The Right Sort of Madness

At this point in The Psychopath Test, Jon Ronson is questioned why he is pursuing this project and, as a result, he begins to question himself as well. The uncertainty Ronson feels originates from a conversation with his friend Adam Curtis. In this conversation, Curtis begins to criticize Ronson’s work; saying that all Ronson is doing is weaving fragments of stories together into a single story. In fact, that is what all journalists do in Curtis’s mind; they wait for the ‘gems’ which turn out to be the ‘madness.’ In response to this, Ronson wonders if some journalists go about the interviewing process in the opposite way, through the use of personally created systems that identify the best interviewees. It is through his research of this question he learns about Charlotte Scott.  In her job as a guest booker for television programs such as, Jerry Springer, Trisha, and Jeremy Kyle, she had to learn how to distance herself from the sadness in the lives of potential interviewees for the show. Throughout her time working at these shows, Charlotte also devised a system in which she would look at the medical history of possible interviewees to determine whether or not they would make good shows. She would choose people who were only slightly depressed, on a drug like Prozac, to ensure that they weren’t mad enough to kill themselves or others or not mad enough and would be boring on the show. Despite her system though, she tells Ronson of a time where it failed and almost ended up with the death of a man. The only thing Ronson takes from his conversation with Charlotte is that he hasn’t done anything as bad she has.

                Ronson’s interview with Al Dunlap was very interesting to me. The ease with which ese Dunlap fired people and the enjoyment he got out of it was disturbing though. He had no emotional attachment to the fact that firing so many people was destroying the lives of those people; especially in the case of Shubuta, Mississippi, where the entire Sunbeam plant was shut down, systematically ‘killing’ the town. With this in mind, I was not surprised that he possessed many of the qualities of a psychopath from Bob Hare’s Psychopath Checklist. Then, later on in the book, I was very intrigued by Ronson’s interview with Charlotte Scott. I had no idea that people with her type of job sorted out ‘good interviewees’ in that way. It’s very interesting to me that something as simple as the type of medication a person takes could affect the way they would react to a show like Jerry Springer. However, I am glad that it worked effectively so that very few people were negatively affected by their experience on the shows.  However, it did surprise me that the only thing Ronson took away from his interview with Charlotte was that at least he hadn’t done anything as bad as what she had. I’m not sure if I agree with this statement entirely. Yes, he didn’t publicly ‘humiliate’ the people he interviews, yet he did publish an entire book about the psychopaths he interviewed, for the general public to read. How is that not similar to what Charlotte did?

Birth Order Effects?

Does birth order have an effect on the behavior of children when it comes to academics, behavioral problems, creativity, etc.?

To many people this question would seem irrelevant, though coming from a family with multiple children I can see the differences between each of us. This observation has led me to wonder how much birth order really does affect the behavior of children, both growing up and in their lives in general. This question also intrigues me greatly, since I haven’t heard much information about it and would like to learn more. Depending on the results I find, I may want to focus my paper on one area of affected behavior, if it goes into great detail; otherwise I believe that a general exploration of such affects would still provide great information to the uninformed, including myself. In addition to the types of behavior affected by birth order, I may want to explore the difference that gender makes too. For example, how being the second son or third daughter affects the child, if such information exists.

I’m not sure how much information I would be able to find on this subject, since it doesn’t seem thoroughly explored. However, I would just begin with anything I can get about the effects of birth order. I know there have to be at least some, as I’ve seen it happen in my family and others as well. I’m just very excited to see how this all fits together. Hopefully it will help explain some of the reasons my sisters are the way they are, as well as myself.

"Toto" and The Psychopath Test

     In this chapter of Jon Ronson’s, The Psychopath Test, the author focuses on a specific psychopath: Emmanuel “Toto” Constant. Ronson travels to the Coxsackie Correctional Facility to test out his newly learned psychopath detection skills from the use of Bob Hare’s psychopath checklist, which he learned how to use in the previous chapter of the book. Prior to his meeting with “Toto,” Ronson describes how Toto landed himself in the correctional facility in the first place. Constant (Toto) set up the paramilitary group FRAPH, with which he and his followers terrorized thousands of people in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, where he was living at the time. They burned down houses, raped women, beat and shot people of all ages, and committed so many more horrible acts. Toto was to be put in jail, but with his conniving ways he managed to be put on what was basically house arrest in Queens, where Ronson visited him the first time, at his mother’s house. After that visit, the chapter jumps back to present time, where Ronson meets with Toto in the correctional facility. He asks questions specifically to bring out the psychopathic nature of Toto, and succeeds. Ronson is rewarded with Toto saying things like: “you select the kind of emotion you want” and “I don’t feel empathy. It’s not a feeling I have. It’s not an emotion I have… I don’t feel sorry for people. No.” Upon his departure from the correctional facility Ronson has determined that indeed, Toto is a psychopath.

     I really enjoyed these two chapters. Finally getting to know what was actually on the checklist for psychopathic behavior and how it all fit together was a relief, since they’ve been talking about it for so long and not actually saying what it was. I was surprised by some of the tests that Bob Hare had used on his volunteers to create his list, but it was the kind of time where those tests were still allowed. Perhaps the most interesting part of this reading, however, was hearing about Toto. I had no idea that had actually happened in Port-au-Prince! It’s such a horrible chain of events, and the fact that he got off with so little of a punishment due to his conniving ways amazes me. Ronson’s interview with him in the correctional facility was very interesting as well. The way that Toto flat out said he didn’t have emotions was surprising to me though. I thought he’d try to at least make himself seem normal? Unless he doesn’t realize the things that he says and does, and doesn't feel, are the traits of a psychopath?