Interview with a sociopath

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I can’t post links, but the New York Times had an interesting article titled “what its like to be a sociopath.” It’s an interview with a therapist who was diagnosed with sociopathy, but she uses the same language we do talking about neurodivergence and masking - it was weird to think of NTs as “non-sociopaths”. It has also made me think a lot my own masking. It’s hard not think of sociopathy as evil / bad, and so of course they would mask so as not to be shunned by society.

That's because we'll drink it up. sociopaths love to do exactly that, it's concrete part of their manipulative thinking.

If there's a vulnerability in persuasion they'll find and exploit it.





They're social predators, we're sheep and they're the wolf, and unless they're very very extraordinary they love that it is that way. No matter what they say and do that's how it is for them and you have to respect that. No matter how nice or polite they are, they're very very satisfied by the thought they're the wolf.

The paradox of a sociopath is to treat them as an equal you have to treat them as if they are not human.

They are literally people who are neurologically incapable of having a "sense of humanity". They are humans without a literal soul.

Like imagine a hypothetical situation, where there's zero risk of getting caught, someone took you to a time machine to 1943. They say "press this button we'll give you a million dollars, as long as you are ok with gasing a hundred jews". If you're imaging someone who wouldn't press the button for money you're describing someone that isn't a sociopath.

I'm not suggesting they are gonna do that now, obviously the law etc gets in their way. My point is they have zero concern for harming others provided they profit from it in some way and it doesn't damage their ego etc.

They are fascinating to spend time with, it's just you need to appreciate what's going on behind the scenes.

When I first figured out I was on the spectrum I actually befriended and worked for a sociopath. It was actually pretty fun in some ways. It felt nice to be with a "non human" as it were. Unironically he was very very much like Putin. But after a while you start figuring things out and it just gets a little too wild. I.e. We worked construction, he really didn't care if someone got hurt, he actively sabotaged a roofers job, caused excess of 100 grand worth of damage to our client, all just because he was bitter another contractor "stole his job".

It's a certain kind of evil, they aren't automatically sadists, just morally indifferent.

It was a big learning experience form me personally, because when I found out I was on the spectrum, I was obsessed with the idea that I lacked a soul//ability to connect to people.

It was only through hanging out with him that I understood the difference.

Given the opportunity all sociopaths are as bad or worst than hitler.

It's not a question of whether or not they're evil, they are all the way evil. But you aren't, so you're stuck interacting with a demon as if they're human, knowing full well they are not.

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/202 ... Position=1

Eh.
I see them no different from someone who does a lot of things impulsively.
Just a bit socially 'luckier' and with way more disregard for consequences.

And are basically the worst type of trauma-based alexithymics; more likely constantly very dysregulated, with the inability to discern stuff with the inclination for anti-social behaviors.


Media likes to show the high functioning types -- those are likely the successful predator types who can mask well and have enough cognition to afford enough to learn cognitive empathy.

The low functioning types go to jail or cannot keep a job, are essentially creepy and socially awkward losers who happened to have their fight button (as opposed to flight or freeze) stuck. They cannot 'mask' just as well. They're very impulsive, too and are unreliable.

"Less sense of humanity"? Pff.
They're just developmentally stunted by trauma. I don't see them any differently than a raging child with a larger gun -- they can be reasoned with, just be 'smarter' than them by making them predictable.

I don't get glorifying or horrifying them in the same vein as psychopathy does. Must be a western thing.
And they don't get enough empathy -- which is ironic. That's essentially the story of their life.


I don't see them as some scum of humanity.
I see them as a very broken and twisted mirror -- which says a lot about most people and I'm far from surprised.