Sweet Marie's Thread

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Silatuyok

Well-known member
Welcome to my "journal." I like to think of it as my own little corner of the forum, where I can hang out with friends and share things I find interesting. Think of this as an open invitation to join in the discussion, or just sit back quietly and watch what's going on. :) Feel free to bring snacks!
 
Opaline

Opaline

1
Absolutely_Sweet_Marie said:
Feel free to bring snacks!
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*brings cheesecake, two sixpacks of beer, a plate of brownies, a bag of potato chips, chocolate-covered pretzels, a large bag of Lindt truffles, and three cartons of ice cream. Oh and some carrot sticks to mitigate the guilt*

I hope I brought enough for everyone.
 
S

Silatuyok

Well-known member
Opaline said:
*brings cheesecake, two sixpacks of beer, a plate of brownies, a bag of potato chips, chocolate-covered pretzels, a large bag of Lindt truffles, and three cartons of ice cream. Oh and some carrot sticks to mitigate the guilt*

I hope I brought enough for everyone.
Click to expand...

Whoo! Let the party begin!
 
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Silatuyok

Well-known member
I've been thinking about psychopaths lately, and how it bothers me that they always get such a bad rap. I have been following the Happiness Project blog for some time now, and the author recently posted an article about how to spot a psychopath, in which she states that she is greatly relieved that she doesn't know anyone who exhibits the traits of a psychopath. Of course, everyone chimed in with their comments about how awful psychopaths are, etc etc. It just makes me a little angry. I mean, we ALL exist on the psychopath scale--it's not like there are strictly psychopaths and non-psychopaths in the world. Why perpetuate this close-minded stereotype that psychopaths can never be good people?

I stumbled upon a website that I found really interesting.

The Wisdom of Psychopaths - Lessons in Life from Saints, Spies & Serial Killers by Professor Kevin Dutton

It explores the ideas that many professions require mindsets that are somewhat psychopathic in nature: neurosurgeons, lawyers, special forces soldiers. Psychopathic people can excel in certain situations because of their ability to remove themselves from the emotional context of what they are doing.
I think about this in my job. I took the psychopath quiz on the site and scored very low, but I do recognize that I have that ability to remove myself emotionally during especially sad situations. I work tirelessly to help sick animals day in and day out, but when it comes down to deciding if an animal needs to be euthanized and actually assisting in the process, I can get into a cool, undisturbed mindset that is all business and no feeling.

I can see how psychopaths can be good people. They don't all exist as mass murders or violent criminals. They don't all belong in prisons. Some of them are doctors. Some of them dedicate their lives to helping people. Many of them are simply struggling like the rest of us. Should we shun them because they have an extreme and very stigmatized mental illness? It is easy to point to famous criminals who are labeled as psychopaths and come to the conclusion that all psychopaths are evil, but then many violent criminals are often loners, quiet and strange people who have few friends and can't figure out how to fit in to society. Does that make us all violent criminals then? Of course not.
 
Opaline

Opaline

1
Absolutely_Sweet_Marie said:
I've been thinking about psychopaths lately, and how it bothers me that they always get such a bad rap. I have been following the Happiness Project blog for some time now, and the author recently posted an article about how to spot a psychopath, in which she states that she is greatly relieved that she doesn't know anyone who exhibits the traits of a psychopath. Of course, everyone chimed in with their comments about how awful psychopaths are, etc etc. It just makes me a little angry. I mean, we ALL exist on the psychopath scale--it's not like there are strictly psychopaths and non-psychopaths in the world. Why perpetuate this close-minded stereotype that psychopaths can never be good people?

I stumbled upon a website that I found really interesting.

The Wisdom of Psychopaths - Lessons in Life from Saints, Spies & Serial Killers by Professor Kevin Dutton

It explores the ideas that many professions require mindsets that are somewhat psychopathic in nature: neurosurgeons, lawyers, special forces soldiers. Psychopathic people can excel in certain situations because of their ability to remove themselves from the emotional context of what they are doing.
I think about this in my job. I took the psychopath quiz on the site and scored very low, but I do recognize that I have that ability to remove myself emotionally during especially sad situations. I work tirelessly to help sick animals day in and day out, but when it comes down to deciding if an animal needs to be euthanized and actually assisting in the process, I can get into a cool, undisturbed mindset that is all business and no feeling.

I can see how psychopaths can be good people. They don't all exist as mass murders or violent criminals. They don't all belong in prisons. Some of them are doctors. Some of them dedicate their lives to helping people. Many of them are simply struggling like the rest of us. Should we shun them because they have an extreme and very stigmatized mental illness? It is easy to point to famous criminals who are labeled as psychopaths and come to the conclusion that all psychopaths are evil, but then many violent criminals are often loners, quiet and strange people who have few friends and can't figure out how to fit in to society. Does that make us all violent criminals then? Of course not.
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I've thought about this a lot too. I envy psychopaths, to be honest. Sure their condition comes with a crapton of stigma attached to it, but, being psychopaths, there is a limit to how much they can care about that! haha. Most probably don't care at all. Plus, many of them have plenty of friends anyway because they are good at being charming. And they don't need friends most of the time, anyway, because they can handle being alone. It all sounds like a sweet deal to me. Sure, they don't get to experience profound feelings of love and awe and all of that, but who cares? They certainly don't!
 
MikeyC

MikeyC

Well-known member
Good to see your own personal thread, Marie. :) I have nothing to contribute to the psychopath discussion but I'll keep an eye on this thread.
 
S

Silatuyok

Well-known member
A little creative inspiration for the day.

picture.php


See the full version here:
Be Friends with Failure | Doodle Alley

I used to be a very creative person, always trying out new things and eager to learn how to do things. I'm not sure when that changed, but lately I have a tendency to just give up as soon as I don't get the exact results I want. I really want to be more musically skilled, but I just hate the thought of anyone hearing all the wrong notes or missed beats. I think I am better at photography because no one has to see my mistakes, they can all be erased and forgotten with the click of a button. I have lost my ability to be vulnerable, to open myself up to failure in the attempt to do something new. I admire those who put their work out there for everyone to see, even if it isn't very good. Those who get up on stage and sing, even if their voice cracks. Somewhere along the line I have gotten stuck in this rut of negative thinking, keeping me from trying again and again until I get something right.

Today I want to have the courage to fail, and see what comes out of it.
 
A

AGR

Well-known member
Carefull with what you wish for,are there "functional' psycopaths?what is functional?
From what I understand it isnt only detachment,they will use other people to their purpose,just these days I was seeing some videos about this,mainly interviews with them,too graphic to post here,but one example was a guy grooming a step daughter to be the perfect "sexual partner" and he said he didnt feel a thing for her,only grooming her to be a sexual tool to him and really obedient.

I think I met a few in real life,they wouldnt think twice about trading their children for sex and maybe drugs /money and have a hard time planning to the future.
 
Odo

Odo

Banned
I think part of the fear of failure thing comes as you get older and people begin to expect a lot more from you. There's a lot more emphasis on making money and doing what you can to provide for yourself and you can't provide for yourself with failure... and I guess by that time you're also expected to have improved a great deal.

The one thing I miss most about being a kid is that everything you do is basically a glimmer of promise and people will always encourage you... you lose that when you're older.
 
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Silatuyok

Well-known member
Odo said:
The one thing I miss most about being a kid is that everything you do is basically a glimmer of promise and people will always encourage you... you lose that when you're older.
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This is definitely part of it. I feel like no one really cares if I'm trying out new things or trying to better myself. It's kind of like they only care if they see that it is making some money or making me more popular. All the praise that was lavished on me as a child is now gone, I guess because people assume that I don't need the encouragement anymore? And maybe I really shouldn't need it, I don't know. I should be doing these things for myself now, instead of for others acknowledgement.
 
S

Silatuyok

Well-known member
AGR said:
Carefull with what you wish for,are there "functional' psycopaths?what is functional?
From what I understand it isnt only detachment,they will use other people to their purpose,just these days I was seeing some videos about this,mainly interviews with them,too graphic to post here,but one example was a guy grooming a step daughter to be the perfect "sexual partner" and he said he didnt feel a thing for her,only grooming her to be a sexual tool to him and really obedient.

I think I met a few in real life,they wouldnt think twice about trading their children for sex and maybe drugs /money and have a hard time planning to the future.
Click to expand...

I really do believe that there are functional psychopaths, or at least functional people with psychopathic tendencies/characteristics. I think it all depends on how you are raised, and whether or not you channel those characteristics in good ways, or at least successful ways. I think psychopaths have an important place in society, especially during war/revolution/zombie apocalypse, etc. Sometimes it takes a really cold heart to survive in the world.
 
coyote

coyote

Well-known member
Absolutely_Sweet_Marie said:
I really do believe that there are functional psychopaths, or at least functional people with psychopathic tendencies/characteristics. I think it all depends on how you are raised, and whether or not you channel those characteristics in good ways, or at least successful ways. I think psychopaths have an important place in society, especially during war/revolution/zombie apocalypse, etc. Sometimes it takes a really cold heart to survive in the world.
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"People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf."
 
B

Byre

Banned
D'accord. Mais, my message is to short, donc, I must add extra letters of the alphabet. But: d'accord.
 
A

AGR

Well-known member
coyote said:
"People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf."
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this reminds me of this,its long but I think everybody should read once:
On Sheep, Wolves, and Sheepdogs - Dave Grossman

But I disagree that putting psycopaths to protect us would be good if that was what was implied,their only good would be to put terror on the enemy,actually nazi germany had a battallion with only prisioners who did exactly that and not even the guys from the army trusted them,dont remember now,but I read it some time ago,having a hard time finding now.
 
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