Narcissism vs Sociopathy

Thoughts on why narcissists can be more dangerous than sociopaths.

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News & Politics

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• narcissism
• sociopathy
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[thethegreenmachine]

It's hard for me to tell exactly what's wrong with someone. I doubt I can tell whether someone's a narcissist or a sociopath, but I could probably narrow it down to that choice. Usually I just narrow it down to asshole and have as little to do with them as possible :)

[105Mittens]

@thethegreenmachine A big red flag for sociopathy is contradiction...the routinely claim to feel one way about something one minute and the complete opposite way the next, depending on what is convenient, seemingly to manipulate you into doing what they want. Obviously people with genuine emotions don't normally do 180s that way (although mental illness is always a possibility...yes, sociopaths in general aren't the easiest people to indentify).

[Laughingblades]

Narcissists are unstable, they aren't all horrible people, their disorder can even motivate them to do great things and try to be great people, but their egos are sick.

As for sociopaths, ignoring antisocial behaviorist definitions, often when we're perceived as evil we aren't even factoring in notions of right and wrong, and we aren't predatory by default. Our society doesn't teach us how to be moral, we're just expected to feel bad or obey commands, but most of us are mostly harmless - fixed

[105Mittens]

@Laughingblades Thank you for your comment.

[Snowblindinfinity]

What if I told you that Sociopaths/psychopaths are running our planet? What if I told you they have enslaved our people all across the globe? What if I told you that they have been able to perpetrate their evil through deception and warmongering, murder and destruction? And that it all boils down to the inability of good people to recognize these very deceptive and very perverted personalities. History shows that the "handbook of totalitarianism" is replete with instructions from psychopaths.

[105Mittens]

@Snowblindinfinity I would believe you. I would also say that sociopaths/narcissists are allowed to do what they do not only because people are decieved about them/ignorant of them but also because so-called normal people don't act on their own empathy and because they are afraid of what would happen to them if they did, ie, if they took a stand against evil.

[105Mittens]

@theharrison46 I could buy that. Thank you for your comment. :)

[105Mittens]

@Snowblindinfinity I see psychopaths as a a sub-set within sociopaths and yes, they are the most dangerous (and them specifically, I would admit are more dangerous than narcissists as a rule)...and yes, I agree that identifying people who lack empathy in order to minimize the harm they cause is important. Thanks for watching and commenting! :)

[105Mittens]

@darrenritt27 I respect what you're saying (and I REALLY appreciate all your great comments btw :), and perhaps you are right about the sociopath I knew.  I think some sociopaths want to be known for what they are deep down (and so make themselves more obvious) out of pride or loneliness while others do not...but I would posit the same is true of narcissists. I think some narcissists are quite aware of what they are and do a great job of masking themselves...just depends on the individual.