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Tuesday, April 7, 2015

Brian Williams, Part VI


In early February this blog ran five posts on NBC anchor Brian Williams and his series of fantastical lies. Today, it came out in the NY Post that Williams, in trying to explain his past lies, suggested he might have a possible brain tumor.

This is how sociopaths operate: they try to cover up their lies with yet more lies. They don't dispense with their dishonesty once they're caught. It stays with them for life.

If in fact Williams does have a brain tumor, it would be a type hitherto unknown to medical science. His tumor didn't interfere with his ability to read from a Teleprompter, or play vicious corporate politics, or stay carefully within the bounds of political correctness, or even recount where he was 12 years previous. No, this brain tumor's only effect was to force Williams to embellish his stories to make himself look more heroic than he actually was.

A couple excerpts from the Post article:

In the aftermath of the scandal, people at NBC News have repeatedly cited Williams’ penchant for bureaucratic infighting and his limited interest in “heavy” news, the piece says.


Bureaucratic infighting, of course, is a sociopathic specialty. Nobody has more stomach for ass-kissing, backstabbing, and corporate toadying than a sociopath. It's why you'll find sociopaths at or near the top of so many large corporations.

“He was having a tough enough time coming to grips with the idea that he had gotten it wrong in the first place, slash misrepresented it, slash lied,” an insider said. “He wasn’t anywhere in the ballpark of being helpful about what had happened 12 years ago.”

The thing about Williams, or any other sociopath, is that they'll never be anywhere in the ballpark of being truthful. They play ball by a whole different set of rules -- or lack of rules. And until you're familiar with their style of play, you'll have a hard time recognizing the "brain tumor" known as sociopathy.

8 comments:

Dum da dum dum said...

an office where you have some lying politicians hatchet man running things and it helped with integrity. mind. completely. blown. I think mr Williams leaving just might be some sort of culling in a sociopathic survival of the fittest thing. I mean shit his coworkers come off as scarier. NBC warfare all that will survive is the damned roaches.

John Craig said...

Dum da dum dum --
You must have read that Vanity Fair article. I had the same impression, it's all a bunch of vicious political infighters over there, reminded me of life on Wall Street.

It's actually survival of the most sociopathic.

dum da dum dum said...

yep thanks for linking to that. the article gives one the impression that now its just the nine tenths of the iceberg you can't see that's left. I feel so much better. if that's what wall street's like good god. I hope you managed to stay out of those people sights. how bad were the ivy's ?

John Craig said...

Dum da dum dum --
College wasn't nearly as bad as Wall Street. There were a few sociopaths but not nearly the percentage that you saw on Wall Street. Of course, they may just have been less recognizable in college, and, frankly, back then I didn't understand sociopathy.

Runner Katy said...

I really appreciate when you bring to light the sociopaths we all see regularly, such as Brian Williams. Every little detail we learn about him screams this, and your posts are so helpful in letting us recognize this in others, both in and out of the limelight. Thank you!

John Craig said...

Runner Katy --
Thank YOU.

Yes, the best way to learn about sociopaths is, once you've established beyond any reasonable doubt that someone is a sociopath, to keep watching him and see how he acts in every situation.

I've had the advantage (misfortune) of having done extensive (involuntary) "field work" with two sociopaths, and saw them in action in all sorts of situations. That made it easier for me to see the patterns of behavior later on.

I take it from your name that you're a runner. I'm a huge track fan. What's your best event, and, if I may ask, your best time?

Anonymous said...

John,

I had to laugh at your (involuntary) field work!

There is actually an internet diagnosis of Narcissistic (Sociopath) Victim Syndrome.

Andrew

John Craig said...

Andrew ---
Thanks….That's not surprising. Every now and then I meet someone who's abnormally suspicious (usually, of me) and I think, aha, that person has had some experience with a sociopath.

I think we all meet narcissists in our everyday lives, and we usually come away the wiser for it. Some of us are even lucky enough to meet sociopaths.