Did the "babes" factor play into Idaho tragedy?

Kaylee Goncalves (instagram)

The Idaho quadruple murders would have been a huge news story regardless. Part of what catapulted it to mega-story status is pictures. I'm referring to the bonanza of pictures from when the four young people were alive. And not just the quantity of pictures. I must add here the obvious: the attractive nature of those young people. A more effervescent appearance you could not imagine. 

The four almost always flashed smiles that made it seem like they had gotten past all of life's hurdles already. Being in college is actually a crossroads point in your life: what path will you choose or end up in? Normally one's finances are challenged. You might make do with not exactly a surplus of amenities. 

My point about the plethora of pictures is that it's a gold mine for the media. It's almost a prerequisite for a mega-story. 

Allow me to move into a related point, and this is a delicate one. I have followed at least a couple other commentators who acknowledged the delicate quality. Those like us are forced into some defensiveness. We have to be, because of our obvious value judgments. Us folks are male heterosexual. Once in the driver's seat in our culture, we have been eased off to the side steadily. Popular entertainment when I was a kid presumed that our perspective ruled. 

Exhibit 'A' to illustrate: Bob Hope bringing out Raquel Welch in front of the mass of soldiers in Vietnam at Christmas-time. It is surreal to review those old specials. One can do this on YouTube naturally. Bob Hope had other females at his side who were designed to get all the guys, shall we say, salivating. 

See why commentators such as I must be defensive? We are implying a value judgment that would strike many as base, or as crass, or in the contemporary vernacular "politically incorrect." You are walking on eggshells. So a couple of these YouTube commentators, like myself, take sort of a scared stance, fearing the wrath of God as we talk about certain females being, well, "bombshells." You wouldn't raise an eyebrow talking like this when I was young. 

I would guess many females would want to seethe about that, but they had to cede to the prevailing culture. The prevailing culture was represented by the "Dean Martin Variety Hour" on TV. Consider the opening to the movie "Tony Rome" starring Frank Sinatra. In fact consider the whole "rat pack." They also smoked, part of the badge of being mature. 

The male heterosexual had sort of a primacy. Today the males who wish to share from such a perspective must do so in a scared, self-conscious stance. So we say "you have to understand how 'a guy' thinks." Then we'll repeat it for emphasis. 

One commentator pleads with the "women's libbers" to just understand. Fat chance? Has "women's lib" become an outdated term? The term is not heard as often but the phenomenon is just as real. I would say it has diversified. It's not just about women now, it's about LGBTQ. In fact, it's about a range of aggrieved classes of people, people who were once just told in subtle terms to know their place. Just tune in to Dean Martin and laugh vigorously - men had license to be lecherous. It was mainstream. Not now.

And yet the basic brain functioning of heterosexual males has not changed. We just have to plead with people to "please understand." And, after a little speech to that effect, we'll launch into a particular analysis of the terrible Idaho murders. Here's the take: the three females were attractive. The two blondes were especially attractive. And of the two blondes, one in particular: well, it was Kaylee. 

We talk about this because we are leaving no stone unturned in coming up with theories on the murder. Might a spurned boyfriend be especially enraged if the girl was "knockout" attractive? Would he care far less if the female was, well, "ordinary." Yes, women's libbers might want to put us in the stockade at this point. We have to plunge past that obstacle to try to complete our crime analysis. So-called "looks" could be a factor. 

Can I get any more "base" than this? Yes I can, sorry. It was Arianna Huffington who brought to light the phenomenon of "sugar babies." She went on Larry King. College has become so expensive, right? So as a means of adapting, some women found it advantageous to become sugar babies. The man gets a certain kind of gratification, the college girl might graduate with no debt. Compare this option to "waiting on tables." 

Men are going to exercise the kind of judgment I am talking about. All women are not created equal in men's eyes. Reality or hormones reigns. So let me assert that a girl with an appearance like Kaylee could easily market her attractiveness. If she chose, she could go into the AV field (adult video) and spring toward the top of popularity quickly. Facilitating all this would be the Internet which facilitates all things exponentially. 

There are websites to get college girls paired with men in an orderly way. Also, orderly ways to put adult videos out there post-haste. 

I mean, in the old days "pornography" was underground, in the shadows, heavily stigmatized. A sense of morals would be a huge looming barrier. 

When you watch interviews with porn stars today, they seem relaxed and happy, in many cases with the most robust laughter you could hear anywhere. No one would think to confront them with an admonition like "you should be ashamed of yourself," or "how can you live with yourself?" 

Or if you tried that, no one would care. 

"Pornography" was rather an underworld. Spoken of in hushed tones. The "adult film" genre of today seems almost to bear no resemblance. 

So, do the sugar babies have inhibitions? Probably little if any. We might wonder if this whole new world, which is what it certainly is, is liberating. Or if there might still be a foreboding side. 

Madison Mogen, Kaylee Goncalves (instagram)

Were the three murdered girls involved in non-traditional relationships? Relationships where they allowed themselves to be "objectified?" The girl and the man might not know each other well enough. Hell, marriages happen where the two partners don't know each other well enough. Could someone turn out to be a psychopath? We cannot rule anything out, because law enforcement in Moscow ID has not given us any answers. 

Alas, the playing field for speculation is wide-open. Maybe that's the part that accents the veil of sadness now - there are no boundaries. My thesis is that "attractiveness" might have been a factor in what happened. Then again, it could have been drugs. Drugs and sex? One assumes there has to be something verboten going on. Just a kid who suddenly felt resentful? Who had gotten shunted aside? 

But for that individual to take such unspeakable drastic action? Right out of the depths of hell? 

Look, if law enforcement can just start hinting to us that they're honing in, we can turn off the speculation spigot. What a blessing that would be. 

In the meantime, look for the endless photos of the three "lookers" or "babes" to keep appearing before us, from the media. Pictures are the lifeblood of such a sensational story, make no doubt about it. What fabulously attractive young women, especially the blondes, the one blond in particular. 

Sorry, that's just the way it is. The truth shall set us free. Remember how Frank Sinatra sang about "dames?" Just because something is retro doesn't mean it's gone.

 

Addendum: Remember Adrienne Barbeau and Carol Wayne from 1970s television? I wonder what they thought when they realized that the mere sight of them caused erections in young males. I mean, what did they think?

 

- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com