Dexter Follows the Rules
8th April 2011
Consider the fantasy of Dexter.
Two impulses consume you. The desire to right wrongs and the desire to kill. When you fulfill both desires you feel a pleasure that combines cocaine, champagne, and wedding night sex better than pornography. The feelings are so strong they justify murder. Of course, you know that no one else approves of your justification and if they catch you, they will ensure you never fulfill either desire.
How do you fulfill your desire while avoiding detection?
You follow the Rules of Persuasion.
As long as you follow the Rules, people will see you for what you are not. They will see you for what you want them to see. Master the Rules and you master the fantasy just as Dexter does in his continuing Showtime soap opera.
All Persuasion Is Local.
Dexter always uses the available means of persuasion in the situation whether executing a murder or avoiding detection. He takes what is, to use for what could be.
Never Always Be Closing. More Is the Enemy of Less
Dexter rarely does anymore than is absolutely necessary – the exception being his murder ritual. He tends not overdo any persuasion, nothing Baroque, expressive, complex. He does enough to accomplish the goal and avoids flair, signatures, and fashion.
Power Corrupts Persuasion.
Dexter hold official power in his job with the police. He rarely uses it to kill or hide. Certainly he capitalizes on his knowledge, access, and equipment, but that is more All Persuasion Is Local than a brazen show of manipulative force.
All Bad Persuasion Is Sincere.
Dexter plays this Rule like a Master. Sometimes he is deadly sincere, but the Other Guy does not see it. Other times, Dexter feigns sincerity, but only to persuade. The Other Guy never truly knows Dexter’s heart and purpose at any moment. Stated the poetic way, Oscar Wilde would approve of Dexter’s persuasion, but probably not his murder although Oscar might find an esthetics that eludes you and me.
If You Can’t Succeed, Don’t Try.
Dexter waits. Dexter runs. Dexter endures. He avoids a forced move. When forced, Dexter focuses harder on the other Rules, especially, All Persuasion Is Local.
It’s about the Other Guy, Stupid.
Absolutely.
Persuasion Is Strategic or It Is Not.
Dexter’s continuing survival is a constant illustration of his Strategic Persuasion. He always moves the Other Guy not just for the moment, but for a larger purpose, his continued survival.
You Cannot Persuade a Falling Apple.
When science is against Dexter, he finds science or common sense to overcome it. He is not a zealot who redoubles his effort when he has forgotten his aim.
All People Always Resist Significant Change.
Dexter capitalizes upon this through inversion. His cop colleagues will not suspect he is a serial murderer. That change is too significant. Dexter realizes that the persuasion status quo favors his innocence. With one major exception, Doakes, Dexter covers himself with his colleagues by merely letting them hold onto what they believe: Trust Brother Cops.
Persuaders Can Either Be Famous or Effective, But Not Both.
When Dexter becomes famous he will no longer be effective because he will be dead or in prison. Dexter also chillingly displays my contention that there are no values or ethics in persuasion, only in the persuader.
Great Persuaders Don’t Need Rich Uncles, Kindness from Strangers, or Third Party Vote Splitters.
Dexter does it alone. No partners. No trust fund. No patsies. Others may help Dexter but not through Dexter’s manipulation.
There’s a Difference between Persuasion, and Smoke and Mirrors; With Persuasion the Illusion Lingers.
Dexter lives to kill another day through persuasion. Those who should detect him see only the persuasion.
P.S. Isn’t it interesting that a serial killer exemplifies skill at persuasion?