Meet George Sodini's Relationship Guru

[Hello_Kitty]

Dan Savage did some digging on the PA gym shooter and found that he was mixed up with one of those "pickup artist" type charlatans who target romantically unsuccessful men like Sodini. I'm not surprised by this at all. These scam artists perpetuate the view that women are stupid, evil bitches who can be manipulated by the right tactics. In Sodini's case it's possible that he had a view of an "ideal" partner that was frozen in his mind when he was 18 and he was convinced that's what he deserved. And his "guru" reinforced this view.

...Sodini clearly felt that he was entitled not just to sex and a romantic relationship, but to sex and a romantic relationship with a much younger woman. And he was following the advice of a love-and-romance guru who encouraged him to hold on to that belief and filled him with false hopes. Not normally a problem, I supposed. But Sodini wasn't just another socially maladapted schlub furious with the world—and with women—for denying him all the 22-year-old ass he felt he deserved. He was a nut. And he couldn't understand why, if he was doing everything right, he wasn't finding the success that was Steele guaranteed him. He was employed, dressed nicely, in good shape—he even bought a matching sofa set. ("Couch and chair—they match, the woman will really be impressed.") But none of it worked—and his failure couldn't have been his own fault, since he was doing everything right, doing it all by the book. Unfortunately the book was Date Young Women: For Men Over 35. Someone needed to get Sodini a book that explained that settling down requires settling for and that young women are usually interested in young men and that we can't always have what we want and that there were probably women out there who would date him—maybe women closer to his own age—but only if he got his shit together and stopped obsessing about college-age women...

http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2009/08/06/george-sodini-had-steel-balls

[Stephanie]

1. Here's an excellent article on him >

Pittsburgh Shooter George Sodini and his "Dating Young Women" Guru: R. Don Steele

[MagickMuffin]

3. Ewww, that video tour of his house was creepy

With all the money he claimed to have in his dairies, his home furnishings made me gag :puke:

[Stephanie]

9. Really creepy

I just watched if for the first time- bizarre.

[elehhhhna]

2. yet Drew Petersen can always find a 22 year old to marry, date, kill...

[KamaAina]

4. I have been alone for longer than Sodini. My most recent crush is sixteen years my junior.

Yet, for some reason, you do not see me out there killing women. Could it be because I'm not a psychopath?!

[Hello_Kitty]

5. Well, please don't go to his guru for advice.

Not because I think you'll turn into a psychopath, but because the guy is con artist and his tactics won't work.

And when you say you have a crush on someone, are you planning to pursue this person or is it strictly a fantasy?

[KamaAina]

6. Been there, done that, got the T-shirt.

She had just met someone -- a female, no less. It has not been an easy few months. This one is something special indeed. :(

[Hello_Kitty]

7. I understand the pain of unrequited crushes. I've had more than a few. eom

[KamaAina]

8. Yes, but did yours have a habit of popping up in front of you unexpectedly?

Like a ghost, I mean.

Mercifully that stopped after a couple of weeks.