My apologies to the people of Canada for the suggestive title.
The United States has approximately ten times the population of Canada and by my estimate (possibly biased by my living here) produces a much higher per capita number of morons, psychopaths, and criminals than our neighbor to the north. This is likely due to the fact that most Americans cannot tell the difference between competition and sabotage. In my opinion Canada is far more mentally stable than the United States.
In my ongoing effort to reduce human behavior to the interaction of a few basic forces, I present the following argument:
Michael Zehaf-Bibeau, the man who attacked the Canadian Parliament with a shotgun had something in common with Martin Rouleau-Couture, the man who killed a Canadian soldier with his car. Both men lacked a sense of belonging and the subsequent sense of purpose one acquires from feeling as though you belong. And since nature abhors a vacuum, they satisfied their need to belong by converting to Islam and answering the dubious call to kill Americans and their allies by whatever means available.
I consider this a waste of time for obvious reasons.
Terry Malloy, played by Marlin Brando in the 1954 movie, "On The Waterfront" expressed the human need for a sense of belonging with the famous line, "I coulda' been a contender. I coulda' been somebody." The two Canadians mentioned above are now "somebody."
The need for a sense of belonging and a sense of purpose is as fundamental a force in human behavior as gravity is in physics.
Feel free to differ. I love to argue with critics.
”The need for a sense of belonging and a sense of purpose is as fundamental a force in human behavior as gravity is in physics.”
ReplyDeleteMostly true, not entirely. People have temperaments that vary greatly, though most fit into the ‘hump of the bell curve’, or are average-normal, give or take. So yeah, for most humans this is true.
But extreme personalties are different. Autistics are obviously so. Aspergers types are similar but somewhat functional. Their need to fit in is much less than average. Then you have rationals, who very selectively pick and choose who they call friends and family. And so on, depending on where they sit on the temperamental bell curve.
Psychopaths don’t seem to have an emotional need to fit in at all. But logic tells them that if they want to successfully prey on people, to successfully satisfy their power and control cravings, they’ll need to appear to fit in. And their only sense of purpose is to get the most out of life as they can. Which is probably why people closest to them on the personality spectrum admire them. And they get good at spotting and using average-normal humans weaknesses against them.
So... the more normal you are the more your statement is true.
In my ongoing effort to reduce human behavior to the interaction of a few basic forces...
ReplyDeleteI try to do the same thing. But each one of those forces has variables that, you know, vary, making it harder to talk about. My goal is to be able to clearly explain to average-normal people (most potential enablers) that there are dangerous humans who should be avoided at all costs.
Thanks to the internet this is becoming easier. When I used to say: “I think that guy’s a psychopath!” I’d get a weird look. Back then everybody thought psychopaths were crazed killers creeping thru backyards with knives in their teeth. But now more people are getting it. It’s only the dumb psychos (or those close enough), like Incognito and Remy and Tommy DeSimone (the real-life inspiration for “Tommy” in Goodfellas) who are obvious and get caught, imprisoned or killed. The smart ones get others to do the dirtywork (enablers, unwitting useful tools...) and we have to avoid them. Or eventually get screwed ourselves.
http://news.yahoo.com/social-media-posts-reveal-washington-school-shooters-personal-struggles-220952462.html
ReplyDeleteHey Mr. Soup! Just curious but what are your thoughts on this whole story?
Also, just curious but what was your name on the old SCMRPG board? I showed your blog to a friend from there and he was curious what name you went by there.
I'm still waiting for the media smoke and dust to settle before I post a comment. When I saw his picture my first thought was that he stepped out of a time machine from 1976.
DeleteI think the name I used was Columbine 101.
http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/washington-state-teen-shooters-family-living-in-nightmare/ar-BBbccge
ReplyDeleteIt seems as if he's a Native American... kinda reminds me of Jeff Weise.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeff_Weise
Weise was an interesting guy.... he was a Native American with Neo-Nazi beliefs who did some highly skilled (but ultra-violent) videos on Deviant Art. I know life on the reservations is pretty tough (and hellish for a lot of people). If you want to understand the latest school shooter then I think Weise might be a good start since he's the only other Native American school shooter so far. (unfortunately, given the state of this country, I doubt these two will be the last Native American school shooters either)
ReplyDeleteDelicious yummy...your recipes....
Chowringhee Kamla Nagar
If I'm ever in New Delhi I'll drop in for lunch.
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