Talk:Salvatore Riina
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[edit] The Mafia War of 1981 to 1983
Seems contentious to say that "Tommaso Buscetta became the first Sicilian Mafioso to become an informant, or pentito, and co-operate with the authorities." Dickie considers this to be a myth, I think, and is of the opinion that there were always pentiti. He talks specifically about one whose name I can't remember but who was discredited as insane... Edjack 16:11, 13 March 2007 (UTC)
You are indeed correct. It was Leonardo Vitale who was discredited. That section does need updating and I plan on moving a lot of the info to a seperate article about the Mafia War. I'll get round to it soon. Robert Mercer 19:12, 3 April 2007 (UTC)
[edit] Changed "psychopath" to "sociopath"
I changed this sentence:
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- This may suggest that he was a psychopath....
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to read,
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- This may suggest that he was a sociopath....
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The editor who wrote this made the common error of confusing the two mental illnesses. The confusion probably results from Hitchcock's pioneering slasher film Psycho--adapted from the Robert Bloch's novel of the same name. Socio obviously isn't as catchy.
A psychopath is a person who suffers from a more or less complete break with reality, delusions, hallucinations (especially auditory ones, the classic hearing of "voices" that aren't there). People suffering a psychopathic episode are rarely violent, especially schizophrenics (who are very, very rarely violent), probably the most common form this type of mental illness.
A sociopath is a person who, in Freudian terms lacks a superego, i.e. the part of the personality that is the conscience. The most common traits of sociopaths are a total inability to feel empathy with humans or even animals. This lack of empathy, coupled with a more or less complete absence of morality, often leads sociopaths to commit horrendously violent acts. In, short, they are completely self-centered and will do anything to satisfy their desires, whatever those might be. Most serial killers shows at least some sociopathic traits.
Although many sociopaths can function normally, in society, at least on the surfrace, they are "aggressively anti-social". Although they are capable of the detailed planning needed for serial murder, they are often loners and seldom able to exhibit the leadership, especially charismatic leadership, that Riina displayed.
Therefore it is highly unlikely that Salvatore Riina was psychopath. Whatever mental illnesses he may or may not suffer from, he's basically just evil. Evil of the type, even if in microcosm, that has driven men like Stalin, Hitler, and Idi Amin to commit their horrific crimes.
Of course, sometimes an individual can exhibit both types of mental pathology. David Berkowitz, (aka the "Son of Sam" and "the .44 caliber killer"), for example, claimed that his neighbor's dog was telling him to commit the murders. Of course, some have tried to fake psychopathology Kenneth Bianchi, one of the Hillside Strangler killers, nearly convinced state shrinks that he had multiple personality disorder. Fortunately an astute psychiatrist noticed that Bianchi was aping whatever behavior he thought the shrinks were looking for.)
PainMan (talk) 05:46, 19 January 2008 (UTC)
- Psychopathy is a psychological construct describing amoral and antisocial behavior. The term is often used interchangeably with sociopathy. - Mafia Expert (talk) 09:12, 19 January 2008 (UTC)
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- Sorry, but I have to disagree; I'm reverted the term to sociopath. The two are not interchangeable. My above post explains the differences so there's no reason to repeat it.
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- If someone posts a quote from the DSM IV or some other reputable psychology/psychiatry text corroborating your point...well, I may be stubborn but not to the point of brain damage; a rewrite would be appropriate. Unless someone does so, I will revert psychopath back to sociopath. Ciao!
- PainMan (talk) 23:50, 30 January 2008 (UTC)
- I am sorry to, but I took the description from Wikipedia, where psychopath seem to fit the personality of Riina much better then sociopath. If you don't agree, I suggest you first change the articles there. That is the right place to explain the differences, where it is reviewed by others with knowledge about the issue, not here. - Mafia Expert (talk) 08:03, 31 January 2008 (UTC)
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- I took my definition from Webster's New World Dictionary, v.2.0. And I stand by the difference. While the conditions are not mutually exclusive they are not synonyms; cannot be used interchangeably.
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- I agree that the article itself is no place for this discussion, certainly the discussion page is.
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