Lipton’s Journal/February 1, 1955/402

A comment on the above. When a “mad killer” is on the prowl, probably nothing can work. Because at such moments all his tortured life force is finally expressing itself. His detestation of himself is so intense that the only time he can feel alive and “happy” is when he is in the act of committing some outrage. For while he worships the S he also truly hates it with the part of himself which has always wanted to live. So, in the temporary suspending of his idea of S-retaliation, he feels great release, great joy, in the act of murdering he is truly living. At such times nothing can stop him, for mangled as this is, it is still an expression of the life-force, and nothing, short of death, can stop the unbearable tension-to-go-to-completion of the criminal who is usually so isolated from his sense of life. It is only when this has spent itself, or half-spent itself, that the strong approach can work. And indeed in practice it is only several days after the initial riot that the priests and ministers enter with their black robes.