Monday, September 29, 2008

Interview with an Empath (part I)

M.E.: You were the one who first outted me as a sociopath. Do you remember that?

Empath
: I don't specifically remember "outting" you, but it is very likely given my history with sociopaths.

M.E.
: So you have outted other sociopaths as well?

Empath
: At least one, an old and dear friend. And maybe others. I don't know, people come to me a lot with crises of identity.

M.E.
: How did you get to be so good at sniffing out sociopaths?

Empath
: I don't purposely seek out sociopaths, unless it is completely subliminal. Remember, you randomly got placed with me in the office at that internship. What I have been able to do is recognize that sociopaths are more numerous than most people assume. And I know a bit of what to look for, having been so close to one for so long. Although I suspect there is a lot of "diversity" among the "sociopath community." hehehe

M.E.
: Ha, nice scare quotes.

Empath
: Also perhaps having been "out" to myself as queer since an early teenager, I am able to recognize and appreciate those who are outside the norm. I don't know.

M.E
.: So you think you being gay has somehow given you sociodar?

Empath
: I think it has given me an awareness of things outside the norm. My world view allows me to recognize the "good" or the "beautiful" everywhere.

M.E.
: Even in the tiny black heart of a sociopath, apparently.

Friday, September 26, 2008

Tyra Banks: Sociopath?


Should Tyra Banks be added to our closet sociopath wishlist? According to one observer, yes:
Why do I think Tyra has no empathy? Well, for example, she often does rating stunts on her talk show wherein she’ll dress up as somebody she’s not (homeless person, stripper, a man) and she’ll be utterly astounded at how this new character she’s portraying sees the world. I mean, the closest I’ve ever been to being homeless is being locked out of my apartment for a few hours, but if you asked me whether or not being homeless sucks, I would vote yes. I can imagine how degrading it must be to beg for food, how difficult it must be to live on the streets or even in shelters, and how heart-wrenching it must be to have your world turned upside down and live by a whole new set of rules.

But T. Banks? She can’t imagine it. When she pretended to be homeless for a day (seriously, a day), she was utterly astounded by the whole experience. In other words, until she actually experienced homelessness, it wasn’t real for her.
An (incorrect?) distinction between narcissism vs. sociopathy:
She’s not just a narcissist; Tyra Banks has absolutely no sense of empathy. Having no ability to empathize is what (many websites tell me) catapults someone from simple narcissism to sociopathy.
And the unexpectedly tolerant conclusion:
I’m not saying that Tyra’s going to go out and do something awful (other than her talk show, boom, rim shot!) to anybody. She’s not dangerous at all. In fact, what I am saying, is that all of the behavior that people chalk up to a variety of unflattering causes, well, it’s not Tyra’s fault.
Kudos to this friendly young man for his open-mindedness regarding sociopaths and their potential for good in this society.

Thursday, September 25, 2008

Sociopaths in the news

Okay, not really. There's no reason to think that Clay Aiken is a sociopath, but one day sociopaths will be coming out on the cover of People Magazine. I'm sure there are just as many closet sociopaths running around in politics, business, and science as there are closet gays in the entertainment business. In fact, I have my own closet sociopath dream team (some deceased):

1. Harry Truman -- the bomb, of course.
2. Marie Curie -- science is more important than people?
3. Alan Greenspan -- I know he seems to be the opposite, but saying things like "material success is . . . far more satisfying when it comes without exploiting others” is just his beard. If you were a closet sociopath, wouldn't you say those things too? Me thinks he doth protest too much.
4. Sandra Day O'Connor -- no one with a moral compass could truly "swing" the vote as she did.
5. Tom Cruise -- for so many reasons.

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

In which I clarify that I do not hate Aspies

So this post came across a little strongly against aspies. Maybe just a little. I was very careful not to advocate any sort of violence against aspies, but still...

It's not that I dislike aspies. I actually really like them for their loyalty and all of their other good traits. If it seems like I'm down on aspies, it's only because I'm jealous of their superior social position. The truth is that if the aspies asked me to join their club, i would say yes in a heartbeat. I'm like Lindsay Lohan's character in Mean Girls and the aspies are the cool crowd. I'll talk trash and pretend I'm better, but if I got invited to one of their parties I would stay up all night deciding what to wear. (Ah, Molly Ringwald... interested in being a sociopath spokesperson?)

Sometimes I even claim to be an aspie myself. Who wouldn't? If for nothing else, for the aspie pride t-shirts! I mean, I have some of the signs: inability to pick up social cues, weak sense of empathy, inability to conform to social norms. All I would have to do is tone down the charm. If I can pass amongst the empaths, certainly I can keep a low profile amongst the remarkably unaware aspies. And who knows, maybe all sociopaths are aspies. Just like the movie Underworld, where all the vampires and werewolves are long lost cousins, socios and aspies can finally realize that we're really just two sides of the same coin. What do you say, aspies? Ready to become one big family?

I can't wait! We could have family reunions or conventions. It could be as popular as Comic-Con! In fact, let's have all the socios dress as vampires and the aspies as werewolves and go to Comic-Con next year! It's going to be so great. Say you will, little aspies. Say you will.

Speciation and the Sociopath

This interesting argument about how sociopathy is a natural adaptation makes the mistake of discussing the "related disorders" of autism and, in a previous generation, homosexuality. As discussed in a previous post, no one wants to be associated with sociopathy.

But society is lucky to have sociopathy around. Sociopaths and smokers are about the only people we can safely marginalize anymore. And we all know how strong the urge to witch-hunt is.
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