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Letter From A Psychopath

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Re: Letter From A Psychopath

#291

Post by eruditely »

oofabz wrote: post #286
eruditely wrote: post #284

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What the fuck? Maybe this is too much of an immediate response for me, but why the fuck would you contact the police? Do the police seem like they take care of people like him well? Shit I feel bad for him, the one guy he thought he could trust just snitched on him, even if he was crazy. Must have been hell to undergo that. Maybe you should have posted to a forum about how to help him first, as opposed to helping? No…

I was involved in this incident, as one of the friends who helped track him down. I believe contacting the police was a good move because his letters indicated that he was a danger to himself and to others.

Okay thank you. My initial tone was unwarranted. I apologize.

Re: Letter From A Psychopath

#292

Post by [deleted] »

tomstokes wrote: post #92

Perhaps the most fascinating part of this letter is observing people's reactions to it. In the letter, the author goes so far as to admit that s/he is and always will be a psychopath without a sense of guilt or remorse toward others and a keen ability to recognize and exploit weaknesses in others for his/her own gain. Judging by the comments here, the letter has done just that. One comment below notes that "Jeez, tha…

[deleted]

Re: Letter From A Psychopath

#293

Post by hootener »

sliverstorm wrote: post #148
hootener wrote: post #103

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What's brilliant about this letter is how easily I stepped into it. C admitted to possessing the abilities to be a master manipulator and exploiter of weakness; and I still let C manipulate me into thinking exactly the way he/she wanted me to by the end of the letter. It was the literary equivalent of the cup-and-shell game. I saw the con happening right before my eyes and still got duped. Brilliant writing. (Note: I…

So you're saying the letter is a long-con to increase trust in psychopaths to make it easier for the author to take advantage of people? You say you don't necessarily mean "con", but "manipulated" definitely implies you feel you were led to believe something likely false that you wouldn't have otherwise via trickery, etc.

Don't overthink my comment. I don't know C and have no idea how pure his intention in writing the letter may be.

Despite his intent, I believe that I left the letter thinking exactly what it was designed to make me think. Therefore, the actual mechanics of the letter (which were outlined well by tomstokes, in my opinion) were excellent at eliciting what I assume is the intended response. This is akin to successful manipulation, but may not necessarily be from a place of malice on the part of C. However, C's changing my opinion of psychopathy does in fact place him in a more advantageous position if the two of us were ever to meet, thus I was manipulated.

Re: Letter From A Psychopath

#294

Post by mikeash »

eruditely wrote: post #284
mikeash wrote: post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There is a fascinating internal logic underneath it all. I had a schizophrenic guy send me regular e-mails for about two months. For reasons still unknown to me, he decided that I was the one person in the world that he could trust. The first e-mail was very short and looked like spam. It was a brief note about how the death of some professional wrestler wasn't an accident. Then they got longer and longer, and finall…

What the fuck? Maybe this is too much of an immediate response for me, but why the fuck would you contact the police? Do the police seem like they take care of people like him well? Shit I feel bad for him, the one guy he thought he could trust just snitched on him, even if he was crazy. Must have been hell to undergo that. Maybe you should have posted to a forum about how to help him first, as opposed to helping? No…

The police conduct welfare checks on people who may need help. Despite the internet's fascination with police abuse, they can be quite helpful to people.

And maybe you shouldn't be so offhandedly judgmental. I actually called a suicide hotline in the area first (the only mental health service I could come up with) and, after I convinced them that I wasn't suicidal, it was their suggestion to contact the police.

But yes, I guess it was terrible that this poor guy got help and got his life back on track.

Re: Letter From A Psychopath

#295

Post by barrkel »

undoware wrote: post #182
tomstokes wrote: post #92

Perhaps the most fascinating part of this letter is observing people's reactions to it. In the letter, the author goes so far as to admit that s/he is and always will be a psychopath without a sense of guilt or remorse toward others and a keen ability to recognize and exploit weaknesses in others for his/her own gain. Judging by the comments here, the letter has done just that. One comment below notes that "Jeez, tha…

I hate to logic-chop a civilian (i.e. someone who didn't waste their youth in an analytic philosophy department studying ethics) but here we go. If your position is that all convincing self-accounts by psychopaths are themselves only convincing because the psychopath is somehow 'tricking' you, then you can take that statement and s/psychopath/any group you care to name/ and you'd never know the difference. Don't beli…

Actually, the comment you're referring to just suggests people take a step back from the material of the letter, and look at its overall effect: one of self-aggrandizement.

Once you see that, the material of the letter takes on a different aspect. Even if it weren't from a psychopath, it would be enlightening.

(I have other issues with your use of naive logic based on non-probabilistic propositions, but you may be doing that to dumb it down for the audience.)

Re: Letter From A Psychopath

#297

Post by jaggederest »

n09n wrote: post #192
benihana wrote: post #168

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You don't understand at all. I was in a relationship with a psychopath. Love does not matter to these people. Your emotions do not matter to these people. Your intentions do not matter to these people. The only thing that matters to a psychopath is their own ego and self-aggrandizement. You're taking an incredibly naive view that will likely leave you completely taken advantage of and hurt. It doesn't matter how much…

So what? Even if it doesn't matter to them, it can still matter to you. Making yourself a better person isn't less worthwhile because someone else tells you you're being taken advantage of in the process.

That's what I tell people - you can't take advantage of me, I give freely of myself. Nothing I do is without my consent, so you can't "win". There is no contest.

Re: Letter From A Psychopath

#298

Post by asmman1 »

squigs25 wrote: post #82

Many of the best venture capitalists and entrepreneurs have psycopath-like tendencies. Think about the similarities. A good entrepreneur/venture capitalist should be: -Ruthless, selfish, unsympathetic -Capable of manipulating, good at acting, great at selling a concept and convincing others to drink the kool-aid -Unfazed by negative outcomes -Unaware of (or at least, unfazed by) social norms and the status quo -Creat…

So, you're saying big businessman like Warren buffett are too?

Re: Letter From A Psychopath

#299

Post by socrates1998 »

Interesting read, but about half-way through I realized he could be manipulating me into thinking he was decent person, just misunderstood.

Anyways, it is scary to realize that there are lots of powerful people out there like this.

Actually, I think there are many powerful CEO's and political leaders that are psychopaths.

How else could they convince people to give them the power, money, and influence they have?

Re: Letter From A Psychopath

#300

Post by bicx »

tomstokes wrote: post #92

Perhaps the most fascinating part of this letter is observing people's reactions to it. In the letter, the author goes so far as to admit that s/he is and always will be a psychopath without a sense of guilt or remorse toward others and a keen ability to recognize and exploit weaknesses in others for his/her own gain. Judging by the comments here, the letter has done just that. One comment below notes that "Jeez, tha…

After reading these comments, I'm fairly certain my cat is a psychopath.
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