RIOTING GONE MAD: THE CRIMINALITY OF LEADERS
The rioting, indiscriminate destruction and attacks on law enforcement have nothing to do with social justice, institutional discrimination, or white supremacy. They are about a psychopathology unleashed by ill-conceived, poorly thought-through, and expedient reactions to the COVID – 19 pandemic. These reactions, and their concomitant callous decisions created massive anger, depression, and hopelessness that has resulted in the opening of a window of opportunity for psychopaths and sociopaths across the country. The damaged and morbid state of our society has proven irresistible to the sickest segment of our culture. People with no capacity for relating to the feelings of others, have damaged the present lives of those already struggling to survive, and totally destroyed the future of those working to build a better life for themselves and their families. By now, everyone has seen the gut-wrenching interview of the Black former fireman who had saved all his money to start a business, which on its third day of operation, was burned to the ground. He had no insurance – his hopes and dreams went up in flames.
I don’t think that most people watching the carnage of this past week, fully understand psychopaths and sociopaths. These are people who see other human beings as objects. They feel nothing when killing, injuring or destroying the property of others. As the clinical textbooks put it, “they lack the social and moral obligations of normal people, and pursue immediate personal gratification in criminal acts.” They are essentially, a mutation of the human species.
This may sound harsh, or overly dramatic. I have not arrived at this conclusion theoretically. One of my years of internship was in the federal prison system (followed by five years of consulting with law enforcement agencies at many levels). I will never forget one of my first interactions interviewing an inmate. He and an accomplice invaded a family’s home, raped their five year old daughter; took a fireplace tool and anally penetrated the mother; and beat the father into a coma. Almost as an afterthought, they shot the family dog and set the house on fire. When I asked the inmate how he felt about what he had done to these people he, at first, looked puzzled. He then quickly recovered, realized what response I would have been looking for, and told me how sorry he was and didn’t know why he would do something so awful. He didn’t mean a damn word. Psychopaths are the ultimate manipulators. They read people like a book, and play them like a violin. You may have seen tv reporters interviewing rioters fresh off a looting spree, talking eloquently about the death of George Floyd and the shame of police brutality.
I hold two parties culpable for the horrific destruction and mayhem of this past week. The first, are the psychopaths I just talked about. The second are the cowardly, gutless politicians who enabled the violence with their passivity. Nothing incites a psychopath to elevate their behavior more than the lack of an initial response from an authority figure. The only responses that extinguish psychotic behavior are unbending boundaries and unflinching punishment. The lack of action on the part of the emotional eunuchs in positions of authority was only surpassed by the shameless excuses for their passivity. I found it beyond belief when the mayor of Minneapolis justified his inaction by saying that it was “only property” being destroyed. Another politician characterized the riots as “just blowing off steam.” We all know why these empty vessels refused to call the rioting what it was. They have all been emotionally blackmailed by the politically correct elite, and know that they would have been barraged by accusations of racism, had they mustered up the courage to condemn the “demonstrations” for what they were.
My overriding reactions to this week have been anger and fear. Anger at the reluctance of “leaders,” the media, and my fellow citizens for failing to express their outrage, in public and with vehemence. And fear of losing the culture that has ennobled us as a people. I believe that I speak for many, many people in delivering the following two messages:
To politicians who failed to lead and set an example of courage and clarity – we will not forget this in November; To all those brutal, crazed destroyers – we have all worked too hard and cared too much for each other, to turn the keys of our culture over to barbarians. Don’t even think about taking your hatred and insanity to us. It will be the last place you ever go to.
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Morrie Shechtman