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If someone is a really bad person, do you feel absolutely no sympathy for them no matter how much they suffered? Like for example if a murderer or a rapist or a pedophile or Bernie Madoff had cancer and were screaming in pain would you feel absolutely nothing for them? Or would you still have an empathetic response despite your loathing of them and their deeds?
Does your empathy only apply to "good people" and can you shut it off for certain unsavory types?
Hell, no problem for someone I don't know!
I feel that way about my ex-meth-head older sister, that has fried her brain so much, she is bat-ass crazy.
I want nothing to do with her.
I feel that I have a limited amount of empathy. What I mean is that I can't feel the pain for every human in the world - I'd be crushed by it. I do feel that some people are more "deserving" of empathy than others - for instance, I feel much more empathy for say, someone who is the victim of a drunk driver and who is severely injured - than someone who CHOOSES to try to climb Mt Everest and who gets stuck on a tiny ridge for 25 days. I mean - one person was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time while the other person CHOSE to take ridiculous risks.
Karma Karma.
I don't feel that this attitude is "selectively sociopathic" however. I refuse to take on that label.
Location: Democratic Peoples Republic of Redneckistan
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Quote:
Originally Posted by KathrynAragon
I feel that I have a limited amount of empathy. What I mean is that I can't feel the pain for every human in the world - I'd be crushed by it. I do feel that some people are more "deserving" of empathy than others - for instance, I feel much more empathy for say, someone who is the victim of a drunk driver and who is severely injured - than someone who CHOOSES to try to climb Mt Everest and who gets stuck on a tiny ridge for 25 days. I mean - one person was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time while the other person CHOSE to take ridiculous risks.
Karma Karma.
I don't feel that this attitude is "selectively sociopathic" however. I refuse to take on that label.
I'd have to say this sums me up too..if someone chose a wrong path knowing where that path could or would lead,its hard for me to work up much sympathy for them..on the other hand,I'm the first to feel bad for innocent people who end up hurt or sick due to no fault of their own.
"Selectively Sociopathic"? What does that even mean? If anything, selectively empathetic would be closer to what you're conveying. "Selectively sociopathic" makes it sound like you're only a serial killer when the mood hits you...
If someone is a really bad person, do you feel absolutely no sympathy for them no matter how much they suffered? Like for example if a murderer or a rapist or a pedophile or Bernie Madoff had cancer and were screaming in pain would you feel absolutely nothing for them? Or would you still have an empathetic response despite your loathing of them and their deeds?
Does your empathy only apply to "good people" and can you shut it off for certain unsavory types?
I would still feel bad for them. I would rather no one hurt. I feel bad for people who are sent to prison or executed. I still think that people need to be punished, because to have a civilized society you must have justice, but it doesn't mean I can't feel sorry that they are going to be in pain. Maybe it is because, as a teacher, I have seen, known, and cared about the child who grew onto a monster. Every human was once someone's child, and often those that go down the wrong path, were never taught how to look for the right one.
So yeah, I'd feel bad for them, although probably not as badly as I would feel for someone who always did the right thing.
I am the sister of a sociopath - one who has wrecked his life as he has wrecked the lives of others. I am familiar with the feeling of empathy for the pain of another, coupled with the reticence of one who has come to realize that unfortunately, people have to experience the ramifications of their actions. Everyone's chickens come home to roost. If you manage to draw the "Get Out of Jail Free" card, you're the exception to the rule.
If someone is a really bad person, do you feel absolutely no sympathy for them no matter how much they suffered? Like for example if a murderer or a rapist or a pedophile or Bernie Madoff had cancer and were screaming in pain would you feel absolutely nothing for them? Or would you still have an empathetic response despite your loathing of them and their deeds?
Does your empathy only apply to "good people" and can you shut it off for certain unsavory types?
I would feel very badly if anyone were screaming in pain. Of course, I would support Bernie Madoff and other white collar criminals, as well as murderers and pedophiles, being given lethal injection and removed immediately from the living population. Problem solved.
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