Psychopathy: Synonym for Success
LU JIA LI
LU JIA LI
Psychopath. The very word brings gruesome images to mind, of dismembered body parts and serial killers wielding chainsaws. Do you want the bad news first or the good news? Here’s the bad news: psychopaths exist. In abundance. You could have brushed shoulders with one on your way to the mall. You could have one in your own home, sleeping in the very bedroom next to yours. It could be your mother, your classmate, or your favourite teacher. The good news is that psychopathy isn’t a fancy word for insanity. In fact, psychopaths quite possibly have a head start in life and an advantage over the rest of us. Unless you are an exceptional person, chances are, you’re like me and you probably want to change something about yourself. What are the personality traits you desire most? How do you want people to view you? Do you want to be intelligent? Charismatic? Confident? Psychopaths are all of that, and more. On the exterior, they appear remarkably normal, charming, smooth and likeable and perfect in every other way. People gravitate towards them like iron fillings towards a magnet. It is almost scary to imagine. However, psychopaths are manipulative, ruthless, egocentric, and they lie when they feel the need to. They also lack guilt and empathy. While you and I may feel upset if we see a man beating a dog, a psychopath is likely to feel nothing if he is the one setting the dog on fire. Robert D. Hare, researcher and professor, says, “He will choose you, disarm you with his words, and control you with his presence. He will delight you with his wit and his plans. … And when he is through with you, and he will be through with you, he will desert you.” There is one psychopath in every one hundred people. Chances are, you have already met quite a few. These psychopaths, who make up about 1% of our population, however, can fare very well in life. They are not held back by emotions like shame, and they are completely free to fulfil their desires. Using other people as stepping stones to get what they want does not trouble them. Their lack of a conscience is an advantage. In schools, they make friends easily and twirl their oblivious teachers around their little pinkie. In the workplace, psychopaths operate far more effectively under pressure. In short, they are less likely to be criminals and more likely to be rich businessmen. As strange as it sounds, I reckon we need psychopaths in our society. While it’s nice to have everybody being soft-hearted and generous, there has to be someone to make decisions that aren’t purely based on emotions. Our society would never advance otherwise. “If I’m in a hostage situation I’d rather have a psychopath coming through the door than anyone else because I know he’s going to be completely focused on the job in hand,” says McNab. In other words, the eight-year-old boy who experimented on his cat by chopping off its tail to see how it would react to pain may grow up to be the scientist who discovers a cure for cancer. So there you go. Psychopaths. Charming, ruthless and free from guilt. I want to leave you with the idea that psychopaths are not criminals. If anything, they are more successful. Forget Ted Bundy, and think Pablo Picasso (did I mention that? He was a psychopath too).
