Quote:
Originally Posted by 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.
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Oh this is SO true! They do make their victims look like the crazy ones. They lie so easily and so cooly - even in the same breath that people assume they didn't mean it. It's human nature to trust people, it's kind of how society works. Without some level of trust it would be hard to function. If you couldn't trust that MOST people follow the rules of the road, or wouldn't break the law, or be able to believe that most people to "mean well" - it would be too dangerous and scary to walk outside. It's
that trust that sociopath's exploit. They use it over and over (and sometimes even with the SAME people) - then because they have no moral sense - it doesn't phase them in the least if they get caught. They laugh it off like the person who caught them is making a big deal about nothing. Because they are so glib and good at acting, people actually question themselves and think maybe they are making a bigger deal out of it then they should. Regardless of what the sociopath is doing - which could be anything.
If they get caught stealing money from you, they are likely to say "Remember that money I let you borrow a while back? I needed it back desperately, so I grabbed it. I knew you wouldn't mind."
But, you say, you never borrowed any money from me!
"Oh," they say. "I did! I swear it was you. Just last year! I didn't want to bring it up and make you feel bad."
No, you insist, you didn't borrow money from them.
(The argument is now about whether you borrowed money, not the fact they were caught stealing from you red handed.)
"I SWEAR! You borrowed $300 just last year!," they seem 100% sure. When you again say that you didn't, they suddenly realize that it was someone else that borrowed the money and apologize for the now simple
misunderstanding, promising to pay back the missing money with interest.
Which, of course, they never do. Because they don't deny stealing (they don't see it as stealing since they deserve it for whatever reason they've given themselves (even though they know you didn't borrow any money) they know that you will WANT to give them the benefit of the doubt that weren't stealing. So they give you an excuse for their behavior.
Next week it will be something else, and so on....forever, until they are out of your life.
They also consider themselves to be intellectually superior to other people. What they really are - are just schemers/cons who literally spend all day trying to stay five steps ahead of other people for the diabolical plots that no one but them would be insane enough to dream up anyway.