SUBJECT: SPEISER ON SOCIOPATHS FILE: UFO1514
Message #5032 - INFO.PARANET
Date : 23-Jun-92 9:39
From : Jim Speiser
To : All
Subject : Sociopaths
Replies : -> #5041
Last night NBC aired the second part of a mini-series, "Love, Lies, and
Murder". While it was typically shallow and not very well done, it was
interesting in that it focused on a personality type that seems to be
prevalent in Ufology: the sociopath. These people are such masterful
manipulators that they can appear quite sane and sober on the outside, while
on the inside, they are busy justifying to themselves all manner of aberrant
behavior, including murder. Once satisfied that they are ultimately "in the
right", they can then lie to others with such sincerity and appeal that it is
well-nigh impossible for the layman, and I submit for most shrinks, to pierce
the veil of deception. This is why the question that is often asked about UFO
witnesses, "Why would he lie?" is moot, and why so many cases that rested on
the "rock-solid" testimony of witnesses have later unraveled. So many of us
base our belief in the existence of UFOs on the steady, unwavering, and
apparently very sincere testimony of first-hand witnesses who seemingly have
no motive to lie....and I'll venture that not a few of us here can remember
being burned by such reliance.
I remember a conversation I once had with Tracy Torme in which we were
discussing a famous case (which shall remain nameless). He had interviewed the
principal witness, and he told me, "Jim, if this guy's lying, he deserves an
Oscar." Tracy, being Hollywood-centric, felt that that meant something. I
replied, "Tracy, not ALL the great actors are in Hollywood...or Washington,
for that matter!"
But one point brought out by the mini-series that went beyond the mere
character makeup of a sociopath was the effect of such a deviant personality
on those closest to him, his family members. Such a person can manipulate the
lives and actions and indeed, the very thoughts and mental framework of those
around him to the point where his family members get a completely skewed
vision of reality...they are, for all intents and purposes, brainwashed. Once
this has happened, it is then possible not only for him to rationalize his
actions, but to get them to rationalize them in the same way.
Again, relating this to ufology, there is a well-known case thought to be a
hoax, where many individuals, myself included, have asked themselves, OK, I
can see where an aberrant personality would try to pull off such a hoax, but
how does he get his family members to go along with it? Aren't they close
enough to him to see that he is aberrant? The answer, of course, as driven
home by "Love, Lies and Murder", is that it is by virtue of their very
closeness to the situation that they are UNable to exercise their individual
better judgement, and instead allow their reasoning faculties to be co-opted
by the sociopath. It is the very fact that they are within his sphere of
influence, within his environment, that makes them most subject to his
manipulations, and hence their judgement and actions are to be trusted no more
than his own.
There are probably quite a few of you out there who are looking at your screen
right now, going, "ah-DUUUUH!!! Where have YOU been?" Hey, I didn't take no
psych courses. Pardon me for getting my education from NBC...:-)
Jim
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