4 ms·

Some of the sociopaths in the comment section (on the article, not here) are truly mind-blowing. It is scary to be confronted with the fact that not only are t

Some of the sociopaths in the comment section (on the article, not here) are truly mind-blowing. It is scary to be confronted with the fact that not only are those people out there, but they are likely more numerous than you think.

pjc50 6y ago
We're definitely in the era of the internet sociopath, people who engage in whatever the opposite of virtue signalling is (viciousness signalling?). They're quite happy to post how all sorts of people deserve to die.
- mcv 6y ago
  Vice signaling. But you're absolutely right. I'm baffled by how many people are eager to announce how much they hate people who never did them any harm, how people deserve misery and suffering, why it's fine to let thousands die. In the past at least there was the pretense of morality, even if it was frequently hypocritical. Now it looks like all the hypocrisy is gone and all that's left is open hatred. I really hope this shocks enough people to turn it around.
glerk 6y ago
I am much more afraid of hysterical over-socialized empaths trying to guilt-trip others into submission. At least with sociopaths you can reason.
- scottlocklin 6y ago
  They're not empaths at all; the way they talk about people of a different political persuasion is .... dehumanizing and bonkers. This written-in-mourning screed is a great example of that. "Republicans killed my grandpa." No, cupcake; old age did. Noticing an 86 year old has exceeded his allotted three score and ten is hardly sociopathy. The story is disgusting and sad though: the US health care system is pretty fucked up, and her grandpa seems like he was a cool dude.
krageon 6y ago
Some of the posting is so willfully ignorant, so incredibly left of field that the reasonable conclusion is that it's a few trolls (paid-for or not, that's not important) trying very hard to destabilise any normal discourse that might happen on the subject. It is this way with most global issues. That doesn't really detract from your point on antisocial personalities, sadly. Trolls are also bad people. Perhaps they will be less surprising to you.

pjc50 6y ago

We're definitely in the era of the internet sociopath, people who engage in whatever the opposite of virtue signalling is (viciousness signalling?). They're quite happy to post how all sorts of people deserve to die.

mcv 6y ago
Vice signaling. But you're absolutely right. I'm baffled by how many people are eager to announce how much they hate people who never did them any harm, how people deserve misery and suffering, why it's fine to let thousands die. In the past at least there was the pretense of morality, even if it was frequently hypocritical. Now it looks like all the hypocrisy is gone and all that's left is open hatred. I really hope this shocks enough people to turn it around.

glerk 6y ago

I am much more afraid of hysterical over-socialized empaths trying to guilt-trip others into submission. At least with sociopaths you can reason.

scottlocklin 6y ago
They're not empaths at all; the way they talk about people of a different political persuasion is .... dehumanizing and bonkers. This written-in-mourning screed is a great example of that. "Republicans killed my grandpa." No, cupcake; old age did. Noticing an 86 year old has exceeded his allotted three score and ten is hardly sociopathy. The story is disgusting and sad though: the US health care system is pretty fucked up, and her grandpa seems like he was a cool dude.

krageon 6y ago

Some of the posting is so willfully ignorant, so incredibly left of field that the reasonable conclusion is that it's a few trolls (paid-for or not, that's not important) trying very hard to destabilise any normal discourse that might happen on the subject. It is this way with most global issues. That doesn't really detract from your point on antisocial personalities, sadly. Trolls are also bad people. Perhaps they will be less surprising to you.