry for the victims. Despite the truth that he was the real killer, he was
successful enough to control his emotions and displaying sympathy for his victims.
4.3. The Most Dominant Language Manipulation Strategy and Motive
