Saturday, December 1, 2012

War = sociopath breeding ground

On the topic of whether sociopaths are born or created, I just heard about the Japanese movie Battle Royale, in which a class of high school students is sent to an island to kill or be killed until there is one left standing. According to an imdb synopsis:
At the dawn of the new millennium, Japan is in a a state of near-collapse. Unemployment is at an all-time high, and violence among the nation's youth is spiraling out of control. With schoolchildren boycotting their classes and physically abusing their teachers, a beleaguered and near-defeated government decides to introduce a radical new measure: the Battle Royale Act Overseen by their former teacher Kitano and requiring that a randomly chosen school class is taken to a deserted island and forced to fight each other to the death, the Act dictates that only one pupil is allowed to survive the punishment. He or she will return, not as the victor, but as the ultimate proof of the lengths to which the government is prepared to go to curb the tide of juvenile disobedience.
The students have varied reactions:
Some of the kids immediately embrace the carnage, others reluctantly join in for self-preservation, others gather together into smaller groups that war with each other, still others seduce allies in, only to kill them in short order, and still others kill themselves in refusal to participate in the violence. The problems arise even in the groups of trusted souls as a greedy suspicion grasps them all. Those that don't succumb to this violent infidelity, surely risk falling victim to their external classmates' hunts.
When I first heard about the plot of the movie, I thought the island was meant to serve as an accelerant for natural selection. Of course if you are putting high school students on an island with weapons, the only thing you would be naturally selecting for is sociopaths. Under my revised-per-imdb understanding of the film, the island is not just naturally selecting out sociopaths, it is actually creating them out of normal empaths. Do I think this actually happens in war and other times of exigency? Yes, I do.

69 comments:

  1. I'm under the impression that sociopathy is simply an adaptation. I don't think it's so much that we can not be or were never capable of empathy, it's just that somewhere along the road we made the choice not to, consciously or, more often, not.

    -Morph

    ReplyDelete
  2. We're missing a little bit of something, whether that's good or bad is subjective. You can crush that something with enough trauma to the programing of the "normal" brain to an extent, but that is simply the brain adapting to the acceptance as "correct", to the extent that it is a plausable event of reality, the things they have seen and done. People live with the bounds of reality between j-p, sociopaths can imagine a-z, because that is what could happen if this that the other thing and then this happened. It is knowing the boundaries of reality a little wider than most people think of, because they are. If it were to be laid out in enough detail to a logic program the "ifs" and "thens" would all add up to true. They may only be a .01% chance that they could all be met at the right time, but that's the thing about "if", it is, at that moment, or it is not. Until then its just enough if-thens in a narrowingly plausible time-span. There is cause for everything, a push must exist for a resting object to move, so are the laws of these physics.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The unfair advantage they have over your mind is the fact that over all these years, decades, centuries even...

      They have perfected the art of traumatising the victim, to the extent of enslaving them, bound with fear, fear of what inner part will be subject to scrutiny and ridicule. Shackles of fear.

      Realise that all this flattering insight comes from that they have had you many times over before, and those like you.

      Delete
    2. What about the ones who refuse to participate in the carnage, but will defend themselves to the death if attacked. Trusting no one, distancing enough so that guile and subversion are useless weopons. Only head on combat by an overt aggressor will be engaged. Assuming that there are more than one of these " nobel warriors " left in the end, do they remain there uningaged. If forced to engage [ torture, ect ], then there is still an opponent aggressor. Does the warrior become traumatized [ PTSD ] and lose their sense of empathy, pity, and disgust. I think that they still feel empathy, love, ect,
      but live with sadness, disgust, and remorse. Most likely unable to form close attachments/relationships seated in extreme distrust. Maybe I'm missing some of the rules. I did not watch this one.

      Delete
    3. All a lie.

      If they can hit a spot, so you let your guard down, they'll try and impose this skewed view of yourself, so that you'll eventually end up beaten, sad, believing the lie.

      Be a rock and don't roll!

      Delete
    4. I think ME is right. Trauma and abuse can make you strong and perhaps stronger than opponents. Because it is the will to survive and the ingenuity one uses which will give you resources to keep your life. These could be defense mechanisms. Maybe a made sociopath has them built in.

      Can warfare in the home can trigger it??? Is a question

      But who knows.You want to know how to defeat devious abusers, you must think like them. Does that make you a part-time/war-time sociopath? I wouldn't think 2x about killing an opponent. I'm not a sociopath either.

      And it takes a person strength to kill themselves. Someone with the knowledge they will be killed might just put the trigger to one's own head. I don't think that makes them a non-sociopath or a sociopath. This might disappoint the sociopath, but they still win, so prob not so much!

      Now a narcissist might think their actions caused the suicide. This does not a sociopath make. I know this because I've had a narcissist ask me if they caused me to be sick.

      Delete
    5. Trauma is caused when you believe the lie, so that you will realise... that you should not believe the lie.

      So don't believe the lie. Laugh at it.

      ...And know the Truth.

      Delete
    6. Suicide is a preferred tool of sociopaths. Completely destroying their victim psychologically, to the point that the suffering is so great and their logic and rationale can no longer function cogently, the path kills and gets away with it.

      Delete
    7. When you have true treasures in your heart...

      Flattery seems such a cheap, superficial thing.

      Delete
    8. Coming here for help is probably not the best idea. But probably not the worst.

      I get the feeling some of our heads are not in our own hands, seeing as to how many personalities seem to be going around.

      Its cruel because the poor victims never know what to expect. Its heartbreaking.

      Delete
    9. Expect to dance. You never know what song is going to be played. Some songs are easier to dance to than others. Some are better dancers, and some can't dance at all. If the field gets to hot, you may end up dancing whether you want to or not. That is the silliness that is most sad. If you know that you have to dance to get to better places, then take lessons and keep practicimg! Dancining with wolves. Katunka!

      Delete
    10. While you're dancing, try not to fall over your own words.

      Delete
    11. I'm too adept for that. I might trip over myself every now and then, but I usually catch myself before I fall. It's always good for a laugh. Some of the funniest jokes are on ME. However, I usually sit out on the condescension 2 step, insecurity shuffle, and bad guy ballet. Boooooring!! I'll go grab a drink and wait to see if anyone wants to Tango. It's more fun! :)

      Delete
    12. That cuts deep. Very deep indeed.

      Actually, I kind of lost you there.

      Delete
    13. I usually lose you here, there , everywhere.

      That's the nature of the rabbit-fish.

      Delete
    14. Fine.

      Oh, the pain! You guys are tearing me apart, oh, the pain, the pain, make it stop.

      There you go.

      Delete
    15. LOL. There's no pain in the truth. It only hurts because the truth is a stranger to you. Embrace it. It's the pain that will make you smile. Promise!

      Delete
  3. The plot of this one sounds very similar to The Hunger Games.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The movie came out in 2010. I think I recall it being based of on some manga or novel, but I'm too lazy to google.. Hunger Games (the novels) aren't that old. Too lazy to google.

      Anyway, it's not a copy.

      Delete
    2. Battle royale has a lot more gore and violence in it than the Hunger Games. All the best to get you degenerates' panties wet.

      Delete
    3. Bottle Royale is a lot older than The Hunger Games.

      Delete
  4. extreme circumstances call for extreme measures
    and a sociopath can be pretty extreme

    ReplyDelete
  5. I think it would be more interesting to take all the british royals to an island and do the same thing- or maybe goldman sachs

    ReplyDelete
  6. “Be soft. Do not let the world make you hard. Do not let pain make you hate. Do not let the bitterness steal your sweetness. Take pride that even though the rest of the world may disagree, you still believe it to be a beautiful place.”


    ― Kurt Vonnegut

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. If you like the smell of shit, that is...

      Delete
    2. lol.

      Sociopath like the smell of their own shit like they like the smell of their babies diapers.

      Delete
    3. Pretty sick stuff, but I'm sure they do.

      This place is going to shit fast, storms are coming, its pretty clear that its all building up to a climax.

      Makes me all giddy.

      Delete
    4. Loki is too drunk to know what he's talking about

      Delete
    5. Stop lying Loki

      Delete
    6. I guess he's right.

      Delete
  7. I watched this movie the first time I did acid. It's ok.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's not that great. It's more of a "shock" movie, like Ichi the Killer. Not a whole lot of substance to it.

      Delete
    2. yeah, but there are some freaky hot scenes in that film, if you are so inclined :P

      Delete
  8. There are some more episodes on yesterdays thread, Rich.

    ReplyDelete
  9. I believe M.E. is male. Most of his articles and words have a masculine tone. Who agrees?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Also, ME is really hiding behind his sociopath status on this blog. I for one, am really curious about the man behind it. He gives us only stuff that falls into that category: Being a sociopath. Which in our minds he's made it to be a general thing. He falls into a category, everything he says does. His created personality on this blog is benign. One post he tried to offend people, maybe in a frustration overload but he was just as benign in that as well.

      Delete
    2. I understand him though. You can't let out your thoughts openly knowing how everyone else would interpret them.

      Delete
    3. I watched The Machinist recently. This will sound extremely narcissistic, but you guys can as well think about it and trip a bit thinking of it.

      What if each of us were ME. I mean, me. What if I was ME but I would be totally oblivious to it and only did it when I didn't know, sort of like a second personality.

      Wouldn't that be great ?

      Delete
    4. Yes, he made wise choices in setting this up and in his continued posts. And the continued mystery of the man behind it, also, works. Our hats are off to yah, M.E.

      Delete
    5. It's beautiful :). Indeed it is.

      Delete
    6. ME is the Everyman sociopath for his blog. He has questions and likes a nice answer to put in the twitter. Each of us cause him to have questions, whether they are sociopathic in nature or otherwise.

      Why is this a masculine or feminine trait? This is a real question . -He often uses female posts for inspiration, so how can u make an assessment as to his/her sex?

      Delete
    7. for the twiiter or himself/herself..

      BTW where is the recent posts gadget?

      Aspie?

      Delete
    8. That movie was fucking brilliant. I'm a pretty bad insomniac too and Bale's performance blew me away.

      Also, I think M.E. is a male too, but does it really matter who he is in real life? He posts thoughts/ actions he took that are relevant to the site. Do you really care about the other everyday details? If he wanted you to know them, he'd share.

      I don't think he really gives a damn about what we think of him, but rather wants to dispel some myths and encourage sharing of ideas. As well as providing a meeting place for people who generally wouldn't discuss these issues or seek help with their problems elsewhere.

      Delete
    9. I think he is a man because he seems to have a certain depth of character. If he was a she I believe that s/he would focus a load more on appearance and prettiness. But that's just my 2 cents.

      Delete
    10. Rembrant is a meth head.

      Delete
    11. Don't offend me! I use the crack pipe.

      Delete
  10. I miss the Twitter. It was, always, fun to see which quotes M.E. would put up. It gave you insight into him, as well as into yourself.

    My fave was Kany's about things being deep. People come up with some great ones, often inadvertently ~

    ReplyDelete
  11. She wants an explanation and I'm not sure I can make her understand.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Monica left her office and saw Literary Anon talking to Medusa. His face was close to hers and his eyes had that look: that look he just had with her. She went up to stand next to him and touch his arm. He shook it off and whispered, "Don't ever do that to be again, you whore"

    Just as she was trying to regain her composure, he handed her a gift box. She tucked it in her purse and walked to her car. In the safety of her car, she opened it. There was a pair of panties with a tag--Pineapple Flavored Edible underwear. There was a handwritten note, in L.A's precise handwriting. "Wear these tomorrow, whore, or you will regret it."

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. "His eyes had that look: that look he just had."

      "Pineapple Flavored Edible underwear."

      Just give up.
      For the sake of all mankind.

      Delete
    2. This was cheap. It was coming from a place where I was afraid to go deeply into my self. I was of afraid what people would think because no one praised me for a while ~

      I don't think I was respecting the people who would take the time and effort to read. That is why it came out in such a way that you would make this comment. Thank you.


      Delete
    3. I'm reading this and being entertained. Just so you know.

      Delete
    4. Thank you, Edvard!

      Up From The Sofa

      Monica had a nice face and a weird face. The nice face stood at a comfortable distance from people. It did not have too much of an expression or too little. It gauged a middle ground, and went with it.

      The weird face would leave a wet patch of water in her path or set booby traps with out of place furniture, to be tripped over, in the middle of the night. The weird face starved her or made her eat in a ravenous frenzy as if she needed to fatten up, before the famine which would signal the end of the world.

      The weird face was a tough negotiator. You could throw meat at it, but it did not take shit scraps. Don't think you could buy it a Happy Meal and expect to be done. It wanted filet mignon. Trying to feed it took a balancing act of immense proportions. Once you offered up the sacrifice, you could never get it back, or at least without a herculean effort to the degree where you shrugged your shoulders and let it go.

      Delete
  13. Replies
    1. S0 bloody hilarious, all of you. You have made me laugh.

      Delete
  14. Funny, funny stuff.

    ReplyDelete
  15. As a sociopath and amateur writer myself, my own adaptation of this story would find the ultimate catharsis for the sociopath being the strategic suing for peace towards the last two or three groups left standing on the island. It should have been clear that the students should have worked together to overcome the adults forcing them to fight, rather than turned on themselves and each other. Sociopaths aren't necessarily self-destructive, after all. Far more likely to be self-destructive are empaths forced to take on alien traits, and I imagine that they would be grateful to surrender the responsibility for it to a real sociopath.

    ReplyDelete

Comments on posts over 14 days are SPAM filtered and may not show up right away or at all.

Join Amazon Prime - Watch Over 40,000 Movies

.

Comments are unmoderated. Blog owner is not responsible for third party content. By leaving comments on the blog, commenters give license to the blog owner to reprint attributed comments in any form.