Netflix Dahmer Docuseries - SPOILERS!

In case you missed it in the title - SPOILERS

I am fascinated by serial killers, and true crime in general, but I only knew the basics about Dahmer. 

So the first thing you're going to say is, you are interested in true crime and serial killers, but you can't handle gore? 

Point taken, dear reader.

I don't do well with gore. 

But I will watch at least some of Ryan Murphy's shows. 

Because he is a genius, and his shows are brilliant. 

I will deal with gore if it's a Ryan Murphy production. 

Now that we have that out of the way....

I'm not here to talk about the gore. 

I am here to talk about the unfathomable, unspeakably horrifying, 100% blatant RACISM and HOMOPHOBIA on the part of the Milwaukee police department that allowed Jeffrey Dahmer's killing spree to continue. 

He committed his first murder in 1978, and his last in 1991. 

Despite reports from neighbors of suspicious behavior and foul odors coming from his apartment, PLUS the fact that he was a convicted sex offender, Dahmer was not considered a suspect, even though men of color were disappearing from his area. 

Three black women called police when a young, mixed-race male of unknown age was found nearly naked and apparently heavily intoxicated outside of Dahmer's apartment building. Dahmer told police the boy was an adult, that they were live-in boyfriends, and that the man (boy) was very drunk. Dahmer allowed the police to follow him and the boy back to his apartment. He allowed the police INSIDE his apartment. He explained away the foul odor in the apartment. AND THE POLICE BELIEVED HIM. Because he was white. And because they didn't want to deal with the situation of a gay couple. 

This is how much the police fu**ed up:

The boy was 14, not 19.

They did not press to see an ID

They did not wait until the boy was coherent.

They did not look in the refrigerator (to investigate the smell)

They did not search the apartment, even though Dahmer gave consent. 

If they had, they would have seen the body of Dahmer's previous victim on the bedroom floor. 

They did not listen to the black women.

They did not believe the black women. 

They did not wait around to listen to, or believe, the mix-raced man (boy)

They did not take him into protective custody. 

They only listened to, and believed, Dahmer. 

I know there is a lot of controversy regarding this series. 

People say the show is glorifying Dahmer.

And I know the families of the victims are very upset. 

I am not at all trying to minimize or disregard their pain and outrage. 

At the same time, I am glad this story is being told. 

Evan Peters said it best, when he accepted the Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Limited Series earlier this month, "...I want to thank everyone out there that watched this show...it was a difficult one to make,  a difficult one to watch...but I sincerely hope some good came out of it..."

Yes, it's sad that many people, myself included, are having to learn about such a horrific time in our nation's history from a television show. 

But at least we are learning about it. 

librarianintx