The Des case is actually a tragedy of the times
——Want to talk about the meaning of the word "homosexual" in this incident.
I first saw Dennis Nilson, a serial killer who kills young men in a crime documentary on YouTube. I thought he looked very much like David Tennant, but in the comment section, I saw the title of "Des", which was adapted from the incident, and mentioned witnesses. One of them, Carl Stottor, had passed away, basically drank himself to death, and decided to look for it, only to find out that it was actually Des played by DTT.
Possibly because of my preconceived notions of watching the documentary (the documentary revolves around interviews with two gay men who had crossed paths with Des), I've been looking for the impact of this event on gays in the '80s. Sadly, the only obvious point in the play is the voice from the crowd shouting at Carl as he walked out of the courthouse: "He should've have killed you, you queer!"
This is Carl's real experience, which he mentioned in his post-event interview. He also said that when he went out, someone even "spated on him". At that time, the media, newspapers, and even the whole society had a negative attitude towards homosexuals, because they were "clandestine", "closeted", "hidden in the dark". There is indeed no lack of more chaotic sexual behaviors and many drug addicts among homosexuals. In addition, deviated from social norm, it has always been a demonized group. So at the time, many newspapers focused their coverage on the word "homosexuality," as if trying to prove that, in addition to sickness and disgust, there was a greater sin that haunted such people—murder. Some even think that Des is guilty, but his victims deserve it too.
But in society at that time, homosexuals were simply one of the most vulnerable groups of people. Why do many gay teenagers and youth fall into the streets and become addicted to drugs? The fundamental reason is the unacceptance of the society and the disapproval of the family, which makes them unable to live in peace. They need to escape from their original families and find a place to live, a gay A place where people soothe each other, a way for them to get high and forget about everything else. (Of course, another part of the reason is the sexual liberation movement of European and American societies in the 70s or 80s.) People like this who have no home and no one understands, it is easy for a meal or a cigarette to trust a person who gives "goodwill". , and eventually become a victim of evil.
Carl, the young man who was killed and rescued by Des, met Des in a bar, he just broke up with his abusive ex-boyfriend, he was confused and helpless, had nobody to turn to, and Des approached him and listened to his story , consoled him, and even issued a "That's terrible" comment about what his ex-boyfriend had done to him. For such a warm and friendly image, Carl, who was young and at a low point in his life, of course easily developed attachment and trust.
Even in a later interview, Carl also said that he felt that there was a certain attraction between him and Des first, and then there was the subsequent attempted murder. He mentioned "love and hate go hand in hand", and even returned to Des, who was in prison, wrote a letter asking why he chose to do it himself. Psychologists' analysis of this behavior means that the victim, in many cases, wants to find out the reason, whether he is special, so he is "favored" by the perpetrator. But in most cases, they can't find the answer, because a murderer like Des often chooses the target of the attack is completely random, and there is no special reason. And when the victim can't find the answer, or realizes that he is just a random target and unimportant, there is often a strong sense of loss. Carl said when Des replied to him that Des was very vague and unspecific in the letter, and he probably had no clear impression of Carl at all. Having said that, Carl laughed, not sure if it was self-deprecating or sad.
Nilson's story has always affected Carl, he dared not go out in the dark, dare not go to nightclubs, and even dare not accept invitations from strangers. He said, as a gay, but afraid of men, but what can I do, this is his status quo, he can't change, he prefers to stay at home with his cat. He even said that he didn't know if it was a good thing for Nilson to save him, and sometimes he wished Nilson had killed him in the first place.
I feel very sad, as Des said in the show, "people only care about the dead". And for those living, poor people, those who should starve to death on the streets will still starve to death on the streets, those who should be treated like shit will still be treated like shit. People are curious and curious about evil, have an unprecedented desire to explore, and also have genuine sympathy and mourning for the dead, but for those innocent people who survived and bear the burdens and shadows to survive, it seems forever and ever. Forgotten, let them always fend for themselves under the haunting of the past.
In the real incident, Des has a "partner" who has maintained for more than four years, Martin, who is also a drifter who runs around here and there. Martin visited Des frequently during the four years he committed the murder, describing Des as funny, talkative, like a big brother, but he knew he couldn't fall in love with him, could have sex with him, but "that's it" . He never found out about Des' murder, only that he had a penchant for playing dead. When Des was arrested, the relationship between Martin and Des was discovered, and he was called Des's "homosexual lover" by the newspaper. Many people speculated that he and Des had known each other for so long.
Martin's life, in his own words, also changed drastically after Des' arrest. People's speculation, malicious words, and even approached him with a morbid mentality, wanting to "know what it's like to be a lover with a murderer". But these are also the most superficial, Martin said, he "has lost trust in everyone", the only person he trusts is his mother, and after the Des incident, his mother became very cold to him, this indifference It lasted until her death, and the relationship between mother and son was never close again. This makes me feel very depressing, extremely depressing, when a person begins to doubt the world, even the closest and most important people begin to alienate him, so what is left for him in this world?
More unfortunately, Martin said he felt "guilty", especially when Des moved, he offered to move Martin to live with him, Martin refused, and Des told Martin after his arrest that if When Martin was able to live with him, the murders would not happen after that, and they would "live happily ever after". Martin felt that he failed to find the difference in his dealings with Des, and because he rejected Des indirectly caused more people to suffer, he "feel somewhat responsible for that". He said "I feel guilty, although I haven't done anything".
Des' sin is not Martin's fault, but Martin has to suffer from outsiders' eyes, his own inner remorse, and alienation from relatives. When talking about his guilty in the interview, he cried and I felt very sad at that moment, he did nothing to deserve that.
As for why Des didn't attack Martin, the psychologist said it was probably because Martin was actually Des's only friend. Maybe, but the real reason, with Des's death, disappeared completely from this world.
Films based on real events can sometimes only talk about problems from a few limited perspectives. In the drama "Des", you can see the difficulty of convicting, the battle of wits and courage between the police and criminals, and the superiors in order to honor the inferiors. For the contradiction between justice, see the social status quo in which everyone is taking what they need for the same event, see "everything's about money".
But what cannot be seen is the insinuation of this real event on the background of the times, and its influence on the lifelong life of gay young people like Carl and Martin. Today's Great Britain, of course, can be proudly called a "corrupt country", but in the 1970s and 1980s, how many homosexuals became victims of the age of ignorance because of prejudice, hatred and violence.
What Des did, of course, was mainly his personal will and choice, but it was undeniable that the social environment at the time provided a breeding ground for his actions. Just imagine how many lost wandering souls, how many we have no way of knowing, died under the blade of the times in a cruel and desperate way.
In today's world, is a similar incident happening to another part of the marginalized people who have been spurned by society...
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