Sociopathy Part 3: The Creation of “Its”

This is the third in the series about Sociopathy based on the book by Dr. Martha Stout, The Sociopath Next Door.

The previous posts are here:

Sociopathy: What is a Sociopath?

Sociopathy Part 2: The Traits of a Sociopath

One of the things a sociopath does, especially when in a leadership position, is create an us v. them mentality, reducing the “them” to things that are not worthy of empathy, fairness or even continued existence. Hubbard generated this mentality from the earliest days of scientology — beginning with positioning Dianetics as a fight of good v. evil and salvation v. slavery. He created a global conspiracy that included psychiatry, psychology, bankers, governments, the media, Interpol and many more — the forces of evil seeking to destroy man’s only hope. Right from the earliest days as he described in Science of Survival, there were people who should be disposed of “quietly and without sorrow.” To this he then added the concept of “Suppressive Persons” and Fair Game, and even went so far as to put in writing that the enemies of scientology should be subjected to process R2-45 (shooting in the head with a .45 pistol).

In her book, Dr. Stout calls those who are to be targeted “its” because they have been stripped of their personhood and turned into objects that can be harmed without feeling.

Once the other group has become populated by its, anything goes, especially if someone in authority gives the order. Conscience is no longer necessary, because conscience binds us to other beings and not to its.

Using fear-based propaganda to amplify a destructive ideology, such a leader can bring the members of a frightened society to see the its as the sole impediment to the good life, for themselves and maybe even for humanity as a whole, and the conflict as an epic battle between good and evil. Once these beliefs have been disseminated, crushing the its without pity or conscience, can, with chilling ease, become an incontrovertible mandate.

What becomes of our individual consciences? Why do we not stand up for what we feel?

One explanation is our trancelike state, which lets us believe that the ones who are dying are only its anyway. And there is fear, of course – always – and often a sense of helplessness. We look around at the crowd and we think to ourselves, Too many are against me, or I don’t hear any other people protesting this, or, even more resignedly, That’s just the way the world is, or That’s politics. All of these feelings and beliefs can significantly mute our moral sense, but where the disabling of conscience by authority is concerned, there is something even more effective, something more elemental than objectifying the “others,” more cloying and miserable than a sense of helplessness, and evidently more difficult to conquer than fear itself.

Scientology has perfected the art of creating its. 

Inside the bubble, all non-scientologists are classified as “wogs” — lesser beings who are ignorant or evil  Within that category are numerous its — from the family member who disagrees with scientology and says so out loud to the reporter who dares to expose the abuses to the FBI and the bottom of the barrel, “The Psychs” who are to be obliterated from the face of the earth (literally).

The importance of authority is going to be covered in the next post in this series.