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Monday, February 9, 2009

Sociopaths categorically get excluded from neuro diversity movement


Under the headline, "Neurodiversity editorial: Do we have to accept sociopaths?":

Yay for neurodiversity. History-making artists, scientists, politicians -- were any neurotypical? Probably not. But then who is? Up with neurodiversity.

Yet, I’m a huge hypocrite: I just can’t get with the whole sociopaths-are-just-another-neuro-diverse-population gig.

On the one hand, it’s true: sociopathy is organic. Just like kidney stones. On the whole, kidney stones are seen an illness; a little free will with diet, but, in general, involuntary. Same with sociopathy. Some contextual free-will, but not much. I know that. Predators are predators, sociopaths are sociopaths, that’s what they do.

Contrast autistic spectrum disorders. I’m totally ok with that neurodiversity. Both autistic spectrum and sociopaths lack “empathy” (although there are profound other differences, which I won’t go into here). Why am do I grade these two organic conditions differently, having neurotolerance for autistic spectrum, and no tolerance whatsoever for sociopaths?

Fear. I’m fearful because wild-type sociopaths roaming free in society are capable of huge swaths of destruction, and I can’t tell who they are. They look so lifelike. It’s context. I understand the ecological niche for rattlesnakes. But NIMBY. If sociopaths were culled from the herd, and put somewhere where they couldn’t do any harm, I’d be much more benevolent. I know this is inconsistent. But is it wrong?

If society tested first graders, and herded off the proto-sociopaths into a special needs class, I’d feel sympathy. “Oh, look,” I might say as older vo-tech school sociopaths get off the bus with guidance counselors at Broad and Wall to work the bond trading desk, “how sweet. ” And I’d probably feel good and righteous, and probably tell other people, “I saw the sociopath school bus today. They were all wearing their “Do Not Approach- I’m A Sociopath” badge, and not one put up a fuss. What a great thing for them.”
The author suggests using the crossed out devil logo above to signify your intolerance for sociopaths. I know I don't even have to say it, but it might as well be:

16 comments:

  1. The author himself seems a bit sociopathic in approach. The obvious Hitler comparison is there.

    What he fails to realize is that banding of sociopaths into one large area would be far more dangerous to society as a whole. Especially if they know it's because they're "different".

    Think about the scene in The Dark Knight where the little sniveling shit tries to blackmail Morgan Freeman...do you really want to piss of a person who feels no remorse for what they'll do to you in return?

    I actually hope it happens just so people like the author can be gotten rid of - he is the infection of society.

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  2. Fuck neurodiversity. It sounds stupid anyway.
    -Vigilius

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  3. Noting that I am an Aspie, I admit that I support the whole system of Neurodiversity - no matter what type of "disorder" (I like to think of all of them as gifts in their own way) it is. We're all on the same page.

    PS... Clever tactic using the star patch. Show that to the whole world of NT's , and they'll probably be moved hehe. >:-D

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  4. I wonder if people who feel the way that the person quoted in this article does actually consider that sociopaths do not wreak all the havoc in the world. They make up a very small percentage (perhaps 1%?) of the population, yet plenty of crimes are committed by everyone else. Having emotions and remorse doesn't seem to stop them from being evil, does it? There are also plenty of "crimes of passion," something that more logically-minded "neurodiverse" people are unlikely to perpetrate.

    I honestly think sociopaths can have too much of a tendency to buy into the bullshit that biased people like this woman are shoveling. I don't think that we are anymore evil than anyone else simply because our capacity for emotions is *different.* What happens is that, because we're the type who won't fall down and cry about being singled-out for difference, we tend to internalize their narrative that we're evil predators. We're objective enough to say, "Yeah, I could see that. I am different. I don't feel bad about doing what I have to, to survive in a world where I feel like I don't fit in." And emotionally-typical people respond with, "SEE, told you so! He even admits he's evil!" I really wonder whether we actually have anything to feel bad about in our behavior, because, externally, it is *no different* than how many supposedly typical people behave toward me and others. The only difference is that we control our emotions, rather being controlled by them.

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  5. Sep. 8. Anon:

    "we tend to internalize their narrative that we're evil predators."

    Hm, and I thought it was one of the things that made me different from sociopaths. Well well.

    I largely agree with the rest you say as well. The one thing I'm not absolutely certain about is the:

    "we control our emotions, rather than being controlled by them."

    What saves that statement is the 'rather than'.
    Some self proclaimed sociopaths seem to believe they control their emotions completely, which is obviously an illusion.

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    Replies
    1. I know this is old post but i can't see this crap anymore without response...
      "which is obviously an illusion." ??? Are you kidding me?? If we won't cry because we just don't give a fuck is illusion?? Or when we can handle stressful situations, man, you are genius... (Sarcasm of course).

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  6. Zhawq you have no idea what a sociopath is.

    To everyone else: I am an empath who has mixed hemisphere dominance. That is neurodiversity.

    I do not believe all sociopaths should be isolated in a compound somewhere. I believe all sociopaths should be cut open and dumped in the ocean so some more worthy creature like a shark can feed on them.
    For all of you who compare this to the NAZIs let me just say that if we culled the sociopaths out of every generation there could never be anything like NAZIs.
    Frankly, we all have flaws but without any sociopaths around life would be so much better for the 99% of people who deserve the name "Humanity"

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    Replies
    1. >Condemns a historical group that brutally murdered people for being born differently.
      >Advocates brutally murdering people for being born differently.

      Logic at it's finest.

      Delete
  7. "For all of you who compare this to the NAZIs let me just say that if we culled the sociopaths out of every generation there could never be anything like NAZIs."

    No, you'd have worse. Emotional, hate filled empaths who go along with the crowd. Oh wait, that was Nazi's.

    My bad.

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  8. It tempts me to go about claiming to be a socio and directly combating people like this. No matter my thoughts on socio's, nobody should be singled out for anything that's not their fault. I don't think socio's are as inherently dangerous as he thinks they are. Sure, they can be, but they don't have to be. Your blog in part is convincing me of that. Yes, you're manipulative, and sometimes a jerk, but I'm a manipulative jerk as well (sometimes), and I'm an empath! Just because you're emotionless doesn't automatically make you more dangerous than, say, the alcoholic mother who beats her children who may have no empathy problems at all. Anyway. That irritates me, that hypocrisy. I know I'm guilty of it sometimes, but I try to at least be tolerant of people, even when they advocate things I am vehemently against. I'll try to stop ranting now.
    -Jen, a curious empath

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  9. Freak Liberation FrontJanuary 22, 2012 at 6:32 PM

    I would just like to point out the neurodiversity group, Freak Liberation Front, has historically spoken up in defense of sociopaths and psychopaths, noting out 'A Freak Responds to Occupy Psychopathy' communique

    http://freakliberationfront.wordpress.com/2012/01/11/an-freak-responds-to-occupy-psychopaths/

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  10. well, I have to say that the editor of this blog - a good while back when I was fumbling around for some human connection in a digitized world - was one of the only people to write me back and was quite kind and encouraging in her own way. That being said, perhaps she found me interesting or perhaps FELT sorry for me? At any rate, this repulsive talk about cutting up sociopaths is, in itself, profoundly sociopathic. I don't know what to think about sociopaths. I do know that they are usually pretty nice to me and that I am far from sociopathic. Maybe it is because I am empathic and all sort of neurothisandthat I pick up on the fine thread of humanity that even the coldest snarls of sociopathy can't deny? There is nothing so lovely as a sociopath's true smile.

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  11. i think its just another way empaths would just like to get a hold of who we are and try to get rid of us or ship us off in cattle cars to some where far away "so we would not hurt anyone or ourselves" wtf get over it were humans also

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  12. More people need to be on http://sociopath-community.com/

    !!! it used to be connected to this blog but was disconnected over a year ago. We need fresh blood and lots of interesting things have happened recently (relates to kiwifar.ms drama: https://archive.is/M2tXa) that will go down in the forum's history! Be sure to check out http://www.psychforums.com/antisocial-personality/ too, as some of its regulars are regulars on SC too!

    Fucking ME won't reconnect the forum to this blog so we SC goers will just have to spam the comments section w/ advertisements like this!

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