3 ms·

There is a seductive aspect to articles like these that play on a lot of common insecurities. The articles always lead with a story about a person being charmi

There is a seductive aspect to articles like these that play on a lot of common insecurities. The articles always lead with a story about a person being charming and charismatic and then attribute the readers disappointment in them to some deeply pathological evil. Given the exceptional occurrance of extreme charm and charisma, let alone co-occurring with high intelligence, statistically for them to co-occur with these other pathological traits makes this sociopath character a kind of evil unicorn, and effectively an object of superstition. They may plausibly exist, but the likelihood of encountering one, or that the person you are mad at happens to be one - is vanishingly small. They aren't masterminds, and they shouldn't be elevated to the level of a folk devil. Like most people, they're just people with some shitty tools. Sympathy pieces like this that encourage readers to call the people they don't like sociopaths are misleading, dehumanizing, and actively stupefying. I hope the author sees this comment. What's more likely, that someone reading that article has encountered one of these evil unicorns, or that the article is cooing and excusing for normal and flawed people people whose own occasional malice, fibs, and viciousness doesn't have the patina of charm and charisma they envy? Take care of yourself, set boundaries and standards for yourself, and these bogeymen just aren't a thing. I'm surprised "victimhood porn," isn't a more widely known commonsense filter, as I would recommend not being seduced by something that is about as healthy and edifying as porn.

harimau777 3y ago
I don't think that the idea is that people with dark triad traits are necessarily super geniuses or manipulative masterminds. They could be people with just above average charm who are willing to use it to hurt people. Or they could be people who are able to superficially appear charming long enough to get what they want; even if they don't have the charisma to keep up the act long term. Even someone with below average abilities could cause significant harm. E.g. a co-worker incompetently throwing teammates under the bus could hurt the team even if they don't actually help their own career.
- motohagiography 3y ago
  The irony of the dark triad sociopath trope is that it justifies the very malice toward the bad people that it affects to predict or explain in them. The point I'm emphasizing is the dark-triad trope misdirects from the less interesting, low-cunning of most psychopaths, and arguably that of just the banal people you see trying to survive in institutions who are much more common. When you see someone motivated genuinely by malice, there is no difference between them and these more abstract ideas about psychopaths. None of the criteria for psycho/sociopathy are necessary conditions for behavior (like malice) that is objectively equivalent either.

harimau777 3y ago

I don't think that the idea is that people with dark triad traits are necessarily super geniuses or manipulative masterminds. They could be people with just above average charm who are willing to use it to hurt people. Or they could be people who are able to superficially appear charming long enough to get what they want; even if they don't have the charisma to keep up the act long term. Even someone with below average abilities could cause significant harm. E.g. a co-worker incompetently throwing teammates under the bus could hurt the team even if they don't actually help their own career.

motohagiography 3y ago
The irony of the dark triad sociopath trope is that it justifies the very malice toward the bad people that it affects to predict or explain in them. The point I'm emphasizing is the dark-triad trope misdirects from the less interesting, low-cunning of most psychopaths, and arguably that of just the banal people you see trying to survive in institutions who are much more common. When you see someone motivated genuinely by malice, there is no difference between them and these more abstract ideas about psychopaths. None of the criteria for psycho/sociopathy are necessary conditions for behavior (like malice) that is objectively equivalent either.