Saturday, February 26, 2011
Friday, February 25, 2011
Narcissists in the news: Charlie Sheen
In an open letter to TMZ:
What does this say about Haim Levine [Chuck Lorre] after he tried to use his words to judge and attempt to degrade me. I gracefully ignored this folly for 177 shows ... I fire back once and this contaminated little maggot can't handle my power and can't handle the truth. I wish him nothing but pain in his silly travels especially if they wind up in my octagon. Clearly I have defeated this earthworm with my words -- imagine what I would have done with my fire breathing fists. I urge all my beautiful and loyal fans who embraced this show for almost a decade to walk with me side-by-side as we march up the steps of justice to right this unconscionable wrong.
Remember these are my people ... not yours...we will continue on together...
Charlie Sheen
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Guest post: Pick-up artists and sociopathy
It occurred to me while reading your posts that the pick-up artist (PUA) community essentially teaches "normal" people sociopathic behavior, or at least something really similar. They borrow heavily from theoretical frameworks like neuro-linguistic programming and other areas of psychology/psychotherapy in order to systematize the art of manipulating and seducing women. As an adjunct, there's also a body of concepts dedicated exclusively to disarming any male competition/protectors/significant others. Here's a slice of the mental flowchart involved in something like Bait-Hook-Reel-Release theory:
"A Hook is when she genuinely answers a question, complies, or responds to the artist’s DHV [demonstration of higher value] with an IOI [indicator of interest]. If she is not hooked, neg [throw a light backhanded compliment] and roll off [start to break away to bait them into chasing you]." (http://www.pualingo.com/pua-definitions/bait-hook-reel-release-bhrr/)
As you can probably tell, the community is blighted by a juvenile obsession with its own jargon, BUT many of the core concepts are field tested and sound. One big side effect of becoming proficient at pick-up is that you come to see people as predictable, exploitable, and inferior systems--mere concatenations of switches to be flipped before some utility can be produced. Unsurprisingly, charges of teaching sociopathy are not unheard of from within the PUA community:
"The whole thing is set up to make you view women as unreal, and merely as objects for your own sexual gratification and validation. People you aren't sexually interested in are supposed to only register as possible obstacles to using a girl for sex, if they register at all. . . . So you're always leading on chicks you aren't interested in, just to "practice" or "socially proof" yourself, or maybe use her as a gateway to her friends?" (http://www.puahate.com/showthread.php?t=6051)
If you haven't already, I can recommend reading "The Game" by Neil Strauss for an entertaining look into the minds of both fledgling and veteran pick-up artists. Because of the notable similarities between the methods/goals of pick-up and sociopathic behavior, it might be useful (and easy) for sociopaths to add some PUA tools to their arsenal. My apologies if this is already quite obvious to you--I didn't see much writing on the subject on your blog, so I figured it couldn't hurt to e-mail you about it.
Best,
Aspiring Sociopath
"A Hook is when she genuinely answers a question, complies, or responds to the artist’s DHV [demonstration of higher value] with an IOI [indicator of interest]. If she is not hooked, neg [throw a light backhanded compliment] and roll off [start to break away to bait them into chasing you]." (http://www.pualingo.com/pua-definitions/bait-hook-reel-release-bhrr/)
As you can probably tell, the community is blighted by a juvenile obsession with its own jargon, BUT many of the core concepts are field tested and sound. One big side effect of becoming proficient at pick-up is that you come to see people as predictable, exploitable, and inferior systems--mere concatenations of switches to be flipped before some utility can be produced. Unsurprisingly, charges of teaching sociopathy are not unheard of from within the PUA community:
"The whole thing is set up to make you view women as unreal, and merely as objects for your own sexual gratification and validation. People you aren't sexually interested in are supposed to only register as possible obstacles to using a girl for sex, if they register at all. . . . So you're always leading on chicks you aren't interested in, just to "practice" or "socially proof" yourself, or maybe use her as a gateway to her friends?" (http://www.puahate.com/showthread.php?t=6051)
If you haven't already, I can recommend reading "The Game" by Neil Strauss for an entertaining look into the minds of both fledgling and veteran pick-up artists. Because of the notable similarities between the methods/goals of pick-up and sociopathic behavior, it might be useful (and easy) for sociopaths to add some PUA tools to their arsenal. My apologies if this is already quite obvious to you--I didn't see much writing on the subject on your blog, so I figured it couldn't hurt to e-mail you about it.
Best,
Aspiring Sociopath
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Guest Post: Stepping Up
When I left home it was raining. I remember thinking I picked the worse day to leave. I didn’t really know where to go. Eventually I found an old abandoned car dealership with some homeless kids in it. I conversed with them for a while and they ended up letting me stay.
A Christian construction guy ended up giving me a job as a laborer, because he felt bad for me. I started making a little money which I spent on booze. When I first got the job I was excited. After a while I got bored and every time the boss left I would smoke weed in the back. I’m not really the hard labor type. I’m too lazy. Eventually I just never showed back up to work.
Opportunity always knocks. One of the kids started using hard drugs that I was living with. He would spend all day trying to make enough to supply his habit. I asked how much a zone (ounce) would cost me. He didn’t know because he bought it in small units to do himself. I asked him if I could go with him next time he was buying. He was excited thinking he would be mooching of my package.
I showed up and asked the guy what the pack would cost. He gave me a price that was a little over what I had left from working. I either had to go back to work, beg for money, or rob someone. I didn’t want to go back to that job, because it would be embarrassing to go back hat in hand. I have a lot of pride. Equally humiliating was doing what these low lives would do, beg for money.
I never did a robbery before this. I asked my new friends if they wanted in on it. They refused. They thought I was crazy. I obviously needed new friends. No wonder they were homeless. They had no initiative. I knew I was by myself. I wondered what to rob. People? Stores? A bank? I stupidly decided to rob the convenient store across from the abandoned dealership where we slept.
The next night I got my knife and put on my normal clothes I wear underneath some sweat pants and a hoodie. I made a mask out of a shirt by tying the two shirt sleeves together behind my head and my eyes were looking out the collar. I did this on the side of the store. My heart was racing. I knew I need confidence though. I was a little buzzed and I thought it would help, but it didn't. I walked around the corner of the wall and shut my eyes as I walked through the front. I knew all eyes were already on me because I had my shirt mask on. Once I crossed the door I opened my eyes and saw the clerk already running for the phone. I knew I had to be quick. I jumped over the counter and grabbed him by the hair yanking his head up and putting the knife to his throat. I told him to empty the drawer into a plastic bag. He told me to let go of his hair and he would comply. I knew he was lying. He was the hero type. I sidestepped him and yanked his hair so his head went into the counter. I started seeing red like before when I would get in fights. I kept slamming it. Fortunately I came out of it and he was only a little messy. He complied none the less.
The money from the robbery was shit. It was enough to get the zone, but it was way smaller than I thought you would get. The television is a lie. Regardless I returned to the dealer and got the zone.
Sunday, February 20, 2011
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