July 02, 2003 (dddnews.com "Murder Reality TV") we offered the theory that Scott Peterson murdered his wife and unborn child because of out of control borderline psychotic narcissism (bizarre excessive self-admiration or self love, and a tendency to overestimate one's abilities and importance). Scott, as we observed at the time, acted in ways, particularly during the search for Laci, that seemed to have completely ignored the humanity of Laci.

It sounded "crazy" to more than a few of our readers that Laci and her unborn son had been killed by Scott. Our readers, 90 percent of whom are normal, simply could not believe that someone that looked like Scott could have been such a vicious cold-blooded murderer. To the normal person, Scott looked like he would have been the type person that we would have sent to Boys State. And think about this, there is more than a slight possibility that you might be psychologically incubating a dangerous personality in your own home. If your child is not made to face the consequences of his actions, large and small, you are warping his future behavior. If you have frequently found yourself making statements about your preteen that, "I can't do a thing with him," your life will be a hellish nightmare when that child becomes a teenager. And while I'm at it, parents are making a huge mistake when they buy into the privacy claim of their preteen and teenager. If you let your teenager dominate you by raving that, "This is MY room, and you have no business going through my things," you are running a huge risk of losing control of your home. Remember that there will be a "boss" in your family, either you or your child. A child is born into this world a "wild thing," and it's up to you to train that child to live among us. Parents should remember that their kids didn't bring them into the world, so the obligation of parents to train their children to live with the rest of us is clear.

Scott Peterson, from his first appearance on our TV screens, presented as a cool, bland, flat, emotionless, pretty-boy; mommy's little darling who could do no wrong, that is, nothing that mommy and daddy couldn't find an excuse for, or "fix." As the trial progressed, Peterson seemed more and more to have been a well-off, pampered, suburban child who never grew up. And despite being born into an upwardly mobile, solidly middle-class American family with traditional moral and religious values, he killed with no apparent remorse. And, his attempt (aided by mommy's pocketbook) to elude prosecution by leaving the country is completely understandable, because he really didn't "see" the horror of his crime. The "Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV), the bible of the American Psychiatric Association, calls this symptom of paranoia, "loss of appreciation of context." However, Scott knew what he was doing, he just didn't see it as "his fault and wrong." His behavior after the murder is ample evidence that Laci's death caused him no pain

Someone should have taught Peterson that most of us would like to live in a perfect world where life is "hassle free." In such a world the house would always be clean, children would always be polite and cooperative, we would all have wonderful jobs, and all of our worries would, as if by magic, solve themselves. And all our wants and needs would be met exactly when we needed them, and we would always be on good terms with ourselves and others. But you know, no matter that some inept parents are teaching (to be misfits?) their children, by "obeying" their little one's every whimsical demand, and by striving never to "disappoint" those children, life is not, and will never be, stress free. Situations unfold every day that challenge us to feel, think, and deal with life's problems. And how we deal with our problems, the choices we make, are hugely influenced by our past choices, choices that were taught to us by example. All of us learned, early on, what we could "get by with." Those of us lucky enough to have had parents who whacked our rear ends when we misbehaved, learned a sense of right and wrong. That is, what worked and what didn't work was made clear to us by liberal doses of both love and punishment. And those of us that had parents who, it seemed to us, routinely "sided" with our teachers learned to respect authority. However, we, even with the best our parents and teachers could do, still occasionally reverted to "animalism." But we didn't murder anyone.

Too many of our children unconsciously buy into the belief that they should always get what they want and need, and that's the fault of parents. No, it's not the fault of TV commercials designed to make children yearn for "stuff." If TV is seriously disturbing the minds and morals of your children, TURN IT OFF. But you won't do that, because (1) it's a handy target to get yourselves of the hook for being lousy parents, and (2) you're probably afraid of your children. Are most parents "lousy?" Certainly not. But, you know who you are! Your children are coasting through school, wasting good minds. They do nothing to earn their privileges, and they are probably watching four to six hours of TV every day. And by the way, they're likely to be ill-mannered, and give you more insolence than love.

Finally, Scott Peterson was "homemade." Yet, he knew right from wrong. He burned, lusted, "needed in the extreme," to have his way, always, even if he had to kill his wife and baby to get the "satisfaction" (the psychotic release) of never being blocked, "do for me or die."

Kenneth Kinchen is an independent writer with a background in international business and foreign service contracting.