A Case of Freud
Paul gave me the case. Said I was in a unique position to help the client. Actually, he used the word tolerate. As I walked out of his office with the case files, he said, "Brad, they try to wear you down because you see them for what they are. Nearly no one else does." I nod, considering why he said they. It was one client.
I close my door, clear my head and begin reading the file.
Cinically, he was deemed to be an antisocial oral aggressive, care of Sigmund Freud's theory.
I knew the prosecutions complaint and I fully shared their view. However, I was his defense attorney, so I chose to understand the guy. I figured it was the only way I could spend the next week with someone as flawed as these documents suggested.
I pulled out 'Thinking Errors Commonly Associated In Antisocial Behaviors'.
Success Fantasies:
The offender puts other people down verbally in order to make himself feel superior.
Power Plays:
Bullying, berating, he may organize others to shun or criticize a person he feels inferior to, labeling him as stupid, ignorant, uninteresting.
[Something nudges at the corner of my mind]
Above The Rules:
The offender generally believes he is better than other people and so does not have to follow the rules that ordinary people do. That attitude is typical of convicted criminals, too.
Making Fools Of Others:
This is a major ploy for antisocials. Antisocials delight in making fools of professional people, such as therapists, lawyers, judges, anyone they can take in.
Lying:
He uses lies to control the information available and therefore to control the situation. The offender also may use lying to keep other people, including his victim, off-balance psychologically.
Drama And Excitement:
Tends not to have close relationships with others, excited to watch others get angry, get into fights.
Closed Channel:
Self-righteous; He believes he is right in all situations.
I close the files and walk over to the window. Dusk shrouds the Commons. I watched the floodlights illuminate the Fleet Center. I understood why Paul chose me. I wondered who the other one would have focused on if I had just taken that early shuttle back to D.C. last October. Perhaps Paul would have bourne the brunt of it. All due respect, I was still standing. And I still believed I could make a difference.
I turned off the light and locked my door, leaving it all behind. No one got it but Paul. I decided it had been too long since I handed my earnings over to Pete and turned my car toward the 21st Amendment.