Sociopaths often have years worth of “little” crimes but the courts never add them together to see the big picture

***This post is in reference to the male who shot at multiple politicians yesterday; however I am not going to discuss his politics. I’m going to review his history and how he is the typical sociopath. I ask everyone to please refrain from political comments. Many of us have strong political views…and many of us are on different sides. It can only turn ugly. I want to post only about this guy’s obvious history of anti-social behavior.***

As most of us know by now, there was a shooting in Virginia yesterday. I read a news article that mentioned the shooter had a history of domestic violence, and that caught my eye, so I decided to read more. What I found was that he was disturbing like my sociopath ex husband. He had a history of hurting others, drunk driving, getting away with assault, being unable to complete a degree or pilot training, losing jobs for bad behavior, and more. And yet no one had really pegged him as a sociopath, nor had he ever gone to prison. He was your typical sociopath–the kind that many people realize is a bit off, but no one realizes is a psychotic danger. Many anti-social people are like this. They have a history of not being able to get along with others at work or in social situations, they have little legal issues that aren’t criminal, they might assault someone and get away with it. They go through their adult lives “functioning,” but not being able to behave totally normally or keep up with adult responsibilities.

This guy showed all these warnings signs, (and I’m going to list some below,) and yet he was married and worst of all…he had raised foster children. He had even committed violent acts against his foster children and NOTHING happened to him. So many warning signs, but most of the behaviors were too small to trigger the foster care system to realize he was a sociopath just waiting to burst. This is what so many of us have lived with. We know darn well the sociopaths in our lives are ticking time bombs. We know they are sick. We know they lack empathy and cannot think like us…and yet, we watch as courts and government agencies dismiss all the little things as being inconsequential. I can say without doubt that all of the little things add up. As I often say about my ex, yes, some people might have one or two issues in life, but no normal adult has consistent problems throughout life. Dodging bills, getting traffic violations repeatedly, losing jobs, getting arrested…it most definitely adds up. I’ve watched my ex get away with so much because the courts consider the individual incident rather than the patterns.

Readers, I’m telling you: LOOK FOR PATTERNS!!!!

This guy who committed yesterday’s shootings had patterns and red flags all over the place. And there he was…running around in society and violently attacking his foster children. It’s sickening.

Here is the article I read that stunned me: James T. Hodgkinson: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know

If you don’t want to wade through all the political stuff, here is a paraphrase of the huge signs that he was personality disordered.

“He studied aviation at Belleville Area College in 1969, before transferring in 1971 to Southwestern Illinois. The university told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that Hodgkinson took just two classes at the school and did not complete a term.”

Dropping out of college in itself is not a big sign of sociopathy; however, my sociopath ex was kicked out of at least three schools or programs due to his aggressive behavior. So in the big picture, the fact that this man only completed a short amount of schooling before leaving could be a red flag. Disordered people are usually unstable in all types of relationships–including work and school.

A childhood friend said Hodgkinson “never backed down” and “stood his ground” on his convictions, but didn’t know him to be an extremist. He said Hodgkinson “got in fights,” like “most guys do.””

This sounds like classic rationalization. My ex will win at all costs and gets in a lot of physical fights. Nice guys do not. People know my ex gets in a lot of fights, but just ignore it saying it’s normal. No, really, it is not normal!

The friend continued “It took me by surprise to hear what happened. I want people to know he wasn’t evil.”

Yep, there is always someone who is just so shocked to learn that a psycho turned full psycho!

The shooter repeatedly contacted his congressman to complain about the congressman’s work. The congressman said he “never crossed the line, but he was always angry.”

Always angry, huh? I’ve seen that type.

Here’s a HUGE red flag:”He Was Accused of Pulling Hair Out of His Daughter’s Head, Punching Another Woman in the Face & Shooting at a Man in 2006, but Charges Were Dropped”

I’m just going to quote the whole thing because it’s that bad! “Police said Hodgkinson was trying to get his daughter to leave the 19-year-old female friend’s house, but things got physical when she refused to leave. He was accused of grabbing her hair and pulling her to the floor. Police said they found hair that had been ripped out of the girl’s head. The daughter tried to flee in a car and police said Hodgkinson reached in, turned off the car and cut her seat belt. He then punched the female friend in the face with a closed fist, police said.

When the friend’s boyfriend tried to intervene, police said Hodgkinson hit him with the wooden stock of a shotgun and then chased him, firing a shot that did not hit anyone.”

There is also a photo of a police report stating he choked his foster daughter. Choking is one of the biggest signs that an abuser will turn into a killer.

Oh, and you know how his friend I quoted earlier said he was not evil? Well, as with all sociopaths, the victims saw the real abuser. His daughter’s friend said his daughter, “told me a lot of stories that he was really awful to her. According to his foster daughter, he was always angry. She was really unhappy there. She had come over to get away from them.” “Do I think he’s capable (of the shooting)? Definitely. It sounds really awful, but I’m not surprised. Every interaction I’ve had I’ve thought ‘that guy’s crazy.’” “Every time the judge would talk to me, he would have an outburst and start screaming,” Moreland said. “I tried to tell the court that this guy’s crazy, that this is a big deal, but they didn’t listen to me.”

So here’s someone who saw the truth first hand, but was ignored. Most of us have lived through that.

There are more details, but all follow the same patterns. Various people said he was odd and couldn’t get along with others, gave people a creepy feeling, etc…. Another one of his foster daughters killed herself soon after moving in with him. That’s telling and horrifying! He even killed his neighbor’s dog supposedly on accident. It goes on and on.

The article goes on to say “his record also included charges for failing to obtain electrical permits, damaging a motor vehicle, resisting a police officer, eluding police, critical damage to property, driving under the influence and traffic offenses.”

I cannot emphasize enough how much that is nearly exactly like my sociopath ex’s history!

And yet someone else who knew him said “I’ve never known him to be a violent man. We never saw this one coming.”

Oh, you could have seen it. You just chose not to, and he chose not to show you his true colors.

Just this year he was shooting rounds in his backyard and scaring his neighbors, but the police came out and decided he was nice and polite.

Yep, I’ve seen a sociopath fool the police like that.

It would take a long time to analyze everything that’s been posted about this guy, but in a nutshell, he repeatedly showed he couldn’t follow society’s rules. He repeatedly showed anger problems. He repeatedly hurt others. He repeatedly fooled others. He repeatedly got away with anti-social behavior…and he even got to raise foster kids! What kind of world do we live in where the people who should protect children didn’t pick up on this guy’s ongoing patterns?!

But this is the problem. If they constantly have “little” problems that people can excuse, there is no one to put it all together and recognize that all those “little” problems add up to a huge problem. This is a big reason why sociopaths can get away with it so long.

I’m just sickened by this guy.