As usual, the last post of the month lists the “required reading” of the month as well as contains bonus commentary.

Potted Plants – A post detailing my ideal interactions with those around me that do not rise to a level worthy of my respect.  I prefer my people to require minimal effort and yield consistent rewards.

Echoes – I wish my younger self had the maturity and insight into their personality that I do now.  Those are years I can never get back and I cannot stress enough how important it is to always seek growth via introspection.

Silence … Cutting out the Tongues of Their Enemies – Society wants to keep the psychopath quiet and locked away.  How can the successful psychopath ever add to the discourse if we are written off as a scourge with no chance to defend ourselves?

Respect … Readying the Blade – Those that I respect are off limits; however, that respect need not be eternal and I am always prepared for others’ attempts to backstab me.

Love, Respect, Ownership – Love will never compute for me.  “Possession” of another through relationships does, however.

Void – I do not pine for the traits that empaths have.  I view a lack of empathy as advantage and as desirable.

The Mark of Cain – We psychopaths wear the mark of Cain.  Society brands us for our differences and fears us when they see us.  We can do what God cannot.  We get retribution for others’ sins against us.

Wolves’ Clothing – The rise of those identifying as psychopaths in order to be edgy is amusing but ill-advised.  Do you want to be shot by your shepherd that cannot tell faux fur from the real thing?  Do you merely want to be disrobed before you are devoured?

The Cave – Personality disorders are no less real if they are not diagnosed.  However, that does not mean that an individual should not seek all of the knowledge that they can.  The shadows on the wall of the cave are merely approximations; one must go out into the light to obtain true knowledge.

Why do we hate the empath?  Are we inherently supposed to?

This was a question posed to me by a psychopathic friend of mine.  I won’t say that I was taken aback by the question; but I did find it interesting if not unfortunate.  It seems like there is nowhere safe from the ‘us versus them’ mentality that plagues humanity.  One focus of this blog has been to dispel, without sugar-coating, some of the insane preconceptions regarding psychopathy.  Education is key to overriding primal human tendencies.  We psychopaths need to be cognizant of the other direction of knowledge, however.  Empaths have much to teach us just as we have much to offer them.

Continue reading Trigger →

A reader asked the following question:

In your opinion, do you think someone only has a personality disorder if they’ve been officially diagnosed? Would you believe that someone had a personality disorder or other mental illness without a diagnosis?

Continue reading The Cave →

Maybe it is the borderline in me, but I view those around me as belonging into two groups.  Either those around me are worthy of my respect and are able to stand on their own two feet as worthy friends, acquaintances, or adversaries, or they are are on their knees waiting for someone to take advantage of them.  I’ve written before about what leads to my respect.  I have not written what leads to my disdain.  There are leaders and there are followers.  There are the strong-willed and the weak-willed.  There are the reapers and the reaped.

Continue reading On Your Feet or on Your Knees →

A sheep in wolves’ clothing merely gets disrobed before being devoured.  I don’t believe that there should be more or less legitimacy for the diagnosed versus self-diagnosed psychopath.  I’ve seen politics of legitimacy play out in other circles, such as the LGBT “community”, and all it leads to is the silencing of those that are trying to find their voice.  However, I do take offense to the recent rise in individuals using the label ‘psychopath’ (or equivalently, sociopath) as a means of simply trying to be edgy or to articulate other “outsider” traits.  Not only is it a dangerous label to use, but it also confuses this often misunderstood condition in the eyes of others.  How can the intelligent psychopath educate from the shadows if others are constantly throwing misinformation around?

Continue reading Wolves’ Clothing →

I’ve written that psychopathy is the ultimate in gamesmanship.  There are rules and encounters and there are winners and losers.  I’ve written that that our bloodlust must be contained in order to remain free and undetected.  I don’t want to candy coat things, however.  There is, at least for me, a high in winning these games.  It is exhilarating to know that I can take on nearly anyone and come out the victor.  Striking from the shadows and leaving with the spoils is addicting.  I know that maturation requires pro-social behavior, even if I will never have a pro-social mindset.  However, I also know that the perfect balance between perception and action leads to the highest gain.  Action is much more satisfying, however.  What good is there in being the best player in the game if it is not proven?  In this sense,  I’m like a junkie without a needle searching for his next fix – knowing that I should not act, but seeking the satisfaction of victory.

Continue reading Roulette →

Most people in Western nations are familiar with the Abrahamic story of Cain.  Cain, according to Abrahamic tradition, was the world’s first murderer.  What is infinitely more interesting is how the Abrahamic god chose to deal with Cain.

12 When thou tillest the ground, it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength; a fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth.

13 And Cain said unto the Lord, My punishment is greater than I can bear.

14 Behold, thou hast driven me out this day from the face of the earth; and from thy face shall I be hid; and I shall be a fugitive and a vagabond in the earth; and it shall come to pass, that every one that findeth me shall slay me.

15 And the Lord said unto him, Therefore whosoever slayeth Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold. And the Lord set a mark upon Cain, lest any finding him should kill him.

Genesis: 4:12-15 King James Version

God had placed a mark upon Cain in addition to instilling a curse.  That mark would be a signal to others that Cain was not to be touched and would, according to some interpretations, also be a mark that would signal Cain’s crimes to those that met him.

I’ve always found this story interesting.  The murder is relatively boring and simply fills in a needed gap in most proto-societal stories, but the mark that God inflicted is fascinating.  Not only is the sinner flagged for all to see, but there is a guarantee of retribution should the sinner be taken on.  There is only one group of people that immediately comes to mind when applying such a metaphor to society:  psychopaths.

Continue reading The Mark of Cain →

I’ve spent countless hours and days over the years focusing on one thing: learning who I am.  Introspection is one of the greatest gifts of life.  We may stumble at times to learn ourselves and our motivations and may stumble worse when trying to apply our knowledge to the interactions we have with others.  However, I firmly believe that a goal of each day is to know myself better than the day before – regardless of whether that knowledge has any immediate negative.  Hell,  even seeing the cracks in our foundation has merit.

This introspection can be hindered at times by going alone.  The questions we ask are often more important than the answers we find.  No one person knows all of the questions to ask, however.  I have been blessed in recent years to have a therapist that has helped me ask those questions that I never thought of.  I have been fortunate to have a voice that has been impartial and has called me out on facets of my being that many would rather ignore.   “Cancer” cannot be treated if no biopsy is ever taken.

Continue reading Therapy →

November 20 was the annual Transgender Day of Remembrance in which people across the world showed that they care more to make a presence to honor the dead rather than to help the living.

Continue reading Remembrance →

I get reminded at every turn of my lack of affective empathy by neurotypicals that think that either they have the “high ground” or have a richer experience in life as a result of the affective empathy that they possess.  I’ve said many times that I feel my experiences are like that of the born blind.  You can describe what I’m missing all that you want, but that will never make it viable for me.  However, just because I have a void where others have matter, that does not mean that I pine for what I am missing.  I would rather live in a state of logic and full control than a state of automatic irrationality and emotional turbulence.  I will never feel via reciprocity that pain that others feel, but I do not waste my energy wishing that I could feel that automatic joy of being around the elated either.

Continue reading Void →