Diane Dimond: Unleashing Our Inner Sociopath

Diane Dimond: Unleashing Our Inner Sociopath HPFB.init();
HuffPost's QuickRead... ShareBox.ad = function (tag_id){if ($(tag_id) == undefined) return; if ($(tag_id).innerHTML != '') return;ad_spec = {"zone_info": "huffpost.living/blog;living=1;nickname=diane-dimond;entry_id=761821;cirque-du-salahi---be-careful-who-you-trust=1;diane-dimond=1;diane-dimonds-weekly-column=1;glenn-beck=1;has-the-internet-made-us-more-vicious=1;internet-cyber-bullying=1;michaele-salahi=1;tyler-clementi=1;unleashing-our-inner-sociopath=1","ord": 1287007442,"tile": 3,"width": 300,"height": 250,"el_id": tag_id + "_js","class_name": "ad_block ad_wide top","type": "iframe"}HuffPoUtil.WEDGJE.write(ad_spec, tag_id);};Loading... BIG NEWS:Health|Aging|Relationships| Wellness |Energy Debates| More... | LogoutLog In| Sign Up  The Huffington Post October 13, 2010 Front PagePoliticsBusinessMediaEntertainmentComedySportsStyle WorldGreenTechFood TravelLiving ArtsBooks ReligionImpactEducation College NY LA Chicago Denver Blogs


Diane DimondModern day journalist

Posted: October 13, 2010 05:37 PMBIOBecome a FanGet Email AlertsBloggers' Indexfunction hide_user_promo_bubble_second_stage() {var bubble = $("user_promo_bubble");bubble.style.display = "none";}function hide_user_promo_bubble() {var bubble = $("user_promo_bubble");var myAnim = new YAHOO.util.Anim(bubble, {opacity: {to: 0}}, 1, YAHOO.util.Easing.easeOut);myAnim.animate();setTimeout("hide_user_promo_bubble_second_stage()", 1100);}function handle_promo_username(params) {var bubble = $("user_promo_bubble");var img = $("user_promo_bubble_image");var anchor = $("user_promo_bubble_link");if (params.has_photo == "true") {img.src = "http://images.huffingtonpost.com/profiles/" + params.user_id + "-tiny.png";} else {img.style.display = "none";Dom.addClass(anchor, "wide");}anchor.innerHTML = "Shared by " + params.user_name;anchor.href = "http://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/" + params.user_name;bubble.style.display = "block";var myAnim = new YAHOO.util.Anim(bubble, {opacity: {to: 1}}, 2, YAHOO.util.Easing.easeOut);myAnim.animate();}if (HuffPoUtil.getUrlVar("user_promo")) {YAHOO.util.Event.onDOMReady(function() {var parts = document.location.hash.split(","), shared_by = "", badge = "", i;if (parts.length Unleashing Our Inner Sociopath What's Your Reaction: HPConfig.entry_digg_promo_url = 'http://www.huffingtonpost.com/diane-dimond/unleashing-our-inner-soci_b_761821.html';digg facebook Twitter stumble redditdel.ico.us Inspiring
Enlightening
Crazy
Scary
Helpful
Amazing
Innovative
Important
Read More:Cirque Du Salahi - Be Careful Who You Trust, Diane Dimond, Diane Dimond's Weekly Column, Glenn Beck, Has The Internet Made Us More Vicious?, Internet Cyber Bullying, Michaele Salahi, Tyler Clementi, Unleashing Our Inner Sociopath, Living News
Get Living AlertsEmailComments

Has the internet made us more vicious? I ask because it sure seems to me that we are quickly becoming a people who have forgotten how to empathize with others. With our computer anonymity many of us have decided we can "say" things over the World Wide Web that we would never ever say to someone's face. Cruel comments can be lobbed without personal risk so we send them out like invisible hand grenades, set to explode when opened.

Read some of the remarks others leave behind at your favorite news web site. Some of the remarks are way past mean, some are criminal as they issue death threats or illegally invade the privacy of others. And some recent actions taken with the help of the internet are also criminal. I'm speaking, of course, about the case of 18 year old Rutgers University student Tyler Clementi who committed suicide after learning his roommate had rigged a web cam to beam out his tryst with another male student - live - over the internet. Clementi's sadistically-spirited roommate never gave a thought to how the shy classical violinist who was grappling with his sexuality might react to this horrific breach of privacy. And that's the problem!

Dare I say the internet has become our means of tapping into our inner sociopath?

It's not just the younger "internet generation" - but grown adults as well - who fail to stop to think what effect their actions will have on the target of their cruelty. Psychiatrists will tell you that's classic sociopathic behavior, a complete lack of empathy for others.

I told you a few weeks ago about a new book I've written, Cirque Du Salahi - Be Careful Who You Trust, about the couple erroneously branded as the "White House Gate Crashers." In the book, which highlights the poor journalism behind the splashy tale, I revealed that Michaele Salahi has suffered for 17 years with Multiple Sclerosis. It was a gut wrenching disclosure for Michaele and she wept when she talked about it on television.

The internet reaction was jaw dropping. The inhuman comments ranged from, "I don't believe it. I want to see a Doctor's note," to "She picked M.S. because it matches with her initials - she's too stupid to think of any other disease." Many posts hammered the couple for their past debts and one went so far as to declare, "I'm wishing for a murder-suicide with these two."

No matter what the perceived transgressions of a fellow citizen when they reveal they have a life altering, non-curable disease I would think the proper response would be one of sympathy. Not in the Salahi's case and not in the case of Fox News commentator Glenn Beck after he recently disclosed he has a disease which might result in his total blindness. The internet comments included ugliness like this: "It is not Mr.Beck's eyes that should fail, rather his vocal chords should shrivel up," and this one from a man named Brian, "Beck is already blind to the truth, so what does it matter if he can't see." Alyn wrote, "He should not lose his eyesight. He should lose his life."

What has happened to us? We're supposed to be the country where people are proud to live free and have the freedom to speak our minds and not be vilified for it. It's been our tradition for 300 years. Yet now, hiding under cover of a computer some of us have devolved into an Iran-esque cyber-stoning in the public square. Disagree with other's opinions but don't wish people dead because of them!

Five young people have committed suicide in the last few weeks after constant cyber-bulling made them feel life wasn't worth living. Each of them was trying to sort out sexual feelings and did not yet have the adult ability to shrug off the ugly internet attacks. From New Jersey's Rutgers University to small towns in Massachusetts, California, Texas and beyond, the lure of producing hateful missives and hitting the "send" button without so much as a second thought has contributed to needless deaths. Schools and other institutions hide behind the idea of freedom of speech as the reason why this can't be curbed. But I'm reminded by Wendy Murphy, a victim's advocate from Boston that, "The federal Third Circuit Court of Appeals put it ... succinctly in 2002: 'There is no constitutional right to be a bully.'"

Our laws and legal system must catch up to our technological ability to harass, defame and torture others through our computers. I propose prosecutors pursue the maximum penalty in the Rutgers suicide case (where two young people stand charged) as a signal to other hate filled people that the behavior is just not acceptable. If we can teach people the proper etiquette for a bowling alley we can certainly try for the same on the internet, right?

The temptation of instant internet connectedness has indeed put us in touch with our inner sociopathic feelings - from stupid and immature students to adults who write that they wish someone was dead - and I'm ashamed of us.

Diane Dimond may be reached through her web site: www.DianeDimond.com or at Diane@DianeDimond.com Her book is available at Amazon.com and BarnesandNoble.com

 

Follow Diane Dimond on Twitter:www.twitter.com/dianedimond

Glenn Beck More in Living...
The Best Breast Test: The Promise of...Letting Go of Labels and Seeing the...Genetically Modified Foods: 4 Reasons to Celebrate...Why You Shouldn't Mix Flu Shots With...   function returnCommentDetails(params) {// this is the proxy method. just proxyreturn CommentsSharer.getHoveredCommentDetails(params);};function callback_for_loaded_Badges(params) {//console.log("callback_for_loaded_Badges() called");CommentsSharer.badge_object = params.badge_object; // not actualy used, by could be usefulCommentsSharer.badge_holder_id = params.badge_holder_id; // not actualy used, by could be useful}diggstumbleredditdel.ico.usCommentsSharer.initBadgeBox("comment_share_popup"); Comments 0 Pending Comments 0 View FAQ Login or connect with: More Login OptionsLogin with: Google Account Huffpost Account Yahoo AccountYou must be logged in to comment.Post CommentPreview CommentTo reply to a Comment: Click "Reply" at the bottom of the comment; after being approved your comment will appear directly underneath the comment you replied to.

Share your Comment:

Post to Facebook.Post to Blogger.Post to Twitter.Post to WordPress.Post to TypePad.Post to Tumblr.Post to Yahoo! View All Recency  |  Popularity     New comments on this entry — Click to refresh Loading comments… Loading twitter module... Most Popular on HuffPostApF9Gq%2F1%2BMoPO6e%2BCvqkI%2BQ11vkuwsIqNLTR4bE6MUfeSriD34Ii4%2FZOiUxsIB1eCyAaKanPNkjvc5YzJerfpQ%3D%3D4YxbTRbamwLhgFyjj2Dh2J6VBtH8Sa3%2BKUMwU14QJyiZMZtNDPfYkp9eyqZ4%2BBCTcbi3Z4oEiAeblxeQuiv5Ew%3D%3D1 of 2 Kim Kardashian Bowls In Strapless Dress, Platform Shoes (PHOTOS)
360 Comments Chile Miners Rescue: LIVE Updates (VIDEO)
8,190 Comments 13 Halloween Costumes That Have No Business Being 'Sexy' (PHOTOS)
383 Comments John Hamilton "Progressive Hunter" Jailhouse Confession:...
4,168 Comments 'Word Made Flesh'
141 Comments 11 Freedoms That Drunks, Slackers, Prostitutes And Pirates Pioneered
188 Comments PHOTOS: Minka Kelly Strips
205 Comments Helen Thomas Cries, Calls Obama 'Reprehensible'
3,290 Comments LISTEN: Ken Buck Explained To Alleged Rape Victim Why He Wouldn't Take Her Case
4,748 Comments Don't Miss HuffPost Bloggers1 of 5Dan Rather Help Not Wanted?Bernard-Henri Lévy Sakineh’s Son Arrested: The Great Silence of Conformist ThinkersHenry Louis Gates, Jr. Faces of America: Mehmet Oz and the Immigrant Story PedigreeAl Gore Standing Up Against the Oil Lobby, in California and BeyondAlec Baldwin Waiting for "Superman": A Monumentally Important FilmMelinda Gates Why We Tell Success Stories (VIDEO)Ted Danson A Pacific Gem, ProtectedMichael Gerson The Success and the Failures of the Religious RightGeorge Lucas Beyond Superman (VIDEO)Ezekiel J. Emanuel, M.D., Ph.D. How We Can Save Over 4 Million ChildrenHot Trends birkin bag breast cancer coconut water flu shot what happens when you die  #ad_most_pop_234x60_req_wrapper {border:1px solid #cccccc;margin-bottom:10px;padding:30px 22px 10px;background-color:#ffffff;background-image:url('/images/slug_most_popular.gif');background-repeat:no-repeat;background-position:center 10px} Follow Huffington Post HUFFPOST'S BIG NEWS PAGES Soprano Joyce DiDonato On The Teacher That Influenced HerTeachers LeBron James Featured On Cover Of 2011 Cleveland Cavaliers CalendarNBA Chile Flag Vs. Texas Flag: Similarity Gains Attention During Mine RescueChile Pelosi To Progressives, Pundits: Don't Blame Us For Senate's ShortcomingsNancy Pelosi CNN Ratings SURGE On Chilean Miners' RescueCNN Heidi Klum To Pose For Ann Taylor's Holiday CampaignModels Pew: Growing Cell Phone Poll Bias Favors Republicans2010 Elections NFL Could Lose $1 BILLION With Lockout: ReportFootball Utah Meeting Seeks to Unify Orthodox ChristiansChristianitymore big news pages »  
Front PagePoliticsBusinessMediaEntertainmentComedySportsStyleWorldGreenTechFood Travel Living Arts Books Religion Impact Education College NY LA Chicago Denver BlogsAdvertise | Make HuffPost your Home Page | RSS | Careers | FAQ | Contact UsCopyright © 2010 HuffingtonPost.com, Inc. | User Agreement | Privacy | Comment Policy | About Us | Powered by Movable Type

HuffPost Lightbox

View the original article here