The normal response to the presence of an evil person

[Mariana]

is revulsion. So said M. Scott Peck in his excellent book "People of the Lie: The Hope for Healing Humal Evil".

I'm very glad to see that I'm not the only one with this feeling toward Sarah Palin.

Just saying.

[EFerrari]

1. I was thinking *exactly* about that book and that idea the other day

in relation to Sarah Palin. :shrug:

[Tallison]

2. Agreed, but...

in what context are you posting this?

[Mariana]

5. Clarified. Thanks.

[Tallison]

14. That helps!

Welcome to DU!

:hi:

[CoffeeCat]

3. That book was very frightening...

...because when you read it, you realize how many evil people there
are in this world, and how our culture reinforces their behavior.

His analysis was spot on---and truly terrifying.

[Mariana]

4. What's worse, you realize how many you know, personally.

[CoffeeCat]

12. Exactly...

For me, I could never put a finger on behavior like that. I always felt like
people who acted that way, outwitted me somewhat. That was when I was in my 20's.

Peck's book helps you to understand their modus operandi. When you understand, those
people don't seem so powerful, so smart and so untouchable. You get their shtick,
and ultimately, that is how we win over evil.

It's amazing how so many evil people follow the same playbook. It's astounding
how similar they all act and how their behavior is universal among psychopaths
and sociopaths.

[Mira]

6. I read the book, and find it important. I do not think SP is evil, I think she

is abysmally ignorant and deluded and brainwashed (not much brain there to be washed and altered) but she is smart enough to be taught and wound up like a toy.
That's what I saw happen tonight.

[Lancer]

7. I just wrote a long post about "The People of the Lie"

and then changed my mind! I have read that book many times, and I was thinking of Palin as a sociopath until tonight. She is pure evil. In all the ways Peck describes.

[Beregond2]

11. Yes, and particularly in the terror that lurks

just beneath the surface. You can see it in her eyes, and the near-hysteria that comes into her voice, and then she clamps down with that icy control.

[marions ghost]

23. very observant

yes, the icy self control.

[Beregond2]

8. That book has been on my mind ever since she appeared

on the scene. To me, what is truly frightening is not that there are evil people, but that so many people can't recognize them.

[Lancer]

15. I think it's because we're not accustomed or trained to look for

evil. That's one of the things that makes Peck's book so fascinating. The case of Charlene is the one that always sticks with me -- and the uneasy feeling the other patient got every time he/she was in the same room with her.

And what of the parents and their 15-y.o. boy and the gun they gave him for Christmas? OMG

[Mariana]

16. I've never forgotten that story.

The SAME gun his brother killed himself with! And then they pretended to have no idea what could possibly be wrong with doing that.

[Beregond2]

18. Yes.

I had a crash course in it through a relationship I had, so I guess I see it more easily than most. Peck also points out that one of the places evil people are most drawn to is churches. Religiosity is a great mask for them. I don't think it's an accident that the Republicans have been in league with fundamentalist churches for the past forty years. I knew Palin was a member of one of those without having to be told. It's written all over her. That fake friendliness..shudder.

[Fire Walk With Me]

9. Her actions would quite likely lead to exceptional amounts of human suffering.

I'm just remembering that "offhand", non-sequitor she spoke tonight (ties in with my fear of her gleeful stare upon being asked about the use of nuclear weaponry)..."Too many people".

:scared:

[shooga]

10. what ?????

what exactly are you referring to?? she is not the brightest bulb in the pack but evil --- what the heck are you talking about.

[coalition_unwilling]

17. Read Hannah Arendt's "Eichmann in Jerusalem" where

Arendt talks of "the banality of evil."

Palin is nothing if not banal and she would have no problem putting all gays and lesbians to death as an "abomination before God" (her smugly self-righteous prevarications about "tolerance" notwithstanding).

[Lancer]

19. A brilliant book by Dr. M. Scott Peck on everday evil

It's called The People of the Lie. His argument is that there are people we meet in our lives who we know are off-kilter. Things don't add up. You may think they are sociopaths or even psychopaths, but they may really be evil.

Not all evil people hurt children or animals or destroy things or break other people's spirits. Peck weaves psychology and religion together... to show what makes these people tick and explain why they are difficult to spot. It's all fascinating and terrifying. And yet an evil person may be in the cubicle next to yours, or in your church, or sit beside ya in the bleachers at the soccer game ya know?

Palin does not see other people as individuals, not even John McCain. Does she give you any senxe of what kind of person he is? He is a framework on which she hangs cliches about his heroism and vague references to his years in Congress. She could just as easily be talking about Chuck Hagel, Bob Dole or Daniel Inouye. I get no real grasp of what her constituents are like, nor even her family. Track Enfield (get it?) Palin is not her son but a soldier -- excuse me -- "a troop" (sic) in Eye-rak, a symbol of all that's right with America. People are objects to her, and every one of them is a stepping stone or obstacle she has to cross to get what SHE wants. By definition what's best for her is what's best.

The last thing in the world you want is for these people to gain power, or even bask in its reflective glow. In fact, they are often much more dangerous just behind the front lines.

/soapbox

[SammyWinstonJack]

20. ...

:scared:

[emilyg]

13. I don't think she's evil.

[marions ghost]

24. call her

a predator aligning with predators then.

The semantics don't matter. 'Evil' has been used to describe a person who has no conscience and will use every angle to get what they want. Lies, denial and a disdain for hard facts support the behavior. They have no moral compass.

Having seen a few of these both close-up and afar, I'd say she's there.

[emilyg]

25. That describes almost every politician.

[Waiting For Everyman]

21. She has no conscience - yes, she's evil.

She knowingly lies with no problem... while posing to be a Christian! All of them who do that are just the same.

[conscious evolution]

22. Sounds like an interesting read.

Educating ourselves about the true nature of what we are facing can never be a waste of time.

She creeps me out in the same way w and cheney do.I can't stand to see or hear her for more than a few moments.Hell,I can't even bring myself to type her name.