George W Bush is an arrogant sociopath.
Mar. 5th, 2006 03:39 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
teddywolf"That's not a result, just a bit of gossip." - Monty Python's Flying Circus Silly Election Results sketch
From the Wikipedia entry on Sociopathy, they have the following list of traits - note they list it as Antisocial Personality Disorder. They mention three or more of these is a good indicator for diagnosis. For convenience I have made the following changes to the text: I've added a period at the end of each sentence fragment from the article, plus capitalized the first letter of each of those. Items that are small and in italics are my additional feedback.
Failure to conform to social norms with respect to lawful behaviors as indicated by repeatedly performing acts that are grounds for arrest Check - the wiretapping program is confirmable, the Plame outing just might be, and there's his Vietnam-era military record (and possible drug use) which should have seen him in the brig.
Deceitfulness, as indicated by repeated lying, use of aliases, or conning others for personal profit or pleasure Check - WMDs in Iraq, Katrina warnings, 9/11 warnings, Saddam's operative links to Al Qaeda, health of the economy, reasons for going to war in Iraq... the list goes on and on.
Impulsivity or failure to plan ahead Check - no proper planning for Katrina, ignored proper planning for occupying Iraq, sitting for seven minutes after he heard news of 9/11 meaning no planning of what to do in case of terrorist attacks on US soil - which Clinton's staff warned his staff about.
Irritability and aggressiveness, as indicated by repeated physical fights or assaults Maybe, but I don't have enough data for this point. He does get mighty irritable in film and photos I've seen when he's contradicted, though.
Reckless disregard for safety of self or others Check for others - no real regard for the safety of our soldiers, whom he sent into harm's way without anywhere near enough protective equipment. Didn't do all that much for Katrina victims either. Was on the record during Vietnam War era as wanting the War to happen, thinking it was a good war. Has, however, been extremely solicitous of the safety of his own skin, as his own Vietnam-era service record shows.
Consistent irresponsibility, as indicated by repeated failure to sustain steady work or honor financial obligations Check - note his massive deficit spending plans that show no fiscal restraint. Note also his long, leisurely, regular vacation record. Note as well, under irresponsibility, that even though it's his Administration he blames failure on everybody but himself.
Lack of remorse, as indicated by being indifferent to or rationalizing having hurt, mistreated, or stolen from another Check - his torture policy is enormous proof of that, as is his record of rubber-stamping executions while Governor of Texas.
Desire pity above all things He might not fit this one.
So - to my eye it looks like six definite, one maybe, and one no. Remember, you only need three or more Yes to be a good indicator of a positive diagnosis.
Now, if you went to the Wiki link you might have noticed it mentioned a criticism of those listings, saying they lump together psychopathy and sociopathy. There's a different list of criteria a short scroll later. Let's take a look.
Callous unconcern for the feelings of others Check - note his cowboy attitude in disregarding the UN and NATO
Gross and persistent attitude of irresponsibility and disregard for social norms, rules and obligations. Check - note his flagrant disregard for laws against wiretapping and laws and treaties against torture. Pays lip service to Christian peacefulness while behaving extremely warlike. Isn't doing obligations to work for all citizens, just the rich ones he likes.
Incapacity to maintain enduring relationships, though having no difficulty in establishing them Not this one. He's married, apparently happily so, and has long relationships with various family friends like crowned heads of Saudi Arabia and Dubai. OK, I'm not sure about Dubai.
Very low tolerance to frustration and a low threshold for discharge of aggression, including violence. Unsure. Did seem easily frustrated during debates and was hell-bent-for-leather to invade Iraq starting about as soon as he entered office. Possible.
Incapacity to experience guilt or to profit from experience, particularly punishment Check - let's face it, he learned nothing productive about being a CEO when he was one, and he's been making the same mistakes over and over in office. And he doesn't feel guilty about any of his mistakes - claims he hasn't made any in office. I call lack of preparedness for 9/11 a big mistake. I can't tell about punishment. He's used connections to avoid about all of it.
Marked proneness to blame others, or to offer plausible rationalizations, for the behaviour that has brought the [person] into conflict with society. Check - "You're doing a heckuva job, Brownie." Seriously, authorizes torture as SOP then declaims responsibility for it. Blames Brown, Nagin and Blanco for slow response during Katrina when it was red tape he authorized that slowed things up, and when it was assurances he gave that he didn't follow up on that probably explains delays from lower levels - who were likely waiting on his assured help. Then there's his fantasy about how global warming needs more study despite the scientific opinion of about every actual expert on the planet.
The word "Oy" is my personal opinion. Four yes and two maybes, not a single No I can definitely point to.
Arrogance is the easy one. From Merriam-Webster Online:
[A] feeling or an impression of superiority manifested in an overbearing manner or presumptuous claims.
Hmmm... yeah, he comes across that way to me.
Mr Bush may be a very nice fellow in person. I don't have that data.
Still, the overwhelming impression I have from all the footage, pictures and reporting I've seen of him says he's an arrogant sociopath. The way he's viewed by huge swaths of the population both domestically and abroad indicates I'm not a lone wolf howling in the wind on this one.
Am I a clinical psychiatrist? No. But I'd be *extremely* curious to hear the diagnosis of any psychiatrist who had several months of sessions with him. Admittedly, that would be incredibly unprofessional, releasing a private diagnosis like that. Still, it's not like he'd let one near him for that long anyways.
From the Wikipedia entry on Sociopathy, they have the following list of traits - note they list it as Antisocial Personality Disorder. They mention three or more of these is a good indicator for diagnosis. For convenience I have made the following changes to the text: I've added a period at the end of each sentence fragment from the article, plus capitalized the first letter of each of those. Items that are small and in italics are my additional feedback.
Failure to conform to social norms with respect to lawful behaviors as indicated by repeatedly performing acts that are grounds for arrest Check - the wiretapping program is confirmable, the Plame outing just might be, and there's his Vietnam-era military record (and possible drug use) which should have seen him in the brig.
Deceitfulness, as indicated by repeated lying, use of aliases, or conning others for personal profit or pleasure Check - WMDs in Iraq, Katrina warnings, 9/11 warnings, Saddam's operative links to Al Qaeda, health of the economy, reasons for going to war in Iraq... the list goes on and on.
Impulsivity or failure to plan ahead Check - no proper planning for Katrina, ignored proper planning for occupying Iraq, sitting for seven minutes after he heard news of 9/11 meaning no planning of what to do in case of terrorist attacks on US soil - which Clinton's staff warned his staff about.
Irritability and aggressiveness, as indicated by repeated physical fights or assaults Maybe, but I don't have enough data for this point. He does get mighty irritable in film and photos I've seen when he's contradicted, though.
Reckless disregard for safety of self or others Check for others - no real regard for the safety of our soldiers, whom he sent into harm's way without anywhere near enough protective equipment. Didn't do all that much for Katrina victims either. Was on the record during Vietnam War era as wanting the War to happen, thinking it was a good war. Has, however, been extremely solicitous of the safety of his own skin, as his own Vietnam-era service record shows.
Consistent irresponsibility, as indicated by repeated failure to sustain steady work or honor financial obligations Check - note his massive deficit spending plans that show no fiscal restraint. Note also his long, leisurely, regular vacation record. Note as well, under irresponsibility, that even though it's his Administration he blames failure on everybody but himself.
Lack of remorse, as indicated by being indifferent to or rationalizing having hurt, mistreated, or stolen from another Check - his torture policy is enormous proof of that, as is his record of rubber-stamping executions while Governor of Texas.
Desire pity above all things He might not fit this one.
So - to my eye it looks like six definite, one maybe, and one no. Remember, you only need three or more Yes to be a good indicator of a positive diagnosis.
Now, if you went to the Wiki link you might have noticed it mentioned a criticism of those listings, saying they lump together psychopathy and sociopathy. There's a different list of criteria a short scroll later. Let's take a look.
Callous unconcern for the feelings of others Check - note his cowboy attitude in disregarding the UN and NATO
Gross and persistent attitude of irresponsibility and disregard for social norms, rules and obligations. Check - note his flagrant disregard for laws against wiretapping and laws and treaties against torture. Pays lip service to Christian peacefulness while behaving extremely warlike. Isn't doing obligations to work for all citizens, just the rich ones he likes.
Incapacity to maintain enduring relationships, though having no difficulty in establishing them Not this one. He's married, apparently happily so, and has long relationships with various family friends like crowned heads of Saudi Arabia and Dubai. OK, I'm not sure about Dubai.
Very low tolerance to frustration and a low threshold for discharge of aggression, including violence. Unsure. Did seem easily frustrated during debates and was hell-bent-for-leather to invade Iraq starting about as soon as he entered office. Possible.
Incapacity to experience guilt or to profit from experience, particularly punishment Check - let's face it, he learned nothing productive about being a CEO when he was one, and he's been making the same mistakes over and over in office. And he doesn't feel guilty about any of his mistakes - claims he hasn't made any in office. I call lack of preparedness for 9/11 a big mistake. I can't tell about punishment. He's used connections to avoid about all of it.
Marked proneness to blame others, or to offer plausible rationalizations, for the behaviour that has brought the [person] into conflict with society. Check - "You're doing a heckuva job, Brownie." Seriously, authorizes torture as SOP then declaims responsibility for it. Blames Brown, Nagin and Blanco for slow response during Katrina when it was red tape he authorized that slowed things up, and when it was assurances he gave that he didn't follow up on that probably explains delays from lower levels - who were likely waiting on his assured help. Then there's his fantasy about how global warming needs more study despite the scientific opinion of about every actual expert on the planet.
The word "Oy" is my personal opinion. Four yes and two maybes, not a single No I can definitely point to.
Arrogance is the easy one. From Merriam-Webster Online:
[A] feeling or an impression of superiority manifested in an overbearing manner or presumptuous claims.
Hmmm... yeah, he comes across that way to me.
Mr Bush may be a very nice fellow in person. I don't have that data.
Still, the overwhelming impression I have from all the footage, pictures and reporting I've seen of him says he's an arrogant sociopath. The way he's viewed by huge swaths of the population both domestically and abroad indicates I'm not a lone wolf howling in the wind on this one.
Am I a clinical psychiatrist? No. But I'd be *extremely* curious to hear the diagnosis of any psychiatrist who had several months of sessions with him. Admittedly, that would be incredibly unprofessional, releasing a private diagnosis like that. Still, it's not like he'd let one near him for that long anyways.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2006-03-05 09:46 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-03-05 10:00 pm (UTC)He also fits the profile of a stupid person who thinks he's competent - as we know, there's an inverse relationship between intelligence and belief in self-competency.
Or it could just be the alcohol.
no subject
Date: 2006-03-12 06:18 am (UTC)