It is frequently claimed that sociopaths and narcissists don’t have empathy. The solution is not to prove that they do. It is to ask the person, “Do you have empathy for these people?”
What we are seeing is an unbelievable hypocrisy. The people involved in this are so convinced of their goodness, yet they treat a whole section of the population as less than human. Their main claim is that these people are bad and can only be bad whatever they do. This contradicts most basic reason. If people are responsible for themselves then anyone can be good, and if some people cannot be good whatever they do then people are not responsible for themselves and are not judgeable on the outcome. Pick one or the other; both cannot be.
Some people who are attracted to these ideas are genuinely good and compassionate, such as for example my ex-wife. Others who are attracted to these ideas are not good people at all. There was a man on the Internet who for a long time accused me of being a narcissist and a sociopath. Yet he was a complete bully. He told a 15-year-old child that she was mentally defective. Of whatever cruelty sociopaths and narcissists are guilty, his was far greater.
So we have some people branded as less than human. And this leads to unbelievable bastardry. People with predatory instincts feel like they can do whatever they want to do to these people, knowing that the society will reject them and fail to intervene. These people are claimed to be bad and that they could only be bad. And this justifies people in severe mistreatment – mistreatment that is far more cruel than anything that sociopaths and narcissists have ever done.
Are sociopaths and narcissists bad? There are many sociopaths who have never committed a crime. There are many narcissists who are significant contributors and responsible, generous people. Anything capable of choice can be good or bad. This is the case with sociopaths and narcissists; this is also the case with normal people.
In case of the treatment of sociopaths and narcissists, choice is denied. The claim that is made is that these people are bad and can only be bad whatever they do. This then dehumanizes them and leads people to treat them like beasts.
Not even the Communists came up with a more oppressive - and dishonest - totalitarianism.