"Narcissism is a failure not of conscience but of empathy, which is the capacity to perceive emotions in others and so react to them appropriately. The poor narcissist cannot see past his own nose, emotionally speaking, and as with the Pillsbury Doughboy, any input from the outside will spring back as if nothing had happened.
Unlike sociopaths, narcissists often are in psychological pain, and may sometimes seek psychotherapy. When a narcissist looks for help, one of the underlying issues is usually that, unbeknownst to him, he is alienating his relationships on account of his lack of empathy with others, and is feeling confused, abandoned, and lonely.
He misses the people he loves, and is ill-equipped to get them back. Sociopaths, in contrast, do not care about other people, and so do not miss them when they are alienated or gone, except as one might regret the absence of a useful appliance that one has somehow lost.”
Martha Stout, The Sociopath Next Door
"Even psychopaths have emotions. Then again, maybe not...Killing is killing whether done for duty, profit, or fun."
Richard Ramirez, The Night Stalker
"I have no desire whatever to reform myself. My only desire is to reform people who try to reform me...I don't believe in man, God nor Devil. I hate the whole damned human race, including myself. I preyed upon the weak, the harmless and the unsuspecting. This lesson I was taught by others: might makes right.”
Carl Panzram, Diary of a Monster
Free the Wall Street One Percent.
Oh, that's right. We forget. Not one of the principals has even been prosecuted.
“Everyone is talking about the culture, the culture, and all that, and it’s just not true. Most bankers are decent, honorable people. We’re wrapped up in all this crap right now.
We made a mistake. We’re sorry. It doesn’t detract from all the good things we’ve done. I am not responsible for the financial crisis. I hate to tell you. We were a port of safety in the storm.
I find it unbelievable that that is the general theme—that you have to walk in a room and act like you are responsible for things you are not responsible for.
I’m an outspoken defender of the truth.
Everyone is afraid of retaliation and retribution. We recently had an event with a hundred small bankers here, and 85 percent of them said they can’t challenge the regulation because of the potential retribution. That’s a terrible thing. Okay?
This is not the Soviet Union. This is the United States of America. That’s what I remember. Guess what. It’s a free. Fucking. Country.”
Jamie Dimon, Interview with New York Magazine
For a dose of reality see the interview with Neil Barofsky below.
“The suspicions that the system is rigged in favor of the largest banks and their elites, so they play by their own set of rules to the disfavor of the taxpayers who funded their bailout, are true. It really happened. These suspicions are valid.”
Neil Barofsky
