Tuesday, August 3, 2010

Sociopaths or Just Like You & Me??

I was watching that new A&E show Aftermath yesterday. The episode was about none other than Bernie Goetz. If you don't know who he is, this Wikipedia link will get you up to speed.

Now, after watching this show I heard about this today.

Apparently, this driver shot up his workplace after being asked to resign for stealing beer. Here's the twist, though. According to people close to this guy, he shot people who were being racist against him & apparently "had complained of racial harassment and said he found a picture of a noose and a racial epithet written on a bathroom wall". But as we all know, there's one side to a story, the other side & the truth is somewhere in between.

My thoughts: I'm 100% in favor of not letting anyone push you around regardless of their race, gender, age, etc. I don't support racism & I don't support targeting people who did nothing to you or your loved ones (spouses, children, siblings, parents, etc.).

When someone bullies another person, uses racial harassment or tries to do something wrong, then I 100% agree w/the comment Bernie Goetz made yesterday on that program about those people injuring themselves. He said that he didn't feel anything for the people he shot since they'd been trying to hurt him & he simply fought back.

Now while I think it's downright stupid to assume that race, gender, whatever is a factor in who's going to harm you (no one is "safe"), I do agree w/that basic point. It's karma coming to bite you in the ass.

I think that people who say shooting bullies & people trying to hurt or harm you in some way is never justified are the people who have never been bullied, robbed or threatened. It's especially patronizing to make remarks like that when you're talking about someone who's been bullied over long periods of time. That's eventually going to make a victim snap; look at what happened to John Wayne Bobbit after he went around abusing his wife. God knows if I didn't have goals or a decent future ahead of me, I'd certainly consider doing the same things. I'd certainly fight back if someone messed with me.

Perhaps some of them are bullies themselves; I really wouldn't shed tears for someone who got what was coming to him/her but might feel bad for any kids these people had since they wouldn't really be able to reform the person or tell them not to bully others. Not to mention the quality of parenting they'd be forced to deal with.

I have to wonder how many people in society would do just what Bernie Goetz did if they were in that situation. Or how many would shoot up supervisors and co-workers at a job if they were being tossed out like garbage or getting harassed or somehow being oppressed or abused in the workplace? I'm not talking about the CT story now but of cases where these things did happen. If you think it doesn't, then I'd like to know if you're offering apartments for rent in that perfect bubble you live in.

Bernie Goetz also has a pet squirrel so he kind of reminds me of my husband, who'd like a pet squirrel but has a large cat who would be displeased & probably eat it. I tell you, I'd vote for that guy over some fat cat like Bloomberg in a second. If he's not from a rich family or catering to some scummy PAC or lobbyist, even better. Believer of common sense? Then what can I do to help?

One nagging question that still kills me: Do you ever notice that every single news story on these shootings is about someone who's considered a "loner"? Someone who's not getting along with the majority of society & generally marches to his/her own drummer. Why are there never stories about murderers who have lots of friends & are considered part of the Shiny Happy People Club??? Well, except for Ted Bundy.

It also makes me wonder whether everyone thinks I and/or my husband will go on a shooting rampage since we're not exactly in the Shiny Happy People Club & we have friends who'd fit the descriptions of some of these people. Even WE fit a lot of these descriptions: quiet, keeping to yourself, not letting others push you around, being thought of as strange/weird. Part of that helps me to be heard when I've got something to say.

Apparently one sign of being a sociopath is having more affection for animals than people. Well, if that's true I & many others that I know fit that category. At least animals are consistent; they don't pretend to like you or play mind games. Looking at the collective & not individual people, I definitely relate better to cats than people as a whole. Why wouldn't I? My track record with cats on the whole is far better than my track record with people.

I wouldn't say I'd never go on a shooting spree or have no sociopathic tendencies at all (after all, I'm not a licensed psychologist) but I think far more of us are capable of it than society wants you to think. This is why smart people don't go around starting problems & being bullies to others. You do that stuff at your own peril. I might not get you but that doesn't mean someone (or even something) else won't. Life can mess you up in ways that people only wish they could.

One last thought: is it just me or is "oppositional defiance disorder" just fancy speak for being a brat? I heard of this particular diagnosis on an episode of Forensic Files last night concerning a teenager & maybe I'm clueless on how exactly one would get this diagnosis but that's what this sounds like to me. Couldn't every teenager on Earth claim to have this to get away with everything??? I'll save that rant for later.

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