Oh, internets, is there anything we won’t argue about
Such as whether or not the Watchmen character Rorschach is a sociopath?
I think so. He just happens to be a calculating sociopath with a cause.
12 Responses to “Oh, internets, is there anything we won’t argue about”
Remember, I do this to entertain me, not you.
Uncle Pays the Bills
 |
|
Find Local
|
Categories
- ATF (769)
- Death Match (10)
- Eminent Domain (225)
- In the bag (9)
- Notes to Junior (546)
- Poker (74)
- Recipes (142)
- Shotgun Noob (11)
- The Airing of Grievances (19)
- uncategorized (47,725)
August 14th, 2009 at 10:07 am
What a simple debate. Maybe we should argue if the movie was good or not
August 14th, 2009 at 10:54 am
I liked it, and I’ve never read the books(s).
August 14th, 2009 at 11:22 am
Actually I think He’s Alan Moore’s idea of what all Republicans are like.
He’s also the only charactor that doesn’t directly conspire against society for an authoritarian wet dream.
Frankly I’m flattered.
As for if the Movie was good, it wasn’t good, it was fucking awesome. Books aren’t bad either, tho they’re a tad dense and the ending was worse in the books, so I actually liked the movie better.
August 14th, 2009 at 11:22 am
To the extent that you’re defining sociopathy to mean something other than “he’s engaging in violent criminal behavior a lot” (what the ASPD definition essentially amounts to, 80-90 percent of violent felons are covered automatically), you have to have it embrace the mental traits that define psychopathy. He embodies almost none of those traits. I would say Comedian is actually much closer to this mark than Rorschach.
Look at the PCL-R (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hare_Psychopathy_Checklist take each trait and rate Rorschach on a scale of 0-2, above 30 = probable psychopath) and tell me that Rorschach even scores above the halfway mark. Unless you subscribe to the essentially meaningless definition that “violence + crime = sociopath,” then he simply isn’t one.
Personality Category
* Glibness/superficial charm- fat 0 here
* Grandiose sense of self-worth- again no
* Pathological lying- again no
* Conning/manipulative- nope
* Lack of remorse or guilt- I’ll say yes and give him a 2. Rorschach clearly has no regrets about being a violent vigilante.
* Shallow affect- Rorschach displays intense emotions in the book and movie. Another zero.
* Callous/lack of empathy- Rorschach’s entire vigilante schtick is driven by his concern for victims. I’ll give him a 1 here because his concern for criminals that he inflicts violence upon definitely absent.
* Failure to accept responsibility for own actions- Rorschach readily accepts responsibility for his actions and is aware of their illegality. He just thinks they are proper.
Behavior
* Need for stimulation/proneness to boredom- zero
* Parasitic lifestyle- zero
* Poor behavioral control- again, zero
* Promiscuous sexual behavior- zero because negative numbers aren’t allowed
* Lack of realistic, long-term goals- I would say zero because I know what this question is asking, but I’ll say one because Rorschach really doesn’t have any goals beyond fighting crime until he dies.
* Impulsivity- zero. Rorschach has excellent self control, regardless of whether he’s wearing his mask.
* Irresponsibility- zero. Rorschach is meticulous and dutiful.
* Juvenile delinquency- not certain about this. The fluff from the comics indicates he had a good juvenile record. I say zero.
* Early behavior problems- Zero again.
* Revocation of conditional release- Rorschach would almost certainly violate conditional release if he was granted one- I give him 2 out of 2 here.
Other
* Many short-term marital relationships- 1. Rorschach avoids women and/or sexual relationships of any kind. I give him a 1 because if he ever attempted any, he they would fall apart quickly. Rorschach has no ability to sustain that sort of relationship, even though it’s obviously not for the same reasons that a psychopath would.
* Criminal versatility- Rorschach displays none. He commits one type of crime- attacking violent criminals as part of his personal moral crusade. A psychopath will branch out almost randomly, hurting people in new ways as opportunities arise.
Add that up and you get a 5 or 6 out of 40. He’s not a sociopath in any meaningful sense of the word.
He’s violent and because his once-legal behavior has been outlawed, he’s also a criminal. And his pursuit of crime-fighting does come at the expense of his ability to function as a normal member of society. He clearly is a mentally ill violent criminal. But I don’t feel that automatically makes someone a sociopath.
August 14th, 2009 at 11:26 am
Sorry for the book-sized comment, your post yesterday got me thinking about whether he really was a sociopath or not.
August 14th, 2009 at 11:37 am
i would say he does have a grandiose sense of self worth. I don’t know what parasitic lifestyle means but he did tend to mooch off the other heroes. His emotional displays tend to be inner monologue, so not sure about that. He can’t control his violence toward criminals. And impulsivity is not a word. I thought he was a delinquent, in foster homes, and in trouble for fighting a lot.
Matter of interpretation, I suppose.
August 14th, 2009 at 12:06 pm
If you want, we can have an argument over whether there is anything that won’t be argued about on the Internets.
(I feel as if a piece of my geek gene went MIA. I have no desire to see Watchmen…)
August 14th, 2009 at 12:37 pm
Via the magic of the internets, I found a blog where a woman walks through a PCL-R analysis of her own disturbed foster child. I don’t know about the quality of her analysis (it strikes me as correct but what do I know), but her lengthy postings provide really good examples of what I’m thinking of in terms of sociopathic mindset and behavior patterns. It’s a good read, besides.
http://raising-a-psychopath.blogspot.com/2008/10/pcl-r-and-pcl-yv.html
I see Rorschach as obviously mentally ill, but his illness is way too focused for him to be a sociopath. I think this is our boy. Not 100 percent, but close.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obsessive%E2%80%93compulsive_personality_disorder
August 14th, 2009 at 12:58 pm
R seems perfectly normal to me. ;p
August 14th, 2009 at 1:06 pm
He’s autistic.
August 14th, 2009 at 1:32 pm
Well Walter Kovacks DID beat the everloving fuck out of those kids when he was young, still other than that, and maybe some other events not mentioned he wasn’t a delinquent youth.
Also he’s constantly stealing food from Dryberg in the books, and breaks into his house when he wants in, so I’d say +1 to the parasitic lifestyle, as he does mostly live alone.
August 14th, 2009 at 10:08 pm
You people don’t understand. I’m not locked in here with you. You are locked in here with me.