Is George Bush A Psychopath? By Dr. Kevin Barrett/Silvia Cattori

[Echo In Light]

Is George Bush A Psychopath?
by Dr. Kevin Barrett/Silvia Cattori

I make the effort to share this information because it gives me, at last, a plausible answer to a long-unanswered question: Why, no matter how much intelligent goodwill exists in the world, is there so much war, suffering and injustice? It doesn't seem to matter what creative plan, ideology, religion, or philosophy great minds come up with, nothing seems to improve our lot. Since the dawn of civilization, this pattern repeats itself over and over again.

The answer is that civilization, as we know it, is largely the creation of psychopaths. All civilizations, our own included, have been built on slavery and mass murder. Psychopaths have played a disproportionate role in the development of civilization, because they are hard-wired to lie, kill, cheat, steal, torture, manipulate, and generally inflict great suffering on other humans without feeling any remorse, in order to establish their own sense of security through domination. The inventor of civilization, "the first tribal chieftain who successfully brainwashed an army of controlled mass murderers," was almost certainly a genetic psychopath. Since that momentous discovery, psychopaths have enjoyed a significant advantage over non-psychopaths in the struggle for power in civilizational hierarchies -- especially military hierarchies.

Behind the apparent insanity of contemporary history, is the actual insanity of psychopaths fighting to preserve their disproportionate power. And as their power grows ever-more-threatened, the psychopaths grow ever-more-desperate. We are witnessing the apotheosis of the overworld -- the overlapping criminal syndicates that lurk above ordinary society and law just as the underworld lurks below it.

During the past fifty years, psychopaths have gained almost absolute control of all the branches of government. You can notice this if you observe carefully that no matter what illegal thing a modern politician does, no one will really take him to task. All of the so called scandals that have come up, any one of which would have taken down an authentic administration, are just farces played out for the public, to distract them, to make them think that the democracy is still working.

One of the main factors to consider in terms of how a society can be taken over by a group of pathological deviants is that the psychopaths' only limitation is the participation of susceptible individuals within that given society. Lobaczewski gives an average figure for the most active deviants of approximately 6% of a given population. (1% essential psychopaths and up to 5% other psychopathies and characteropathies.) The essential psychopath is at the center of the web. The others form the first tier of the psychopath's control system.

Continued {long article}...
http://www.opednews.com/articles/Is-George-Bush-A-Psychopat-by-Dr--Kevin-Barrett--080602-915.html

[Lint Head]

1. He is definitely a 'sociopath' without a true conscience.

In other words he is a narcissistic phony fucking fascist liar. :dem:

[bdamomma]

2. I only wish that those professionals would come forward

in some sort of a forum to discuss *'s psychopathic tendencies with Dr. Justin Franks to lead the panel.

[Triana]

3. I think he is. I'd like to see an fMRI done on him and let's see the result...

...after having read "The Sociopath Next Door" and "Without Conscience" and others, I'm convinced bu$hit is a psycho. Scary thing is, MOST of them are NOT in prison. They're running the governments and corporations of the world!

Or, just busy ruining other people's lives in other ways.

EDIT: More from the link in the OP:

"Psychopaths are incapable of authentic deep emotions. In fact, when Robert Hare, a Canadian psychologist who spent his career studying psychopathy, did brain scans on psychopaths while showing them two sets of words, one set of neutral words with no emotional associations and a second set with emotionally charged words, while different areas of the brain lit up in the non-psychopathic control group, in the psychopaths, both sets were processed in the same area of the brain, the area that deals with language. They did not have an emotional reaction until they intellectually concluded that it would be better if they had one, and then they whipped up an emotional response just for show."

"Snakes in Suits" (Hare/Babiak) is a great read about psychopaths in the workplace/business/government.

[rdenney]

13. lots of cops and prison guards are psychopaths as well, IMO....

how else can three police officers shoot an unarmed bridegroom to death and walk away with no penalties? The nutcases sociopaths are ruling the insane asylum.

[formercia]

4. Bookmarked

I fall in that category too.

I pursue weeds in my garden with ruthless determination.

[laststeamtrain]

5. K & R.

"Civilization is the carrier of repressive ideologies"-so said Charles Fourier.

You don't much hear about people building a different, counter or alternative way of doing things but they're there.

Exposure risks co-option, witness 'lifestyle' anarchists, those who express their alterity by buying certain things, dressing a certain way, etc. Pretty much BS.

Murray Bookchin was an interesting thinker. Buy some of his books. Ha. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murray_Bookchin

As far as the specific question is concerned; yes, GWB is a psychopath. So are his supporters. Listen to them, they ooze psychopathology. But, then again, visit GD-P where you can observe people going berserk trying to convince one another that one authoritarian neo-liberal or the other is actually a 'progressive'. Fat chance that's true. But voting for the Dem seems to be the correct tactical move this time around.

In the short/long run we need more political parties, instant run-off elections, proportional representation in the legislature. I think it would amaze people how many democratic socialists there really are in the US. They just never have anyone to vote for on the national level.

[Echo In Light]

6. Bumpity

[LynnTheDem]

7. Short answer:

Yes.

[Echo In Light]

8. And worse still, surrounded by numerous like-minded enablers

[lunatica]

9. Definitely

That 18% they mention in the article as being psychopathic of differing degrees, the really hard core ones being at the top of the food chain, explains the 18% hard core Bush supporters. Being psychopaths they would cheer if Bush murdered babies.

[Hydra]

10. Bush is certainly a psychopath

But that's not the real problem. Everything boils down to economics:

1. War is profitable
2. Stealing is profitable
3. Monopolies are profitable
4. Oligarchies are profitable

and finally

5. We worship money and "success"

If it weren't profitable to kill people and steal their stuff, you can bet it would stop IMMEDIATELY.

[leftchick]

11. that was a great article

and extremely depressing.

:(

<snip>

Today, thanks to new information technologies, we are on the brink of unmasking the psychopaths and building a civilization of, by and for the healthy human being -- a civilization without war, a civilization based on truth, a civilization in which the saintly few rather than the diabolical few would gravitate to positions of power. We already have the knowledge necessary to diagnose psychopathic personalities and keep them out of power. We have the knowledge necessary to dismantle the institutions in which psychopaths especially flourish -- militaries, intelligence agencies, large corporations, and secret societies. We simply need to disseminate this knowledge, and the will to use it, as widely and as quickly as possible.



can anyone imagine what dick and chimpy's brain scans look like?

[barbtries]

28. skull and crossbones n/t

[cboy4]

12. Yea, I think he is.......however, so is Big Dick Cheney...someone

I loathe more than Bush; if that's even possible.

[ellenfl]

14. kick for later eom

[defendandprotect]

15. Yes . . . and they surround themselves with fellow psychopaths . . .

violence is suicidal ---

I think the movie "The Day The Earth Stood Still" has it right ---
we have to invent a machine that automatically knocks out the first nation/person who uses
violence ---

[chaska]

16. I read that a while back. Excellent. Not completely sold (almost though), but a great read.

[Disturbed]

17. Busholini is a Silver Spoon Sociopath.

Lovefraud has chosen to use the term "sociopath" to describe this personality disorder. Why? The word "pscyhopath" sounds similar to the words "psychotic" and "psycho", which most people associate with someone who is mentally ill. Lovefraud wants you to understand that these people are not crazy.

Another term, "antisocial personality disorder (ASP)," is similar. This is the term used in the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition (DSM-IV). According to DSM-IV as presented by BehaveNet®, a person can be diagnosed as antisocial if since age 15 he or she has shown a pervasive pattern of disregard for, and violation of, the rights of others. The person must have indicated at least three of the following:

* Failure to conform to lawful social norms
* Deceitfulness
* Impulsivity or failure to plan ahead
* Irritability and aggressiveness, as indicted by repeated physical fights or assaults
* Reckless disregard for safety of self or others
* Consistent irresponsibility, as indicated by repeated failure to sustain consistent work behavior or honor financial obligations
* Lack of remorse, as indicated by being indifferent about having hurt, mistreated or stolen from another

[windoe]

18. K & R!!! read the whole article n/t

[lpbk2713]

19. No.... He's just fucked up in the head.

I think psychopath would be applying too much dignity to
his situation. Almost to the point of minimizing his condition.

I think what makes him such a screwball and misfit is that he never
matured beyond age ten or so.

[pathwhisperer]

20. Psychopathology is a scientific category, but with no scientific (currently) method of detection

But there can be no understanding of corruption and evil without an understanding of psychopathology (or sociopathy, which is an equivalent term). World War II should have educated the world to the problem of psychopaths in positions of responsibility. The Nazi war machine, particularly the holocaust machine acted as a psychopath selection system. Most war machines probably also do.

Despite the difficulties of certainty in discerning psychopaths I believe we should all educate ourselves for our own sakes and the sake of society. http://pathwhisperer.wordpress.com/

[Jackpine Radical]

22. Your discourse would be a bit more impressive

if you didn't confuse psychopathology with psychopathy. Actually, following Siegel's and Schore's writings, I have good reason to suspect that we'll find abnormalities in the right orbitofrontal cortical regions of true psychopaths. And BTW "sociaopath" is an older term, not in common clinical usage. Psychopathy isn't in the DSM-IV either. Hare tried to get it into DSM-V but I don't think he managed. The closest the DSM comes is Antisocial Personality Disorder, but criminal psychlogists, following Hare's lead, do measure and define psychopathy with the Psychopathy Checklist (Revised form), and consider it essentially a subset of ASPD. Also if you're familiar with Raine's work on brain scans of criminals (e.g. convicted killers), you'll know that he turned up some interesting abnormalities (mostly frontal & prefrontal) in those populations.

[pathwhisperer]

29. I use the term "sociopath" because it's less pejorative

1. I find that "psychopath" is so pejorative people just don't want to consider it for people they know. However, I may give up in this effort, "sociopath" has clearly fallen into rare use.

2. Concerning the DSM-IV, I have no respect for it whatsoever. ASPD confuses faux psychopaths with actual psychopaths. It also doesn't allow for the existence of successful psychopaths who can pass for normal at will. Hare: ". . . most individuals with ASPD are not psychopaths.". http://www.psychiatrictimes.com/display/article/10168/54831

3. Brain function and structure are not my area, but I'm sure there's a lot there. I'm more interested in behavioral observations that anyone can make and take into account.

4. I do use psychopathy and psychopathology as synonyms. I'll check it out.

[samsingh]

21. yes

[seemslikeadream]

23. indeed

[opihimoimoi]

24. "ye will know them by their Fuck Ups"...Mongo, Rock Ridge....

[DarkTirade]

25. Sociopath, perhaps.

[jmondine]

26. Is molten lava hot?

[Lethe]

27. Civilization is "evil" in itself

Civilization is a recent event in human affairs. A couple thousand years compared to the hundreds of thousands humans evolved in their natural tribal hunter-gatherer structure, and the millions our recent ancestors evolved in.

This notion that psychopaths created civilization is false.

Civilization creates the "psychopaths" out of necessity.

Civilization can only exist with agriculture, which has existed for only a couple thousand years. Agriculture causes a huge spike in human populations. When a human population experiences stress, whether lack of food, raw materials, living space, money (in recent times) etc, they go to war.

Agriculture has allowed human populations to rapidly expand beyond that which nature can provide. In doing so, we have bypassed nature's biggest limiting factor for most animal species.