The Math of Murder
by John Benneth, PG Hom. – London (Hons.)
This is a part of a series of blogs on titled “The Homeopathic Repertorization of Jared Lee Loughner.” The eponym is suspected of murdering six people and wounding 18 others with a handgun in a suburban Tucson shopping mall in January 2011.
In a previous blog I suggested homeopathic remedies for the victims. In the last blog I began analyzing remedies that fit some of the reported symptoms, and continue to do so in this blog, with much greater difficulty, remedies for the suspected assailant that may have helped to avert the attack.
Of course I’m making assumptions about motive. We’re always making assumptions about motive, we can’t stop making assumptions about motive, even though it is not the primary business of the homeopathic protocol to make assumptions about motive.
The primary business of the protocol is the observation of unusual symptoms for the purpose of matching them with similar symptoms, symptoms that act as indicators to remedies. In this case the suspect presents some very unusual symptoms that demonstrate the process.
BTW, I’ve noticed that my readership has dropped off. It zoomed when I was pillaring PZ Myers. People really aren’t interested in anything more than the spectacle, the blood on the floor, are they?
Part of the mystery, I guess.
In the last blog I began repertorizing the case. In homeopathic parlance repertorization means aggregating symptoms from the materia medica, the references which list the symptoms assoicateded to various remedies. These symptoms are discovered in what are called provings, in which a specific remedy is administered to a group of healthy volunteers who record their mental and physical reactions to it.
What I’ve done then is to scour these reports looking for symptoms that are covered in the approximately 70,000 symptoms listed in various homeopathic references called materia medicas, cross indexed in what are called repertories.
I’ve taken reports of the suspect’s behavior from those who have known him to create the symptom list.
In a traditional homeopathic diagnosis this would be done in an interview with the subject, where his “remedy type” could be better assessed and the subject could state for himself his condition, and where the homeopath could make some direct observations.
Please note, however, that there is an aspect of the interview that is missing from mining the reprots as I have done in this case, and that is that outside observers can see things about the subject that the subject either doesn’t see himself or will not admit. I am also not there to skew the interview with my own observations, that is I cannot lead the interview towards some unintended goal that feeds my bias. As a note to the practitioners, this is an interesting weakness of the homeopathic interview . . the prejudices of the inquisitor. If he thinks the subject is a real bastard, he may just try to dig a bastard remedy out of the patient. It is a challenge to the practitioner’s skill of inquisition to draw out the testimony of his client, like coaxing a shy animal from its hiding place.
The symptoms list, when combined with the indicated remedies, is done to create a matrix of 35 theoretical symptoms and 336 potential remedies . . in this case a long list of remedies from AIDS to Zingiber officinale. Remedies are graded on two qualities, the number of criteria the remedy addresses and the total value for the remedy after they are added up.
As an example, the first remedy listed alphabetically is AIDS. This remedy addresses six criteria out of the 35, 1.) repetition of thoughts, 2.) anxiety of conscience 3.) Insane delusions 4.) sleeplessness, 5.) desire to kill, and 6.) mind to kill.
What this does is to create a reversed repertory for the subject.
Every snake is a killer, and Lachesis mutata is the most prescribed snake remedy. Chappell refers to them as fascinating speakers. (It’s more likely to be radio talk show host Thom Hartmann’s remedy than Loughner’s.) It even probably fits me better than Laughner. Hypnotizers. Loquacious. All mouth. Their words can be poisonous. Words that kill. Lachesis types are usually wise as they are jealous. There is also an introverted Lachesis. They can be timid just a they can be aggressive predators.
The Bushmaster snake, from which Constantine Hering took the venom for the Lachesis remedy, was so fearsome that when the natives brought it to him, they fled before he could open the crate. It puts out more venom than any other known snake.
Hering opened the crate, and before it could strike, clonked it over the head. He then expressed the venom onto milk sugar to capture it for trituration and potentiation. In doing so he placed his thumb on the poison sack to express the venom, and woke up three days later.
Knowing what had happened, he asked his wife what his symptoms had been. “What did I say?” As they would be key observations as to the action of the remedy. From this episode Hering sustained a lifelong injury that crippled the use of his arm. He eventually died suddenly of a heart attack, but not before he ha proved Lachesis and become the guiding light for American homeopathy.
Lachesis is a powerful remedy and we have much thanks to this student of Hahnemann for its discovery and use.
But is Lachesis Loughner’s key remedy? To see my repertorization of Lachesis for Loughner, see the previous blog. He could very well have enough of the qualities of Lachesis to indicate it’s use. For example he appears to have a primary interest in words and language, which is a trait of the remedy.
But before we jump to conclusions, let’s look at some other remedies.
Here is a remedy that is made from the Crack Willow, which coincidentally grows in Arizona in misshapen forms. In it we find seven matching symptoms.
LOUGHNER, Salix fragilis,strong>7,7
Dreams, lucid 1
Mind, anxiety of conscience, 1
Mind, delusions, flying, 1
Mind, delusions, insane, 1
Look fixed at one point staring
Mind, sadness when alone, 1
Sleeplessness, 1
Like Kali-br. close, but no desire to kill. Numbers are low, profile flat.
LOUGHNER, Arsenicum,strong> 9, 36
Made from Arsenic, the metal. Poison.
Poisoning from alcohol, 6
Mind, alone, 6
Mind, desire to kill, 2
Mind, sadness when alone, 6
Sleep, sleeplessness, 6
Violent, 1
He has to murder someone, 1
Desire to kill, 4
Kill, 4
Arsenicum has the highest values from nine criteria. Its major feature stems from physical insecurity. Arsenicum could be a good choice, although there are elements of the Ars. personality that doesn’t seem to fit Loughner, such as fastidiousness, taut sinewy body and bony facial features. Arsenicum is a common remedy and doesn’t seem to fit the act of a mass murderer. It lacks the sociopathy we’re looking for.
Now here’s an interesting remedy . .
Cladonia rangiferina, (Reindeer moss) 5,5
Themes: Survival, jealousy, money, suicidal feelings, heaviness in chest
Dreams, guns 1
Mind, anxiety of conscience 1
Look fixed on one point staring, 1
Sleep, sleeplessness, 1
Mind desire to kill, 1
Cladonia is the only remedy amongst hundreds that notes dreaming of guns. But I’m only guessing about guns. Maybe Loughner dreamt about the tooth fairy. I don’t know. It is only an assumption on my part. However, the fixed stare, sleeplessness, the issue of conscience and the desire to kill are compelling features of this remedy.
Like Stramonium, another classic violence remedy is Anarcardium
Anarcardium 7, 18
Themes: Good versus evil, alienated, hard and cruel
Speaks nonsense, 4
Shamelessness, lewd, 3
Mind, desire to kill 1
Mind, somnambulism, 2
Sleeplessness, 1
Violent, 4
Mind desire to kill, 1
Kill, 1
Although Anarcardium types have a murderous aggressiveness, they often lack the confidence to attack. According to Chappell the Anac. temperament comes from being beaten by the father at home. I had a girlfriend once who I pegged as an Anacardium. Interesting girl. There’s usually an element of hard work involved, and then if the child fails, it’s possible they then turn to picking on others and become gang leaders. Anacardium looks like a possibility for Mr. Loughner.
The next remedy has even more compelling possibilities.
Hyoscamus niger, 14, 66
Themes: Erotic psychosis
Disappointed love, 6
Alone, 6
Sadness when alone, 0
Sleeplessness, 6
Frightful fancies, 0
Shameless lewd nudity, 6
Shameless exposes the person, 6
Confused speech, 4
Speaks nonsense, 6
Look fixed on one point staring, 1
Desire to kill, 6
Somnambulism, 1
Tries to kill people, 6
Kill, 6
Hyoscyamus Niger (A. Gladstone Clarke.)
1. Acute mania ; patient, talkative, quarrelsome, gen. lascivious, exposes the person, etc. ; in the between state, suspicious depression ; fears solitude, poison, plots. Ailments from jealousy, unfortunate love, mental emotions.
2. Delirium during course of acute diseases ; temperature not markedly high ; restless, picks bedclothes, etc. ; beclouded senses ; staring eyes ; dry tongue, etc. ; involuntary urine and faeces ; stands midway between Belladonna and Stramonium, lacking cerebral congestion of former and fierce, raging mania of latter. Delirium tremens.
3. Spasmodic affections without consciousness ; every muscle twitches from eye to toes ; opisthotonos ; convulsions, of children from fright, worms ; of pregnant or parturient women.
4. Nervous coughs ; teasing, dry, spasmodic, sitting up (Drosera) ; night, using voice, eating, drinking.
5. Insomnia in irritable, excitable subjects ; from business difficulties or other nervous excitement ; drowsy yet restless ; in children, with twitchings and startings from fright.
HYOS: “Entire loss of consciousness; sees persons who are not, and have not been present; loss of sight and hearing.” (Nash)
Hyoscamus is the remedy for exhibitionists, and Loughner did something that was noted for an exhibitionist. He took a picture of himself, they say, holding a gun and wearing red underwear.
But even Hyoscamus seems to pale before the next remedy, the remedy of the terrorist.
READ MY NEXT BLOG to find out what that remedy is: A Homeopathic Remedy for Terrorists.