Song: “Not Your
Fault” by AWOLNATION from Megalithic
Symphony
(Picture taken from http://www.guardian.co.uk)
A man in a suit and a man in a plain khaki jumpsuit sit opposite one
another in a feature-less grey cinderblock room. On one side of the room, there
is a heavy metal door visible, behind the man in the jumpsuit, THE CLIENT’s,
head is a large window with metal bars over it. The man in the suit, THE
THERAPIST, sits with a pad on his lap, a briefcase just next to his feet.
THE
CLIENT
This isn’t going at all like I
thought it would.
THE
THERAPIST
In what way did you think it would
go differently?
THE
CLIENT
I was expecting something more
like Good Will Hunting? You know, you
tell me it’s not my fault until I break down and cry.
THE
THERAPIST
Well…that scene is generally not
regarded as particularly accurate or “good” therapy. Anyway, this isn’t really
about assigning blame. But, objectively speaking, you certainly are responsible
for what happened.
THE
CLIENT
So…I’m not Matt Damon?
THE
THERAPIST
Robin Williams’s character was
trying to reassure Matt Damon’s character that the abuse he suffered at the
hands of his father was nothing he earned. You repeatedly stabbed a waiter
because your steak was overdone. There are fairly significant differences.
THE
CLIENT
Ok, fine. Of course, I can see
that. But you have to admit what the restaurant did was criminal.
THE
THERAPIST
I…How so?
THE
CLIENT (disbelieving)
To take a piece of filet mignon
and treat it like that?!
THE
THERAPIST
While perhaps not good cooking,
there are no laws against overcooking steaks of any kind, even filets.
THE
CLIENT
None of man’s laws, perhaps. But
wouldn’t you agree that there are certain injustices that society simply has
failed to acknowledge? That exist regardless of whether or not the government says
they are wrong?
THE
THERAPIST
For instance?
THE
CLIENT
Alright, so here in this fine
state, gay marriage is illegal. The state is more or less saying love between
two people, if they are of the same gender, is invalid.
THE
THERAPIST
So, to be clear, you are comparing
overcooking beef with denying human rights to someone on the basis of their
sexual preferences? And that you stabbing a waiter was…some sort of stand for
justice?
THE
CLIENT (shrugging)
Well, when you put it that way.
THE THERAPIST begins to fill in a sheet of paper in triplicate.
THE
CLIENT (straining in his seat, curious)
Whatcha writing?
THE
THERAPIST
Notes.
THE
CLIENT
On me?
THE
THERAPIST
Uh-huh.
THE
CLIENT
So…am I fit to stand trial?
THE
THERAPIST
Absolutely.
THE
CLIENT
Are…you sure? Because the way you
were talking before…I guess I just figured you thought I was crazy.
THE
THERAPIST
Crazy is not a clinical term.
Sociopathic, perhaps. But regardless, you do not meet the criteria for legal
insanity. So you will stand trial.
THE
CLIENT
That’s… disappointing.
THE
THERAPIST (packing up)
I can only imagine.
THE
CLIENT
Wait, did you say sociopath?
THE
THERAPIST (not really giving THE CLIENT his attention)
Mmmhmm
THE
CLIENT
So, I’m like Hannibal Lecter?
THE
THERAPIST (an exasperated sigh)
No. No you are not.
THE
CLIENT
But you said I might be a socio—
THE
THERAPIST (interrupting)
I did. I said might, first of all.
Second, sociopaths like Lecter or any of those other genius criminal mastermind
murder types in movies, books, and TV don’t really exist. Your favorite serial
killer fictio—
THE
CLIENT (interrupting)
Copycat!
THE
THERAPIST
Copycat?
THE CLIENT
That’s my favorite movie with a
serial killer.
THE
THERAPIST
Really? Not Manhunter or Silence of the
Lambs or Blow Out or even, I
don’t know, Mr. Brooks? But Copycat?!
THE
CLIENT (shrugging)
I found the pacing to be taut and
the characterization, especially of Sigourney Weaver’s profiler, to be quite
smart.
THE
THERAPIST
Right. Fine. Anyway, not accurate.
At all.
THE
CLIENT
So sociopaths don’t exist?
THE
CLIENT (facetiously panicking)
Oh god, Doc, do I not exist?!
THE
THERAPIST
What? No, no. You very much exist.
Sociopaths exist…they have a disorder known as Antisocial Personality Disorder.
But they are rarely, if ever, capable of the incredible machinations of movie
serial killers. Sociopaths are reckless, poor planners, and often make very
obvious mistakes. For instance, stabbing someone in the middle of a restaurant
filled with witnesses.
THE
CLIENT
What about the Zodiac Killer?
THE
THERAPIST
Exception that proves the rule.
Plus, since he was never caught, we can’t diagnosis him with Antisocial
Personality Disorder.
THE
CLIENT (disbelieving)
So you’re saying the Zodiac Killer
might not have been crazy?
THE
THERAPIST
The clinical definition of
“crazy,” if you insist on using that, is much different than society’s. By
society’s parameters, of course he was crazy. Be psychologically? Impossible to
say without meeting him face to face.
THE
CLIENT
Alright, fine. Son of Sam. He
wrote notes too.
THE
THERAPIST
And he was caught because he was
seen at the scene of one of the crimes. Mastermind he wasn’t. Besides, if he
was at all honest, he was delusional, not sociopathic. Receiving instructions
to kill from a dog is not a symptom of APD.
THE
CLIENT
Dahmer!
THE
THERAPIST
A lot of people think Dahmer had
APD, that’s true. He was also an alcoholic with a history of abnormal sexual
behaviors including public masturbation and the fondling of an underage boy. He
committed his first murder without forethought, out of what appears to be
frustration with the man refusing to hang out with him longer. Although he
later developed techniques to hide the murders, he continued to be reckless in
his selection of victims, and at no time attempted to play cat and mouse games
with the police. He was no movie villain.
THE
CLIENT
Pop culture lied?
THE
THERAPIST
Very much so, yes. About this and
several other things.
THE
CLIENT
This is going to be difficult to
process. I always thought sociopaths were, like, smooth and debonair and could
twist society’s rules against themselves.
THE
THERAPIST
Yeeeeah, no. For people with
Antisocial Personality Disorder the thing is…it’s hard to make the rules work
for you if you don’t give a damn about them enough to learn them. Say I hand
you a six page book and tell you that those six pages contain all the rules you
must live by. I hand everyone else around you a 60-page book with the same
instructions. You, with the six pages, will often by out of step with everyone,
acting oddly by their standards, and usually, if you step to perceive the
differences, be clueless as to why.
That’s life as a sociopath. Real
people with Antisocial Personality Disorder can’t play the system against
itself because they don’t understand the system. They are so convinced of their
specialness, of their need to not follow the rules that they never bother to
actually understand them. Thus, dumb, reckless, impulsive and so on and so on.
THE
CLIENT
What you’re saying is that I’ll
never help an FBI agent track a serial killer?
THE
THERAPIST
For the good of us all, hopefully
not.
THE
CLIENT
Wow….well, you’ve certainly given
me a lot to think about.
THE
THERAPIST (tired)
Couldn’t be more thrilled about
that.
THE
CLIENT
Oh! Wait, wait. Last question:
have you ever eaten at Robbie’s on Main.
THE
THERAPIST (quickly swallowing a laugh, shaking his head)
No, never.
THE
CLIENT
Why not? Seems like the kind of
classy joints people like you would love.
THE
THERAPIST (smiling now)
You…you don’t really want to know.
THE
CLIENT
Oh come on, lay it on me.
THE
THERAPIST (exhales, shakes his head again, and knocks on the heavy steel door)
In “classy people” circles, it’s
fairly well known that Robbie’s chef doesn’t know how to cook a steak to save
his life.
As the door opens, THE THERAPIST visibly pauses in the doorway,
seemingly debating saying more. In the end, he appears to shake it off.
THE
THERAPIST (walking out)
Well, bye now.
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