I’m here to recruit you: Anti-Sociopath Activism

Game changed.

It is time for Anti-Sociopath Activism.

The movie, “Milk,” which I saw last night, was a stunner, and inspirational even for us cynical straight people. So I’m stealing the late Harvey Milk’s rallying cry: “I’m here to recruit you.”

Anti-Sociopath Activism Mission Statement: Stop the promotion of sociopaths to positions of power. Find the ones in power and expose them.

This is what I want you to do:

1. Educate yourself. Read the blogs in my blogroll or click on the “psychopath” category in this blog, do a Google search, whatever. You know what to do. I prefer the biology approach, but if you like the shrinks more, then go with that.

2. Shine a light: Where you suspect a powerful sociopath, stay out of their way and do the minimum to support them. Don’t put yourself at risk, but do not take the “appeasement” approach. Question, question, question. Get answers.

3. Correct wrong PR: Where you see people in the press, blogs, etc. giving these guys a break, write a comment pointing out that some people are just incapable of having a conscience.

4. Stop victimizing victims: If you see a victim, you don’t have to say anything — but at least don’t work with the system to discredit the victim. Don’t let the sociopath know you know. Let other people know you know.

5. Get the word out. Talk to other people about sociopaths (psychopaths, whatever, pick your term). Don’t worry about being wrong on the details. The big picture is that some people lack the wiring for a moral center no matter how lifelike they appear.

6. GET THE WORD OUT. Put this “Anti-Sociopath Activism” logo (red devil graphic with slash) on your website: let them know you know.

Anti-sociopath activism

Background for those new here: For over a year, I’ve been blogging about white collar psychopaths (sociopaths, whatever, let’s decide on the terminology, I’m going to use sociopath for now).

What I knew: sociopaths breeze through the big money machinery. What I didn’t know: The financial system stinks from top to bottom. It was, until recently perhaps, a big cover-up, with everyone making money having a vested interested in keeping the scam going and silencing critics. Here are some very small snapshots: Federal agencies with a see-no-evil attitude; witnesses silenced either by arbitration clauses in employment agreements (but see here), or attempts to buy off silence (like the Paul, Hastings lawyer) or just plain vanilla stalking and harassment (as described here).

Now that powerful sociopaths have started cannibalizing their own, the mainstream press is poking its head up to see if its safe – here’s just some of the reports lately: Drs. Agin and Ackerman, in the Huffington Post, Peggy Noonan in the WSJ, Dr. Krugman and Dick Cavett in the NYT, NPR, even the Lake Country Reporter (Wisconsin). A year ago, mainstream press wouldn’t have risked offending their biggest advertisers while they were rolling in the dough. Now, it’s safe.

This is new: previously it was only lone bloggers metaphorically holed up in scrap wood shacks typing out manifestos or lonely hearts blogs bemoaning the sociopaths in our individual lives. Now it’s a cause. It sells. It’s ok to talk about