Monday, October 13, 2008

House, MD: Sociopaths Making Friends

Dr. House, of the TV show House, MD, is a sociopath. House, like Dexter, is sympathetically portrayed--perhaps even more so than Dexter. But recently his fictional best friend Wilson has been hating on him. House sort of kills his best friend's girlfriend Amber, and then tries to apologize:
"I'm sorry. I know I didn't try to kill her. I know I didn't want to hurt. I know it was a freak accident. But I feel like crap and she's dead because of me."
"I don't blame you. I wanted to. I tried to. I must have reviewed Amber's case file a hundred times to find a way— but it wasn't your fault."
"Then we're okay? I mean I know you aren't but— Maybe I can help."
Wilson finally responds, with lots of pauses while in spite of all his habits to spare House, Wilson tells him what he's really feeling. "We're not okay. Amber was never the reason I was leaving. I didn't want to tell you because— because I was trying like I always do to protect you, which is the problem. You spread misery because you can't feel anything else. You manipulate people because you can't handle any kind of real relationship. And I've enabled it. For years. The games. The binges. The middle-of-the-night phone calls. I should have been the one on the bus not—" Wilson catches himself doing what he has always done. "You should have been alone on the bus. If I've learned anything from Amber it's that I have to take care of myself." Wilson picks up the last of his belongings before walking out with these parting words. "We're not friends any more, House. I'm not sure we ever were."
House doesn't know whether Wilson is serious or not, so gives him a long leash. After giving him space for a while, he tests the water again, knocks on the door to Wilson's house and tells him:
"I need an epiphany. What are you billing out at? Three Hundred an hour? Here's four."
"There are other oncologists."
"Better oncologists. But I need you. Let me describe the symptoms, problems, issues, you say whatever you feel like saying until something triggers an idea in my head."
"That's not the way it works."
"You have a way of thinking about things.It's sloopy, it's undisciplined, it's not very linear. It compliments mine. It drives me down avenues that I wouldn't otherwise—"
"House, please go away."
House tries to continue discussing the case until Wilson tries to shut the door on him. Then he stops the door from closing and asks, "How are you?"
"Don't do this. Please. Please, don't do this. I'm trying to move on."
House isn't willing to give up and after asking some more, admits, "I paid a private investigator to spy on you."
"You didn't."
"If you want to move on from me, you've got to deal with me, talk to me."
"You have no right."
"We're not friends anymore. There's no trust to be breached. I can have you followed, I can call you names, tell your secrets..."
"I have the right to walk away from you, House. There's a world beyond you. You need to realize that and even if you don't I'm moving on. The next time you knock, I'm not answering."
Now of course I side with House. Is there any reason I could be wrong?

Thursday, October 9, 2008

Interview with a sociopath part III

M.E.: So I think your yahoo group is pretty unusual, if only because the conventional wisdom seems to be that sociopaths are disassociative. Like redheads, sociopaths supposedly don't like associating with other sociopaths. Has there ever been a problem? Do you think that sociopaths are disassociative?

V
: No. "Sociopaths" as I think of them are not dissociative. This is why they are not normal. Read the last section of Wilhelm Reich's CHARACTER ANALYSIS. What he says about the "emotional plague" of mankind. "Normal" people are captivated by their rationalizations and delusions, which function to protect them from reality. It is the rare and unique individual who can face reality, the possibility of human freedom and rise above.

M.E.
: Any common misconceptions about sociopaths you want to debunk?

V
: Why bother? "Sociopaths" already know the truth, from the inside. Are you asking me whether I want to "reason" with irrational people? Sounds like a waste of time to me.
I don't feel the need to justify my personal integrity to assholes.

M.E.
: Yeah, okay. Thanks.

Wednesday, October 8, 2008

Interview with a sociopath part II

M.E.: So you have a yahoo group, elite_sociopath, which i enjoy reading.

V
: Glad you enjoy it.

M.E.
: How did it get started?

V
: The Yahoo Group started by myself and a few others recruiting all the smartest people from every good discussion forum we knew. We all had the same problem. Getting kicked off of groups and forii for being smarter than the moderator and showing the moderator up. The literature group, various Nietzsche groups, Heidegger, Reich and other groups are where most of the original people came from. Nowadays we also get people from occult forums and stuff.

M.E.
: Whoa, occult forums? Nice. Is there a greater proportion of sociopaths on those type of forums? Or do sociopaths rise to the surface like cream in milk in yahoo group forums?

V
: No, not everyone is a sociopath, necessarily.

M.E.
: So what's with the name?

V
: Well the sociopath discussion forum is FOR people like "us." Not that you have to be elite to join, anyone can join.

M.E.
: But the empaths are all socio-friendly? How do those dynamics work out?

V
: Often people find out that they can't take it, so they quit.

M.E.
: Yeah, I've had people quit on me too, after they realized they couldn't take it. It's kind of a drag. I wish I could take it as well as you seem to.

Tuesday, October 7, 2008

Interview with a sociopath part I

M.E.: We have a mutual friend who turned me on to your Yahoo group. I was wondering if you would be interested in doing a similar interview for the blog?
V: I'm sure it would be fabulous.
M.E.: Perfect, this will be very interesting. So, how did you realize you were a sociopath?
V: Dunno that I did, per se. Just realized that everyone else was a bunch of dumbasses.
M.E.: How do you think being a sociopath affects your life?
V: I think the realization that I was "different" was life changing. All those years as a kid surrounded by idiots, and trying to "act normal," and "fit in" by trying to be like THEM. LOL. And this includes adults. It made me realize I could INDIVIDUATE. And that I SHOULD. Are INDIVIDUATION and "SOCIOPATHY" identical? Heheh. "Let us face ourselves. We are Hyperboreans. We know very well how far off we live. Beyond the North, ice and death. OUR life, OUR happiness..." -Friedrich Nietzsche, THE ANTICHRIST.
M.E.: What does Nietzsche mean by Hyperboreans? i read the wikipedia article but I don't get it, and I've only had layovers in Nietzsche land, not actually stayed there for any amount of time.
V: Nietzsche wants to talk about "transcending," but without a system of values, he doesn't necessarily know precisely in what way he wants to become "better." So he uses lingo from Greek mystery cults.
M.E.: Yeah, okay, I'm familiar with the whole ubermensch thing. Leopold and Loeb, Hitchcock's rope, yeah.

Friday, October 3, 2008

Interview with an Empath (part V)

Empath: By the way, I believe my friend still has a listserv on yahoo or somewhere. Would you like to talk a little with your peers? I could refer him to your blog and ask if he thinks the listerv is up your alley. Although they don't tend to talk that much about being sociopaths, specifically. He let me on the list at one time in the past, but I couldn't handle it when one of the more serial-killer-esque individuals on the list actually posted child porn and it came directly in my in-box. So I unsubscribed. The rest of them aren't like that, but a number of them are into conspiracy theories for some reason.

M.E.
: Definitely interested. I'm so lonely, really. Mainly I have to hang out with people on the autism spectrum who are also unempathetic, or the uber-empaths who are so empathetic they even empathize with the sociopaths. You might be one of those, btw. Particularly if your friend stole your girlfriend and you still sort of felt bad for him.

Empath
: That sounds right.

M.E.
: Uber-empaths and sociopaths actually make okay friends because the empath is constantly emoting all the time, like kryptonite killing off lesser things, but the sociopathis are unfazed, immune. And sociopaths rarely get to show off to people who really appreciate them. Uber-empaths can understand and appreciate. That said, I'd like to meet other sociopaths.

Empath
: Sure, but if you do get on the listserv, my friend sometimes refers to me on the list. Many things he has said about me are blantantly false or some shade of embellishment. I don't really care, because he doesn't use my real name, but if you read anything about me in the archives or whatever, assume it is not true. My friend periodically accuses me of being Lecter to his Starling. Which is almost flattering.

M.E.
: So you were on the listserv for a while? Did you ever think that you were a sociopath?

Empath
: No, I am definitely not one of your ilk, though at times I wish I were, because I recognize how base, disgusting, hypocritical, and virtually intolerable the world is but am stuck on that radio dial picking up the waves of empathy, unable to control. Compassion can be a handicap, I recognize. One of my favorite movies is American Psycho, because I appreciate the beauty and truth of the film's ending. Most people do deserve to die in horrible ways. I just know that I want to save them rather than than use or slaughter them. I am a crusader and semi-socialist, you know?

M.E.
: Yeah, I know.
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