They always know how to get what they want from you. They know your weaknesses better than anyone, even yourself. They can always turn a no into a yes, and they don’t seem particularly concerned with laws, safety, or right and wrong. They’re the most predatory members of our society, and they’ll take what they want, and hang you out to dry.
They’re also a bit more complicated than all that.
In recent years, the term “sociopath” has become a loaded word. Uttering it creates an immediate knee jerk response in the listener, and for anyone who doesn’t have any real world experience with a sociopath, hearing that word probably brings to mind a barrage of Hollywood villains, cop shows, and serial killers. Unfortunately, the media’s portrayal of this mental condition couldn’t be further from the truth.
For starters, the definition of a sociopath isn’t so clear cut. Most people use the terms “sociopath” and “psychopath” interchangeably, and according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) both conditions are listed together under “Antisocial Personality Disorders”. They certainly share a lot in common, including a disdain for authority and social mores, recklessness, a lack of empathy, and violent tendencies.
But according to an article from Psychology Today, there are some significant differences as well. Sociopaths are more volatile, and can lash out unexpectedly. Furthermore, most crimes committed by them will be spontaneous and disorganized.
Psychopaths on the other hand are more cunning. Their crimes are well executed, and difficult for police to figure out. They excel at mimicking human emotions, and tend to have a good education and a steady job. They just fit right in. They’re the sorts of people who rise to the top of corporations, governments, and law firms. We probably don’t even how many psychopaths there are in the world, or what they’re really like. They’re simply too elusive to pin down.
However, the biggest difference between psychopaths and sociopaths, is the context of their condition. Psychopathy is often considered to be a genetic condition, whereas sociopathy is considered a learned condition (often brought on by a volatile childhood). But more importantly, psychopaths hold no loyalties whatsoever. It doesn’t matter if they’re a member of your family, or someone you’ve known for years. If they think it’s in their best interest to hurt you, and they think they can get away with it, that’s exactly what they’ll do.
This can also be true for sociopaths, but only up to a certain extant. Sociopaths still have loyalty, and they can still feel remorse, empathy, and attachment, but they only feel that way for a limited number of people. It could be a close friend or a few members of their family. But everyone outside of that inner circle is fair game.
Though for practical purposes, this may be splitting hairs. Chances are, if you have a run-in with a sociopath of any kind it’s not going to be a pleasant encounter, even if it seems like it at the time. Their chief attribute is mimicry. On the inside they’re individuals, but on the outside, they’re a blank slate. The personality they present to the world can shift and adapt, depending on the person they’re interacting with. Obviously this makes them fantastic liars, but it also presents an opportunity to see them for what they really are. By observing them around other people and in different situations, you can catch their inconsistencies.
Pay attention to what they say and claim to believe, and see if they walk the walk. Remember their opinions and see if they change depending on who they’re talking to. And look for extremes in their behavior. It’s not unusual for a sociopath to seem introverted and quiet, only to suddenly shift gears, and become the most loud and affable person you’ve ever met.
They also have other, smaller tells that you can use to spot them. Because their outward personality is a blank slate, they’ll often talk in a somewhat monotone voice before they get to know you better (then they’ll know how they should talk to you), and they’ll usually leave a lengthy pause before answering any of your questions.
What they’re doing is trying to gauge your personality, while they think of the “best” way to respond to you. You have to remember that since they can’t really relate to most people, they treat human interaction like you might use a computer. Everything is a simple input/output to them. “If I say this in a certain way, I’m going to get a specific response.”
Sociopaths also won’t reveal very much about themselves. They’ll always try to keep the conversation about you, because for them, every conversation is an opportunity to extract information. However, to make the conversation seem more genuine, they’ll slip personal details to you from time to time. Pay close attention to these, because what they reveal to you is either an exaggerated truth, or an outright lie. Everything they tell you about themselves is designed to illicit sympathy and trust, and impart a sense of intimacy.
I guess another way to look at it, is that sociopaths are not interested in small talk. It doesn’t further their goals in any way, and is waste of time to them (again, they don’t care about social mores) You can’t say “how about this weather?” or “how about the game last night?” and expect a prompt and brief response, or even a nod or shrug. If approached with small talk, the sociopath is either going to ignore you or they’re going to turn it into an intimate conversation about you, depending on whether or not they want something from you.
Once you’ve confirmed that this person is a sociopath, the most direct approach is the best way to deal with them. They don’t respond well to passive-aggressive sleights. They either won’t recognize it at all, or they’ll view it as a weakness. You have to confront them, and call them on their lies and inconsistencies. Otherwise they’ll just keep walking all over you. Whenever they get away with something, they keep doing it until they don’t get away with it. It’s that simple. So you have to draw a very clear line in the sand and not back down.
And don’t think for a second that you can beat them at their own game. Deceit, misdirection, and mimicry is what they do every single day. For most folks, lying takes considerable planning and effort, but for them it’s quite natural. You’re not going to outwit them, at least not indefinitely.
But ultimately, the path towards beating a sociopath starts with knowing yourself and your shortcomings. If you accept your weaknesses and become familiar with them, you’ll stand a better chance of guarding them from the predators in our society. Other than that, stand your ground, don’t let your guard down, and call them out. If you do anything less, then they’re sure to get the better of you.
Additional Links:
https://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/201305/confessions-sociopath
Depends upon HOW I take the MMPI, as to whether or not, I am classified as a sociopath. That’s OK, I’m high functioning….
For those wringing their hands, it’s a joke.(with some truth mixed in)
Thats the test they give you when you first arrive at the transfer/quarantine center right?
America, as an individual person, would be the very definition of sociopath/psychopath.
“America… a nation of two hundred million used car salesmen with all the money we need to buy guns and no qualms about killing anybody else in the world who tries to make us uncomfortable.” – Hunter S. Thompson
That would apply to every nation on Earth:
“Nations have no permanent friends or allies, they only have permanent interests.” – Lord Palmerston
Yeah well, when i meet one of these i beat them senseless…i dont play their game i terminate theirs
LOL, then you wouldn’t be alive. Most sociopaths and psycopaths, had you actually “beat them senseless” would have sought you ought after the fact and ended you. Probably your family as well.
Let’s leave the faux internet tough guy act for another day shall we?
They wouldn’t do Jack…
I am the BADGER
Of course they would. They’d follow you, find out where you live, then plan an assault/ambush of you or you and your family, and you would be powerless to defend against it – particularly if you “beat them senseless” once, they’ll just find you again with a weapon which will completely neuter your capacity to “beat them senseless” again.
The shrinks are crazy. The DSM is garbage. There are no tests for any of their “mental conditions.” Repeating “psychopath” and “sociopath” only helps sell deadly pharma.
These people are just a**holes. The worst are brown a**holes. Leave it there.
Shrinks are crazy, either trying to figure themselves out or incapacitating others with bizarre drugs. Stay far, far away, imo. DSM is garbage but very profitable for the pharmaceutical nazis.
People,countries, even houseplants will thrive around social people, while failure and declining societies are the products of the psychopath. About 20% of a population will support psycho “leadership”, hence the rise of criminals and “nere-do-wells” to positions of power and suppression under such psycho regimes.
Most of the ruling Elites of the USSA, of either pretend pol party, fit this description. Each sane, social citizen must protect and feed their family and friends, as best they can. The travails haven’t really begun yet, still time to get ready, but not much, again just my opinion based on the financial and political signs.
Everything that is now hidden or covered up will be revealed and brought out into the open
If you do confront them or call them on their game, you will most likely cease to exist as far as they are concerned. You will be shed from their life as easily as one tosses a sweater on the couch. If you have them pegged, they know they can’t manipulate you anymore so don’t know how to deal with you.
Or they will attack you via rumor and innuendo with everyone you know, silently destroying you in the minds of others.
That is what my mother did. She conned every one she came in contact with. It took me leaving home to start to understand what was happening.
Th smartest thing to do when you realize there is one of these types in your life is get rid of them They never stop trying to manipulate. They want what they want and no matter what they will get it. They only way you can beat them at their game is if you are one yourself.
It’s too bad disdain for authority is considered a problem. There are certain people whom I admire and respect and whom I consider principled and brave, but they are not people in positions of authority.
Disdain for legitimate authority is a problem. Disdain for illegitimate authority is just common sense. Authoritarians can’t tell the difference, and a remarkable number of psychiatrists and psychologists are authoritarians. The two fields are rife with personality disordered and mentally ill practitioners. Don’t take their advice too seriously. Many of them are crackpots.
Would you please be so kind as to define “legitimate authority” in the America today? Thank you.
When a police officer pulls you over for a traffic violation, you violate the social contract and the law when you do not stop and cooperate with him to the fullest extent of the law.
When a police officer tries to engage you in a conversation you’re not interested, and refuses to answer when you ask, “Officer, am I free to go?” You are in a very awkward situation. He’s over-reaching his authority, probably violating the law and obviously breaking the social contract, but you place yourself in grave personal danger should you resist. He doesn’t have the legitimate authority to detain you, but how you protect yourself from abuse in that situation will largely determine how much harm will befall you. When someone begins to exercise illegitimate authority, there is a great risk of escalating assaults on the victim, until submission is achieved. Those who exercise illegitimate authority aren’t interested in anything but harming their target.
That’s legitimate vs illegitimate authority – regardless of context. Legitimate authority neither oversteps its bounds nor attempts to trample the rights of those it purports to benefit. If the IRS really did target citizens groups for audits based on partisan political goals, then those audits were examples of the exercise of illegitimate authority. Such audits have one goal – to harm the target. Such audits have nothing to do with the IRS’s actual mission, and actually tend to degrade the IRS’s ability to perform it’s very real and vital labors. Whether it’s the unethical police officer or IRS official, the exercise of illegitimate authority actually harms the perpetrators’ agencies, rather than furthering the agencies’ legitimate goals. The exercise of illegitimate authority makes future exercises of legitimate authority suspect, and therefor increasingly difficult.
Legitimate authority is under the ultimate control of the people of the community it purports to serve. Legitimate authority adheres to its boundaries and accepts accountability.
Don’t kid yourself – there are examples of legitimate and illegitimate authority all over the world. The U.S. is a better place than most in this regard. We are lucky, and however bad things may seem right now, we still have the power to decrease illegitimate expressions of authority and increase legitimate authority in the U.S.
I appreciate you taking the time to share with me your views on the subject, I honestly do. But if you think that the current fascist militarized police state America has become is in any way, shape, or form “legitimate”, then you and I are on two completely different wavelengths.
No worries Michael. I can live with that. I have a personality with a “default setting” best described as “Pollyanna!” This happens a lot. I see the bad stuff, but I somehow remain optimistic.
Anyway, I’m getting my exercise right now, then I’m tutoring in Chemistry, then doing some socializing. Wont’ be on line for about 18 hrs. All the best, E
Same to you, Elizabeth. Enjoy your day. And thank you again for sharing your input. And who knows, maybe your optimism will even be contagious?! Peace. 😉
Thanx Michael. Optimism is getting a workout as I try to recall electron models with p and d orbitals – Oh my aching head! I’m glad this kid I’m tutoring is smart.
hey Mike– are you talking about city, state of federal?
Pick your poison. Same difference.
I can’t find my signature on the social contract, matter of fact, I can’t even find the contract.
Good luck with that. Have I mentioned that I’m a mathematician, not a shrink? Those of my vocation are notoriously literalistic, but I assure you that I can both find the social contract and locate my signature.
Here! Here! to that.
Needless to say, there is no contract. It’s just a ruse used by SP/PP authoritarian/totalitarian types to induce guilt. So many people believe in it that it has become acceptable and inarguable to most.
correct. in the most literalistic way.
“You can’t go back home to your family, back home to your childhood,
back home to romantic love, back home to a young man’s dreams of glory
and of fame, back home to exile, to escape to Europe and some foreign
land, back home to lyricism, to singing just for singing’s sake, back
home to aestheticism, to one’s youthful idea of ‘the artist’ and the
all-sufficiency of ‘art’ and ‘beauty’ and ‘love,’ back home to the ivory
tower, back home to places in the country, to the cottage in Bermude,
away from all the strife and conflict of the world, back home to the
father you have lost and have been looking for, back home to someone who
can help you, save you, ease the burden for you, back home to the old
forms and systems of things which once seemed everlasting but which are
changing all the time–back home to the escapes of Time and Memory.”
thomas wolfe also said that every man is an island. that, also, is correct. donne, rousseau, etc etc etc were/are apologists for authoritarians, authoritarians themselves, or both.
optimism is astigmatism, but the distortions are somehow pleasant. an endogenous addiction, so to speak. which is not an indictment. my muse is an optimist. she’s also lucky; her muse, me, is a realist, for example. ☺
Pulling one over for a “traffic violation”, when nobody was hurt, and tens of thousands of others have made that identical violation that same day is not YOU violating some nebulous “social contract”, its coercion plan and simple. Let’s try this. End the ability for municipalities at any level to profit from fines. ALL fines must be paid out to the as a dividend to the citizens of said municipality every 3 months, no exceptions and no “administrative fees” permitted to be taken by the municipality. Do you think the number of “traffic violations” would increase, decrease, or stay the same?
Seems like a sensible policy to me, except that the municipality must be able to cover costs. Policing for profit is a problem, but local political activism can and will solve it.
the word “profit” belongs to systems of free exchange. (in those, “loss” is also a regular occurrence.) people with guns saying “your $ or your life” do not profit. they rob. & they epitomize “political process”, a la oppenheimer’s categories, economic means & political means. hair of the dog that bit you, “political activism”, means staying inebriated. and bitten.
Ummm…no!
The best way to figure out who the sociopaths are is to focus on what they do. If you put a paranoid spin on a lot of benign personality traits, then you create interpersonal chaos yourself. Sociopaths create interpersonal chaos, as do all people who exist on the anti-social personality disorder spectrum.
Sociopaths hurt people and disrupt wholesome, productive relationships. Sociopaths abuse people who are vulnerable. They abuse their spouses, children placed in their care, subordinates and anyone else they can get away with hurting.
A sociopath usually doesn’t stay married to the same person for more than a few years. His household is generally chaotic. His is the household where the police show up on the order of once a month. The sociopath craves excitement, and he will say and do things to encourage people to quarrel. Short jail stays are not unusual for sociopaths. Sociopaths will tell “funny stories” about the people they’ve hurt, the pets they’ve tortured, and sometimes even the crimes they’ve committed.
Yes, they can be superficially charming, particularly if they want something from you or if you’re their employer. The way you can tell you’re being “smoothed” by a sociopath is simple: check on his other relationships. If a subordinate tells you all his coworkers are incompetent, or a middle manager’s subordinates keep quitting or transferring, “there’s your sign.” It doesn’t matter that he or she is as nice as can be to you – he’s pure Hell to work with or for. If you dump him morale will improve. Be wary of the person with a string of angry ex-partners, nervous neighbors or very few long-term relationships. Those are all clear signs of a sociopath.
Lots of good people are social chameleons, struggle to fit in, or otherwise seem a bit socially awkward. Those aren’t reliable signs of a sociopath. A sociopath harms people. A sociopath causes organizations and social units to self-destruct. A sociopath uses charm to gain access, and turns off the charm whenever it’s not needed.
Don’t treat people like garbage just because they are reserved one moment and gregarious the next, or adapt smoothly to various social settings. Lots of perfectly delightful people have those traits. Just avoid those people who harm others. Stay away from sociopaths.
That’s the best solution to dealing with sociopaths – get some distance ASAP. Nothing good comes from associating with them.
E Conley – Thanks for your input – greatly appreciated.
Question for you and anyone else with a similar line of advice… you say, “The smart thing to do is to play dumb until you’ve gotten far enough away that the sociopath has forgotten you exist.”
So, now You are free, hopefully, but the problem remains. You have simply run away and tried to wash your hands of it all. The SP/PP just goes on to damage or destroy their next victim, and the next, and the next.
Is anyone going to state the obvious? Humanity has been hugely manipulated and held back by such genetic/emotional deviants for centuries. The only solution is to correctly medically diagnose, the best that is possible, and permanently quarantine. And, since no rehab is possible with these deviants, and permanent quarantine is extremely costly and useless, so on to the next step.
Humanity will be largely freed from its most serious obstruction, and our evolution can get going again.
Whoa – stop right there!
Question for those of you who think getting away is wrong:
Just what is the alternative to getting away from the sociopath?
Are those of us who can see through the sociopath supposed to live the rest of our lives as some sort of “warning beacon” orbiting around the sociopath? What about our goals and ambitions? Why are we supposed to sacrifice ourselves to stay in unpleasant proximity with evil?
Do you propose we murder the sociopath? What does that make us? What will that do to our lives?
Here are the problems associated with warning people about a particular sociopath:
1. The sociopath is very good at the game of personal destruction. You will be slandered, you could even be framed for a crime, lose relationships you cherish or suffer a devastating professional setback. You have no idea what they are willing to do. You can’t conceive of doing the things that they do as a matter of routine.
2. Sociopaths have people in their orbit who are they sycophants due to the sociopath’s charm or their own personality disorders. They will punish you for attacking their delusions. These perfectly nice but sadly confused people will not understand why you’re being so unfair to the current object of their adoration, the sociopath. Don’t try to rob them of their fantasy, because they won’t let you do it and they will punish you severely for trying.
3. Sociopaths are inevitably very, very popular with their boss, right up until one of the sociopath’s victims chooses to litigate, that is. Further, you can bet that the sociopath knows things he can use as leverage against the boss and has cronies who are just as evil as he is, if not more so. You are dealing with a segment of society that normal people do not understand. Want your tires slashed? Want a dirty cop to plant drugs in your teenager’s car? Want your dog tortured and killed? Want to be investigated for bizarre crimes you would never contemplate, much less commit? Want child protective services beating down your door every day for months? If any of that sounds like fun to you, then cross a sociopath. It’s not just the sociopath who will become your enemy, it’s all the sociopaths in the community who will align themselves against you. They unite for one purpose and one purpose only, to destroy the innocent.
I’m telling you right now that if you knowingly cross a sociopath, I will distance myself from you, and I’m not the only one. If you are dumb enough to cross a sociopath then you are either terminally naïve or suffering from a histrionic personality disorder.
That’s just the way it is. The terminally naïve don’t lose their rose colored glasses because sensible people issue them warnings. They smarten up by surviving an recovering from dealing with a sociopath. Those with histrionic personality disorders revel in being abused. Rescuing them can become a thankless lifelong commitment.
No! A thousand times no. When I see a sociopath I figure out how fast I can get away without being detected or remembered. It’s the best way.
EC – you miss my point completely.
Yes, everything you have said about choosing the option of continuing to interact with the SP/PP is dangerous and destructive – yes, of course, absolutely.
What I say is the third option, though hardly anyone is bold enough to state the obvious.
Indeed you have essentially stated it yourself, “They [SPs/PPs] unite for one purpose and one purpose only, to destroy the innocent.”
So, clearly, the obvious answer is for the innocent (i.e. everyone else who the capacity to care and who possess empathy for other human beings) to ‘unite for one purpose – to destroy and eliminate the sociopaths and psychopaths.’ At minimum, permanent sterilization.
To put it another way, Nature (evolutionary progression) would eliminate SPs and PPs from the gene pool, since neither of them are sociable enough to work with other humans to survive; their abusive personality would have them shunned from any tribe/community they inhabited. At minimum they would be kept severely in check, lest they be shunned (which is a death sentence).
But, we modern ‘morally advanced’ humans think it more appropriate to allow them to roam freely among us, causing exponential grief and destruction. Why do we allow this?
Well, the same reason we allow proven serial killers, multiple-repeat criminals and such types to remain alive in prison for the rest of their lives, at our expense. We somehow believe it morally repugnant to simply execute such types; we keep hoping/believing that some sort of rehabilitation is possible. The interesting thing about virtually all SPs/PPs is that they are NOT rehabilitatable. This has been psychologically shown to be the case, over and over and over again.
Objectively speaking, what is the problem with eliminating such people? Nature/evolution does it continuously in the wild, because this is the time-tested method that keeps the fitness of the species in top condition. So we either work intelligently WITH these time-tested laws of nature, or they will relentlessly work against us, until our species is so weak and overrun with SP/PP deviants that the whole structure collapses.
I feel you, Bro. I am still reluctant to do the SOBs in.
Lemme give you an anology: every summer I get chiggers. Seriously – I think it has to do with my wild blackberry addiction. Those evil, nearly microscopic little bass-tards give me Hell for 3 weeks minimum out of every summer –
but I still won’t poison my lawn with the nerve agents that will take them out. I am worried about the general impact on the environment, and not 100 % sure those durn varmints don’t have a purpose.
I am a devotee of nature, and I respect her judgment in these things. Who knows, perhaps chiggers exist so that I will leave a few blackberries for the birds!
In all humility, I am willing to admit that I do not know the entire purpose of chiggers, or sociopaths.
I also confess to being a Christian. I recall Jesus’ parable of the tares and the wheat. I will not harm the sociopaths. I will hold them accountable under the law, but I will not harm them merely because I assume I know the full sum of their purpose under Heaven. It is not my place.
Yep – I know Christians sound crazy to the rest of humanity. Again, I’m comfortable with that.
Time for me to do some isometrics! (That really messes with my typing!)
Blessings – E
EC, you seem like a very sharp gal. Agreed that the larger purpose for everything is beyond our reach of total comprehension; nevertheless, if a mosquito lands on my arm and is about to thrust its bloodneedle into my skin, I will send it to jesus immediately.
From the bigger picture POV, we can probably agree that Nature, en toto, does have a vast intelligence at work and built into it. That understood, then the ‘laws’ that govern its operations also are fully in accord with the same innate intelligence/guidance pushing toward ever more complex organisms; natural selection, etc. These ‘natural laws’ have got literally billions of years of experience behind them. They work. Otherwise none of us would be here.
If Nature is constantly weeding out the unfit, unadapted, disharmonious elements from every species, because it knows what actually works, who are we, or Jesus or anyone else to say otherwise? Do nature’s laws not apply to humans? Are we above them? Do we know better than them? Have we ever created any sustainable system that works better than the system nature has created? If not, then why preach against them? Whose agenda is this anti-natural preaching, really?
Yes, the obvious conflicts btw reality and the beliefs of christians, muslims, jews, etc do indeed question the sanity of believers. Seriously, when the intense cognitive dissonance of scripture vs reality surface, is it wise in your mind to simply plaster it over and say “I am comfortable with that?” Why not challenge yourself to go deeper, finding deeper truths as you go? I promise that you will not explode or be sent to hell or anything like that. 🙂
I’m comfortable with your point of view, but I don’t share it. You apparently experience cognitive dissonance when you contrast God’s word with what you experience as “reality,” I do not. I have a right to avoid sociopaths, but I don’t have a right to circumscribe their existence beyond that. They must be equal under the law with the rest of their fellow citizens in order for all of us to enjoy optimal liberty.
If humanity is to evolve past the problems sociopaths present, the best solution is to become immune to their rather fragile “power.” Rather than attempt to limit the sociopaths existence, we should expand our own. Frankly, sociopaths don’t have any power to harm us that we don’t foolishly cede to them. Anyone can disarm a sociopath, simply by walking away. Everyone who does so has evolved.
That suffices for me.
Frankly, evolution is a messy business. Creatures “evolve,” not as a result of being sheltered from unpleasant reality, but from either surviving or failing to survive hardship. This suggests that humanity will not be improved through being protected from sociopaths, but rather through becoming immune to sociopaths’ influence.
50 shades of passive aggressive Mr. Nice Guy. til he’s not.
What about the sociopath who believes he has something to gain from being your friend or associate? One who persistently pretends to be associated or close to you with others to obtain tangible or intangible benefits?
Do sociopaths know that they are sociopaths? That is my main question.
Anyone who goes to a shrink should have their head examined!
Well said!
So much of this is fabricated bull shit.. just like the DSM itself.
Over simplified, but it’s a start.
I did not read the entire, but lots of the material is tied in with ‘exceptionalism’ and ‘me firstness’ and ‘supremacy’…theres so much of that on planet earth these days.
Many of these traits (monotone voice until they get to know you, pausing before answering questions, lack of interest in small talk) are also traits of autism spectrum disorders so keep that in mind before you confront and alienate someone who may just be socially impaired.
Psychology is a phony science of the mined. It’s not a wonder that most psychologists chose their profession to understand their own mental illness.
This article is largely bunk by a non-expert
I read the article trying to discern whether I am a sociopath or a psychopath. I discovered that I am neither.
I am, however an especially outspoken asshole when presented by the long, sometimes self aggrandizing, and loud conversations and untruths of our group sociopath.
Maybe everyone would be happier if I didn’t confront him directly and publicly with his lies and bullshit. OTOH, since I started doing this he has been much quieter and selective of his audience.
Now, I get to enjoy a quiet conversation with several of our group members who actually have a discussion in which we do not interrupt each other and actively listen to what our table companions have to say.
Signed,
A relieved asshole
Ah, a witch hunt eh? Good luck with that.
Some are friendly and crime free, that is until you piss them off. Do not tell a sociopath what to do as they will become defiant. Yelling at them is asking for violence.