Sociopath, n: One who does not respond automatically and positively to manipulation attempts involving societal norms.

Good analysis.

Jan

Welcome to the school ;^)
What a great place to learn with amazing faculty, too.

this, ragnell, this

Well if Fey lived in NYC, maybe she could see the socialist nation from her window.

I think a better case could be made for a sociopath if you look toward the oval office. Exactly the same tactics as used on Ayn Rand by those that either fear or don't understand what her philosophy is.

The comments and insights are great. Thanks to all.

Tina Fey, I've heard, is the one that coined "You can see Russia from my front porch" on SNL as part of their comedy. Sarah's distractors are so desperate that they picked up on this and started repeating as if Ms. Palin had really said.

To the left, a sociopath is synonymous with being anti-socialist, as opposed to anti-social.

At the root of their "insanity" is their fear of existence........existence qua existence, including their own............or, more simply, they cannot cope with objective reality.........it frightens the sh*t out of them.............and, of course underneath is the inability or refusal to employ reason via their rational faculty which they have never developed due to destructive education or, for them, it is just too much hard work...................so they spend fifty times more hard work trying to evade it.............."if one tries to wipe out existence, existence will wipe out the wiper." AR

Ayn's viewpoint was no doubt formed in part by observing Russian economics post-Revolution. Her ideas are very carefully thought through. She was able to verbalize what many feel, but cannot! Perhaps her detractors are those who feel they are "entitled" ! Or simply do not understand and are not interested in making the effort TO understand!

This is the "intellectual" equivalent of kindergarten name-calling. It indicates the accuser has no concept of what the term "sociopath" means. A sociopath is amoral, does what it pleases, and has no sense of compassion in the result. Because Rand's philosophy is called "Objectivist", the name-caller is trying to equate this to the sexual sadist's view of his victims as objects that exist solely for his pleasure.

"cut myself on the razor edges of my tongue" I LOVE that

To a socialist, anyone who insists on keeping what he has earned is "anti-social," especially if he expects government to do its proper job and protect him in doing so.

If one of these theftists* tries it on me, I point out that his "heroes" (Lenin, Stalin, Mao, Castro, Che) all murdered millions, and ask if he really wants to call the kettle black!

* A word for leftists, coined by Robert Ringer in "Restoring The American Dream".

Sometimes the name callers will cite Rand's lack of "compassion" for others as proof that she was a sociopath. This is so wrong on so many levels that it makes my head hurt. However, it can be a good entry into a discussion of Objectivism and altruism. The key point to remember is to not let the accusers get away with not defining their terms or refusing to address Rand's actual ideas rather than some made up straw man. Be relentless.

Calling Ayn a sociopath is a classic socialist tactic. When someone states the truth, destroy them with name calling. Most people will not find the facts and anything repeated enough becomes the truth. Saul Alinsky all the way.

nice question. and I agree, the ad hominem "argument" is the resort of the unlearned and desperate.
The word has come to have a fuzzy meaning as someone who doesn't fit into a society in some sort of dangerous way.
I certainly think that Rand was more than aware of the various ills of society, even of the U.S. when compared to Soviet Russia. And, since she was vocal about what she observed and thought, she was indeed a student of society. Remember that she was the one who taught most of us to define your terms, so we will know what we are talking about. You might meet someone who uses the tern for his definition, and then ask him how that applies to Rand. It won't.
I usually am ruthless with such people, ending the discussion, such as it is, on my terms, by saying something on the order of "I see that you know nothing about either the word you are using or the person you are describing. Why am I still talking to you?"
N.B. my husband is continually concerned that I will cut myself on the razor edges of my tongue. I think it doesn't work that way.

Excellent.
I wish I had time to spend just reading and absorbing all this.
I wish this was taught in school.

I usually find that anyone that knows that much on a topic is probably not worth wasting your time on. There is nothing you could say to change their mind. Mainly because when someone has made their mind up they don't want to have to admit that maybe they were wrong in their perceptions, or followed a source that mislead them to begin with.
You might as well argue with a wall, which you could at least objectively bounce an idea off of.
If you just want to get whizzed-off, you might as well just hit your thumb with a hammer and get it over with.

exactly

Agree. And on Palin, they used two disgusting weapons in the MSM arsenal: Parody, and asking her obscure questions her opponent wouldn't have a clue on either, and pitching him softballs. I never found Tina Fey at all funny anyway, but on principle I refuse to watch any TV show in which she appears.

Been there before...also highly recommend...

I agree with everything you wrote, but, like Mamaemma, the fear of "how powerful her ideas are" is tops.

It's been years, but in college I took as many Philosophy courses as I could, and in the so-called "open discussion" classes, mentioning Ayn Rand once ensured that you were never called on again...pure fear.

To maintain the reality that these detractors wish to nurture, they must alter perception--so in this case they have to erase the evidence of any truth. That's why they call Ayn Rand names.

Good comment. "Her detractors realize how powerful her ideas are". I can always judge how afraid the left is of someone by how viciously they attack. Sarah Palin being the perfect example