Warren Commission (11 of 26): Hearings Vol. XI (of 15)United States. Warren Commission
History
Warren Commission (11 of 26): Hearings Vol. XI (of 15)
United States. Warren Commission
Kennedy, John F. (John Fitzgerald), 1917-1963 -- Assassination; Oswald, Lee Harvey
Mr. THORNLEY. No; I didn't mention that that I recall. I did say that
I think maintaining the persecution complex was necessary for his
self-esteem and he was concerned very much with his image in history
but I don't think in the sense of being secure about his self-esteem; I
don't think he was either conceited, for example, egotistical, or just
plain confident. I don't think--I don't have any reason to believe that
he in his own eyes, had any reason to be proud of himself beyond the
average, at most.
Mr. JENNER. I wasn't thinking of self-esteem in that sense and I didn't
gather from your remark that you were thinking of it in that sense
either, but rather in the sense of self-esteem in his own eyes, not in
the sense of accomplishment or egoism.
Mr. THORNLEY. Now, I don't know. Self-esteem in one's own eyes, it
seems to me, would have to be justified by some means. Some people
justify it by means of their attraction to the opposite sex or by means
of their standing in some country club. I think Oswald justified it by
means of his recalcitrance, kind of a reverse self-esteem.
By means of his unwillingness to do what he was ordered, for example.
Mr. JENNER. Did you have the feeling that he sought the esteem of
others, not necessarily his officers, but the esteem of somebody or
some group or some persons about him and in his life----
Mr. THORNLEY. I think he wanted this very much but I don't think he
knew how to go about getting it. He wanted it, and yet he certainly
didn't--I think he would have felt he was cheating himself if he had
offered them anything in exchange for it. He wanted it but he wanted it
to come to him for no reason. He didn't want to have to earn it. I got
that impression. That is a very mild impression.
Mr. JENNER. We are dealing in a very delicate field here and I am
pressing you very severely.
Mr. THORNLEY. These are sometimes very gray, thin lines we have to
distinguish between.
Mr. JENNER. We are probing for motivation. Did you ever discuss with
him the matter of education?
Mr. THORNLEY. No.
Mr. JENNER. His own; or education in the abstract; or the need for
education in order to attain accomplishments; or any regard to whether
his status in life, his personal comfort, his personal peace, could be
advanced by further education?
Mr. THORNLEY. No.
Mr. JENNER. Did you ever have the feeling of any discomfort on his part
or inferiority because of his limited education?
Mr. THORNLEY. No. First of all, in the Marine Corps there is a
prevalence of this kind of feeling among many of the enlisted men, and
Oswald was exempt from it.
Mr. JENNER. What do you mean "exempt from it"?
Mr. THORNLEY. Well, he didn't, for example, have the usual bitterness
toward somebody who read, well, just merely because he did read.
Mr. JENNER. He may have felt superior because he did read, did you have
that feeling?
Mr. THORNLEY. Oh, yes.
Mr. JENNER. That was a definite feeling?
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