This article is about Naming Psychopathic Individuals in Public Space or Forums. The article was meant to be a written in two parts. One Part would be About the Personal Aspects and Implications surrounding Pointing Out Someone – or Being Pointed Out – as A Psychopath. The Second Part would be About One or More Known or Famous Individuals, Being Pointed Out and Named as Psychopaths, and my Personal Views and Standpoints about this.
Alas, I haven’t been able to make ‘Part 1’ ready for publishing as it was planned, which of course I regret. I am instead going to publish what was meant to be ‘Part 2’ of the article, and the rest will have to wait until a later day or night, when I am less busy.
Alright, here we go – let’s See if we can Name a Psychopath…
Keep in mind, however, that like any other person representing a minority, I cannot be sure to recognize any other psychopath with a 100% Certainty Rate, it just isn’t possible(1*). In the present case it is also worth noting that I haven’t had time to research the person whom I was asked to confirm or refute to be a psychopath. So I ran a search on Youtube and found video of moments between ‘on-air’ takes from a guest appearance of our subject, hosted by a fellow well known TV personality.
The video I have uploaded with this article can hopefully give the Reader an idea about what I am referring to when I talk about a Professional Persona versus a more Private You – the ‘you’ that you tend to only display under more private and relaxed circumstances – and why it is situations like that I look for first when I’m trying to determine if someone may be a psychopath.
Question:
“For a while I was pretty convinced Jerry Seinfeld could be considered [a Psychopath]. His affect and emotion is really shallow, he is very self-centered and also quite manipulative (especially when you imagine his personae in not set up context). Don’t get me wrong though – love Seinfeld!”
Seinfeld does not show some of the important traits that would make me view him as a possible candidate for a psychopathy diagnosis. – I can’t know this for sure, of course. As always, an investigation including a thorough check-up into his past with interviews of people who have known him throughout the years and at various periods of his life – most significantly his parents and family, his friends, his school and hobby teachers and coaches, neighbors, ministers, and so on – would be required. But also people who have had more sporadic contact with him, f.x. officers who were present at a time when he was arrested for speeding (if such ever occurred, this is Just an example of what COULD be an experience from his past!) would need to be included.
That said, Seinfeld may be controlling and narcissistic (as you mention in your mail), and Narcissism and Psychopathy can in some respects be hard to distinguish. But then, most high profile performers and creators in the entertainment industry have a Narcissistic Streak, which again will be naturally nourished if you work and thrive on success in that industry. – Another thing to note is that learning to be (sometimes VERY) assertive is another trait that can be mistaken for a psychopathic trait, just as is that certain air of Personal Charm. If you’re an entertainer of any kind you cannot survive without it.
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(1*) – for reasons that should be at least somewhat clear when taking into account what I try to explain in several articles: Psychopathy is a spectrum, there’s no ‘completely psychopathic’ individuals, but there are plenty of ‘somewhat psychopathic’ individuals, and more over, psychopaths can be surprisingly different from one another in spite of the similarities – which, on the other hand – are often well hidden and only observable in subtle ways.
