Empath: There are things to appreciate about sociopaths, like my friend. His special areas of interest are mass mind control, individual manipulation, and "performance art." I cannot consciously allow myself to manipulate people the way he does, but there is something brilliant about it that I have to respect. And he often restrains himself from the most outrageous behavior if I request it.
M.E.: Outrageous behavior?
Empath: I used to be disgusted and horrified by some of his antics. He has moved beyond the base, largely. By base, I mean obsession with the writings of Sade, completely depraved porn, pointless cruelty, and the practice of shocking people just for the fun of it. Now he has aimed his sights on larger issues, issue at more of a societal than personal level.
M.E.: But he still is an artist, so to speak?
Empath: So to speak. My friend will find things that really irk someone and touch upon their deepest insecurities and just nail them with it. He likes to claim he is breaking down their character structure so that they can be rebuilt without these insecurities. He will encourage women to prostitute themselves and then describe it for his amusement. He will deliberately taunt people he knows have been abused or hurt in some way--sometimes I think he does it just to observe and see what they will do.
M.E.: Interesting. Sounds sort of like Bunuel's Viridiana, which should be a sociopath favorite if it isn't already.
M.E.: Outrageous behavior?
Empath: I used to be disgusted and horrified by some of his antics. He has moved beyond the base, largely. By base, I mean obsession with the writings of Sade, completely depraved porn, pointless cruelty, and the practice of shocking people just for the fun of it. Now he has aimed his sights on larger issues, issue at more of a societal than personal level.
M.E.: But he still is an artist, so to speak?
Empath: So to speak. My friend will find things that really irk someone and touch upon their deepest insecurities and just nail them with it. He likes to claim he is breaking down their character structure so that they can be rebuilt without these insecurities. He will encourage women to prostitute themselves and then describe it for his amusement. He will deliberately taunt people he knows have been abused or hurt in some way--sometimes I think he does it just to observe and see what they will do.
M.E.: Interesting. Sounds sort of like Bunuel's Viridiana, which should be a sociopath favorite if it isn't already.
