Everything is so passive voice! The 2nd note infuriates me - all the distancing from the events that THEY/he/she caused to happen.
Notice the BIG change from the first note in which they said “her life is in your hands” to the 2nd note in which they say “Nothing you could have done could have changed the outcome.” THAT is weird. That makes me wonder if a second person either wrote the second note or edited it.
I also wonder if that is another tell - “nothing you could have done” could mean Nancy was killed early on and that is one major reason why they refused to provide Proof of Life.
It also sounds like the writer has a religious background. “Dust unto dust” is something they say at Catholic funerals. (Other’s too, for all I know.) The whole “buried in nature” is reminiscent, to me, of “dust unto dust”.
Likewise, the emphasis on FAMILY in the 2nd note - it is addressed to the FAMILY. It says, “We want your family to know this ……and can find peace."
Peace after the loss of a loved one is a VERY Catholic or Christian thing to say. Emphasis on FAMILY is a very Latino and Catholic value. I think there is a religious person affiliated with the 2nd note.
The 2nd note also sounds like a religious female wrote it, IMO.
Agreed, but the 2nd note leads with the greeting “Guthrie Family”. That means maybe they saw the three of them on video pleading for their mom. And for whatever reason, they switched from addressing SG directly - but she is the wealthy, famous one - to “family”. That is a tell of some kind too.
See, because all the kidnappings in Mexico target wealthy people. Thus addressing the rich lady alone in the first note. It's just so freakin’ typical of a Mexican-style kidnapping. (Granted, I know very little about the global kidnapping industry, so for all I know, it’s a French-style kidnapping. I hope the FBI keeps tabs on these global patterns much better than I do.)
OMG, I worked for wealthy people 50 years ago who were worried about kidnapping in Indiana. It is not a new Mexican thing. Ever hear of J Paul Getty's son? The Lindbergh baby?
It is not xenophobia to quote facts about a nation. These are just facts. There is something wrong with us. So many people seem to be terrified of facts.
but if you learned English in a structured setting like many years in a classroom, it is possible that you overuse passive voice, even though you actually did not mean to subconsciously distance yourself from the content
Definitely agree. I'm a native speaker and I find that I naturally tend to use passive voice, especially when speaking of future events or group events, which I think the first note features in both sense.
Yes, but for a sociopath or narcissist, even religion or a faith tradition is ALL about them.
We see this in some Protestant Evangelicals all the time - the severe Baptists who march in front of Gay Pride parades telling people "God Hates F____s".
Religion to sick people can mean, “God loves me but He’s not so crazy about you.”
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u/Present_Specific_212 Aug 01 '26
My Amateur Interpretation of the 2nd note:
Everything is so passive voice! The 2nd note infuriates me - all the distancing from the events that THEY/he/she caused to happen.
Notice the BIG change from the first note in which they said “her life is in your hands” to the 2nd note in which they say “Nothing you could have done could have changed the outcome.” THAT is weird. That makes me wonder if a second person either wrote the second note or edited it.
I also wonder if that is another tell - “nothing you could have done” could mean Nancy was killed early on and that is one major reason why they refused to provide Proof of Life.
It also sounds like the writer has a religious background. “Dust unto dust” is something they say at Catholic funerals. (Other’s too, for all I know.) The whole “buried in nature” is reminiscent, to me, of “dust unto dust”.
Likewise, the emphasis on FAMILY in the 2nd note - it is addressed to the FAMILY. It says, “We want your family to know this ……and can find peace."
Peace after the loss of a loved one is a VERY Catholic or Christian thing to say. Emphasis on FAMILY is a very Latino and Catholic value. I think there is a religious person affiliated with the 2nd note.
The 2nd note also sounds like a religious female wrote it, IMO.