Okay, so I skipped town. Left Blogville for a few months. Got a tan. Drank too many margaritas. Got a quickie divorce. Robbed a few banks. Got indicted for a Ponzi scheme. Spent time in the slammer. You know, the usual.
Then I came back.
I've been reading COLUMBINE, by Dave Cullen. Fascinating. The media, and pretty much everyone else except for the FBI profiler, got the cause wrong. It didn't happen because Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold were bullied outcasts. In fact, they did some bullying themselves. Harris was a psychopath, plain and simple. Klebold wasn't, but he was an angry depressive who bought himself a one way ticket to annihilation--the two of them bringing down a reign of terror on everyone.
I have always been fascinated by psychology, wondering what makes people tick--which I suppose is one reason I write the kind of books I do. An action-packed adventure would probably result in more sales, but that's not where my mind is focused--or where my talent lies. Regarding Columbine, I'm as interested in how the survivors coped in the years after the attack as I am in the actual event. I always go for the emotions and the thought process.
Psychopathy--a subject unto itself--I find both terrifying and intriguing. If you watch enough episodes of Criminal Minds you end up thinking sadistic psychopaths live on every block, happily murdering someone new every weekend, but I'm guessing that's not true. (Fingers crossed!)
Reading this excellent nonfiction book has brought me back to reading, as, for a while there, I was distracted, not finding books to sink into, spending way to much time in front of the TV. So I feel myself coming into balance again, my mind awakened and ready to work. I've got a couple of manuscripts in process. We'll see what, if anything, happens.
It's good to be home!
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Sorry to hear of the indictment - that's rough. You're probably better off watching crime shows than robbing banks. If you watch enough of them it may even help you perfect your technique!
ReplyDeleteI've read, in various sources, that anywhere from 1 - 4% of the population are sociopaths but that most of them aren't committing such violent crimes, instead being damaging in other ways because of their lack of conscience. It's a weird thought that there are people out there that no one can appeal to on an emotional level. I guess they wouldn't get much out of our books but I wonder what they would think of shows like Criminal Minds?
I'm glad you're coming into balance. Welcome back!
Yeah, the robbing banks thing didn't really work out. It's probably time for a career change . . .
ReplyDeleteI, too, have read that most psychopaths are not murderers, much less sadistic murderers. They're not interested in killing you; they're interested in manipulating you for your money, or working you in any other way to their own advantage. Apparently there's a book out, which I haven't read, about psychopaths in the business world, titled, _Snakes in Suits_. Great name! Wonder if it applies to Wall St. . . . Just sayin'.
A Psycopathic Fan Club for Criminal Minds sounds like a great idea. They could watch TV instead of ruining other people's lives! I do worry that CM might be giving certain someones certain ideas . . .