There are more than a few cases throughout history of charismatic figures with bombastic personalities who managed to seduce the masses, but who presented with marked sociopathic personality traits. Among their main characteristics: they are narcissistic, and they do not feel empathy or remorse towards the suffering of others. Today, three Republican governors could fit that profile.
Antisocial personality disorder, sometimes called sociopathy, is defined by the Mayo Clinic as:
“A mental disorder in which a person consistently shows no regard for right and wrong and ignores the rights and feelings of others. People with antisocial personality disorder tend to antagonize, manipulate or treat others harshly or with callous indifference. They show no guilt or remorse for their behavior”.
Do you know of someone with these characteristics? Perhaps some of them hold high positions-- let’s look at the facts.
A sociopathic politician dehumanizes
Amid a firestorm of criticism, the Republican governors of Texas, Arizona, and now Florida, are using the lives of thousands of immigrants (many of whom are following legal protocol to apply for refugee status) as tokens they can dispose of. All in order to make political statements.
Whether by land or by air, these governors continue to carry out a costly plan. They are ousting immigrants who arrive at the border and sending them to states governed by Democrats. This without coordination, without justification, and in some cases, even under deceptive pretenses.
The chief executive of the non-profit organization Martha’s Vineyard Community Services was finishing her workday, on September 14, when she saw 48 immigrants carrying luggage and backpacks outside her office.
The Venezuelan immigrants were flown to Massachusetts from San Antonio, Texas, courtesy of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.
Sociopaths are manipulators
This cruel act by DeSantis is not original; he is following in the footsteps of his fellow Republican, Texas Governor Greg Abbott. They both like to brag about the fact that they spend thousands of dollars shipping immigrants to Democratic states, with little or no information about these actions.
In the case of the immigrants expelled by DeSantis, they were told they would receive housing and jobs. Many had appointments with immigration authorities on September 19 in San Antonio, Texas, extremely far from where they were sent.
Others were instructed to put the address of an ICE office on their asylum applications, as if it were the immigrants’ home address, in an attempt to invalidate the application.
No remorse in the face of blatant cruelty
DeSantis defended his plan, saying that these immigrants wanted to go to Florida and that this was a way of “protecting” them, arguing that they would be better off in a so-called sanctuary city.
Texas has bused some 8,000 immigrants to Washington, DC since April, including more than 100 to the home of Vice President Kamala Harris on September 15. Texas has also sent about 2,200 people to New York and 300 to Chicago.
In early September, a two-year-old boy who arrived on a bus in New York was hospitalized for dehydration. Also, a pregnant woman on the same bus was in severe pain, according to city officials.
Arizona Governor, Doug Ducey, has joined this disturbing trend and has bused more than 1,800 immigrants to Washington, DC since May.
No matter which side of the political spectrum you are on, playing with the lives of human beings is unjustifiable, cruel, and reprehensible, only typical of a sociopathic politician. Will we continue to vote for politicians with sociopathic tendencies?
Find this story in Spanish here.