[Nat]

I've come into contact with a few where I've wondered. A family friend turned out to be one - he was a successful business man for many years and nobody questioned his character. But then he robbed a bank and was cool as a cucumber afterwards. He was sent to prison and when he got out, he drove down to Houston and shot a man to death, came home and asked his wife to wash off his bloody clothes.

But most sociopaths find more rewards in life by avoiding prison. Unless they happen to be *into* committing certain crimes. Their lives are determined by what they get a kick out of.

My best friend was taken in by one for 5 years, and she is a different person now than she was before. She kept trying to understand his behavior and make it make sense to her because he had painted this picture of a love that she really wanted - but it's not real. He's moved on to other victims now, and she's got her brain back, but it was educational to see. I didn't understand how bad it was at the time, because sociopaths make their victims look like the crazy ones. They themselves are like teflon usually.

It's not just that normal people have a conscience. It's that normal people believe things like, "well, there are two sides to every story, and the truth lies somewhere in the middle." But when one of the two people telling a story is a sociopath, the truth lies nowhere near the middle. And if the victim is calling a person a sociopath or relating to a third party the real goings on - they are likely to sound unbelievable because it just sounds so far-fetched. People don't want to believe that these folks are among us, but they are. Speaking out against them will often backfire, and so their victims learn to keep their mouths shut.