R

I managed to go through a dinner with my parents without some argument about the middle east and the word Jew and Muslim being thrown around too loud in a restaurant and having a political free weekend only to get sucked into Apocalaypto last night. It was really good - and every bit of the R it is rated - if R stands for Rabid Religious Radicalism. No, no, it was really bloody and violent too.

It's absolutely amazing the things that people can do to each other. How people can sell and trade other humans, and how they can hurt them or kill them in the face of pleading and crying and screaming is beyond me. But it begs a question...in our society we're told that when you can do things like that you're a SOCIOPATH. And that there is probably a gene responsible for sympathy to other humans that these people are lacking and then mommy's taunting and daddy's lack of attention combines with these genotypes to create monsters.

so·ci·o·path Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[soh-see-uh-path, soh-shee-]
–noun Psychiatry.
a person, as a psychopathic personality, whose behavior is antisocial and who lacks a sense of moral responsibility or social conscience.

So should I assume that the whole Mayan civilization known for it's slave trading and gory rituals was full of sociopaths? There's a slight possibility that to succeed in that civilization you needed to be completely brutal and self or own tribe serving, and all of the bleeding hearts died off or were killed and therefore the whole tribe was lacking this gene. But this is not too likely in my humble opinion.

The other option? Sociopathy can be taught. Or rather, sympathy must be taught??? We see these things all over the world. Palestinian's who have loved ones and families, not really feeling anything for the Jewish children, mothers, fathers they bomb. The Nazis who really were convinced that all Jewish people were sub standard and had to go. The Sudanese militia that is driving the Darfur conflict. These are mass groups of people that used to be normal, and have somehow achieved some kind of group mentality where it's us vs. them....and them don't matter. It's scary and sad.

It was a very sad movie and reminds me how lucky I am to be born a woman, in this time and to be living in this great place and be afforded all of the opportunities I am. And if you can read this, chances are you too, are just as lucky.

And just for fun, if you get the answer to this question right, then you are supposed to be a sociopath:

A woman, while at the funeral of her own mother, met a man whom she did not know. She thought this guy was amazing, her dream guy, and she fell in love with him right there, but she never asked for his number and then could not find him. A few days later she killed her sister.

I got it right instantly when my friend asked me - this worries me. Answer to come.