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Sharon (not her real name), 44, is a widow with two kids. Her husband died three months before their second child was born.

When we met, Sharon had been dating Brian for about 6-7 years. Sharon’s kids were in middle school. Brian had been planning a three-day weekend with his buddies to spend in Savannah — about a three hour drive.

On his way out of town Thursday night, Brian swung by Sharon’s and told her he’d stop by her place Sunday evening when they returned. And he did.

While Brian, Sharon and her kids ate dinner, he told them all about the drive down, the flat tire, the hotels, where and what they ate, and all their activities. As she told me, he talked for almost 90 minutes, right through dinner and dessert.

It got late, so he helped put the kids to bed, and a while later, he left. Just as Sharon was turning out all the lights, she spotted Brian’s camera. When he came in that evening, he said he had just a few empty frames on the roll, so he wanted to use them by taking photos of the kids. continue reading…

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At least in my case, I never set out to identify a sociopath. For me, it was usually just a naïve accident, being somewhere to either see or hear something, or innocently ask about something I saw or heard.

I’ve stepped in it twice … with almost ten years in-between.  Frankly, I didn’t step in it the second time, I fell into it.

Don’t believe anyone who says that it’s easy to identify a sociopath. If that were true, it would be equally easy, if not easier, to misidentify a sociopath.

Example: you know someone you suspect is a sociopath because you’ve witnessed (not hearsay) the person displaying sociopathic traits. Suspecting is easy. Identifying likely means you’ve become a victim. Other than that, if you suspect, how do you prove?

If you become suspicious of someone as being a sociopath, you’ve got a couple choices, but with either one, you must be careful and stay observant. How do you become suspicious in the first place? The red flag. Something hits you as just not right. And it matters not how long you’ve known that person, as it could be someone you’ve known all your life.

I know that, for sure. I had just turned 50 when I discovered and confirmed that my oldest sister, Kathy, is a sociopath. Since then, she has done so much damage to my character that it could never be undone.  continue reading…

 
Remember, NOTHING gets in the way of a determined sociopath.

Nothing … not even perjury.

How was I to know? For some reason, I was led to believe that determining TRUTH and administering JUSTICE was the NUMBER ONE PRIORITY and goal of our Justice System … the most powerful branch of the Federal government.

Hey! Maybe it was the name “Justice System” that threw me.

But now I know that TRUTH apparently can take a very distant second place. In my case, very questionable legal ethics, and of course money, made it initially appear that I had virtually no chance. That makes them easy to surprise.

I faired much better than my ex-wife’s attorney had expected, as I kept them from winning — even though it was based entirely on lies. In the end, though, the judge made it seem almost a risk for me to continue the case.

Much more on this in its context.

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No, the title is “Not” in error. In the U.S., it is estimated that about 5% to 10% of the general population are sociopaths … that’s 1-2 outwardly-charming people out of every 20 are not really charming at all.

You know 20 people, don’t you?

That’s at least ten million sociopaths in the US. I’ve come to understand — unfortunately, on a very personal level — why they’re considered to be some of the most dangerous people around.

Dr. Stout does a great job of describing someone you know — a typical sociopath. Chances are, there is at least one in your life … at least one. continue reading…