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Thread: sociopaths

  1. #41
    TOW's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by squeezebox View Post
    I've enjoyed a number of trail journals.
    Listening to the beauty of sitting on a rock watching the sun set, sitting on the same rock watching the sun rise.
    Coming across a doe, seeing how it guards it's fawn. Giving it the respect it's asking for.
    A field of wild flowers every conceivable color.
    the bone deep tired/sore from hiking in the rain for the last 3 days, only expecting 3 more.
    Digging deep into your soul.
    I expect most hikers are like this.

    But what do you do about the sociopaths ?

    The guy with a machette on 1 hip and a pistol on the other, telling you the shelter is full !!
    with his 2 buddies, and a dog lunging on it's leash ready to tear your face off.
    no body else around

    the person bragging about the gun he has in his pack

    the person with the dog that jumps on and tears your tent.

    The person with the dog barking all night long, saying gosh he doesn't do that at home.
    !!! But we're not at your house are we !!!

    The weekenders that leave 3 cases of beer cans and 6 empty whiskey bottles behind the shelter.

    the person who demands a place in the shelter because it's raining hard and he decided to not bring a tent.

    Same person who wants to use your water filter, or your stove, he didn't bring one.

    I am the center of my universe
    You are the center of yours
    Parallel universes

    I am your friend not your adversary
    Respect each other
    You just walk on.......

  2. #42
    Registered User NY HIKER 50's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by TOW View Post
    You just walk on.......
    There's something to be said about being a loner. But, you meet people and just say hello and like he said, keep going and don't let anyone see you go into the bushes at the end of the day. I don't care what any regulations say, I have had too many times where I packed up in the middle of the night and had to take off. It's not sociopaths that you're thinking about. It's called ANTISOCIAL BEHAVIOR on the part of some of the people.

    I don't need to stay in a shelter and listen to a bunch of immature idiots saying that someone came along and ruined their great high.

  3. #43
    Registered User Drybones's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Wise Old Owl View Post
    Stay home.... Find a couch and talk to someone...

    http://www.wikihow.com/Improve-Social-Skills
    Agree...do the rest of us a favor and stay home...alone!

  4. #44
    Registered User Wise Old Owl's Avatar
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    It's irrational to pretend we are completely safe.
    Last edited by Wise Old Owl; 04-24-2014 at 08:21.
    Dogs are excellent judges of character, this fact goes a long way toward explaining why some people don't like being around them.

    Woo

  5. #45
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    Quote Originally Posted by squeezebox View Post
    I've enjoyed a number of trail journals.
    Listening to the beauty of sitting on a rock watching the sun set, sitting on the same rock watching the sun rise.
    Coming across a doe, seeing how it guards it's fawn. Giving it the respect it's asking for.
    A field of wild flowers every conceivable color.
    the bone deep tired/sore from hiking in the rain for the last 3 days, only expecting 3 more.
    Digging deep into your soul.
    I expect most hikers are like this.

    But what do you do about the sociopaths ?

    The guy with a machette on 1 hip and a pistol on the other, telling you the shelter is full !!
    with his 2 buddies, and a dog lunging on it's leash ready to tear your face off.
    no body else around I call this guy a Bully or Jackass not a sociopath.

    the person bragging about the gun he has in his pack I call this one an scared hiker

    the person with the dog that jumps on and tears your tent. This is an ignorant and/or irresponsible person not a sociopath

    The person with the dog barking all night long, saying gosh he doesn't do that at home.
    !!! But we're not at your house are we !!! This one is an ashamed person not sociopath

    The weekenders that leave 3 cases of beer cans and 6 empty whiskey bottles behind the shelter.They are just irresponsible selfish hikers not sociopaths.

    the person who demands a place in the shelter because it's raining hard and he decided to not bring a tent.This is a desperate possibly ignorant individual

    Same person who wants to use your water filter, or your stove, he didn't bring one. How about calling this one a demanding or needy hiker and not a sociopath.

    I am the center of my universe
    You are the center of yours
    Parallel universes

    I am your friend not your adversary ( by calling a very diverse group of people all in one label as harsh as sociopath you are not showing too many signs of friendship in your comment IMO).
    Respect each other
    Agreed on this one

  6. #46
    ME => GA 19AT3 rickb's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Kookork View Post
    Agreed on this one
    The odds would suggest that you are correct.

    That said, there are a small number of really evil people out on the Trail-- regardless of the label you put on them. The families of 5 thru hikers (yes, thru hikers -- all many hundreds of miles in to their hikes) and one long distance section hiker who were murdered on the AT proper can attest to that. Among others.

    But there are a small number of bad people wherever you go, right? So why bother stating the obvious? Everything needs to be put in perspective, right?

    To my way of thinking it is because the question that the OP posed and so many are dismissing is actually a very good one. Why? Because when you are on the AT you make decisions and assess things differently than in your regular life. It may be that your ownership of the Trail and shelter areas in particular cause you to stick around a questionable character where in another place you would not.

    So yea, I do think it is worth thinking about what you would do if you met a sketchy person on the trail before you get out there. It can too easy to say "**** it" and stick around "your territory", or interact with questionable characters as if they are at worse just an just an ass that you can either educate, dismiss or ignore.

    But when it is obvious the person really is just an ass, like in many of the OPs scenarios, that is all together different. You deal with that very similar to anywhere else. You just want to be more certain before you reach that conclusion
    Last edited by rickb; 04-23-2014 at 04:46.

  7. #47
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    I've taken a gun on a few hikes. I tend not to usually, because of the weight. Maybe I should only put three bullets in it, save an ounce.

    But I've never told anyone "I'm carrying!" it's safer that way... No one is going to try and steal it when you're sleeping or crapping or getting water. And: if the occasion arises where you feel it is needed, well heck, let your adversary enjoy the surprise!
    Anyone bragging about their gun on a hike is probably someone to steer away from.
    Please don't read my blog at theosus1.Wordpress.com
    "I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference. Thank God for Search and Rescue" - Robert Frost (first edit).

  8. #48

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    Quote Originally Posted by squeezebox View Post

    But what do you do about the sociopaths ?

    The guy with a machette on 1 hip and a pistol on the other, telling you the shelter is full !!
    with his 2 buddies, and a dog lunging on it's leash ready to tear your face off.
    no body else around
    You want to stay with this guy? OK, no problem them

    the person bragging about the gun he has in his pack
    You want to stay with this guy? OK, no problem them

    the person with the dog that jumps on and tears your tent.
    You want to stay with this guy? OK, no problem them

    The person with the dog barking all night long, saying gosh he doesn't do that at home.
    !!! But we're not at your house are we !!!
    You want to stay with this guy? OK, no problem them

    The weekenders that leave 3 cases of beer cans and 6 empty whiskey bottles behind the shelter.
    What about the thru hikers that leave whiskey bottles, trash, broken gear, mouse-nibbled food, etc?

    the person who demands a place in the shelter because it's raining hard and he decided to not bring a tent.
    Not your problem, unless its the smokies and he has a reservation, then its his right.

    Same person who wants to use your water filter, or your stove, he didn't bring one.
    Dont want to lend your gear, then dont. The only persons Ive witnessed borrow these items were because theirs failed, and others offered theirs to them.

    I am the center of my universe
    You are the center of yours
    Parallel universes

    I am your friend not your adversary
    Respect each other
    Pretty much all the above scenarios, are avoided if you avoid disgusting, mice infested, trash strewn, loud shelters. But, thats a personal choice.

  9. #49
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    This is just a response thread.

    Sent from my DROID X2 using Tapatalk 2

  10. #50
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    All you need is love.
    Love don't cost a thing.
    The hardest to love are those who need it most.

    Love,
    Merry
    Merry 2012 AT blog
    "Not all those who wander are lost."

  11. #51

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    Quote Originally Posted by Meriadoc View Post
    All you need is love.
    Love don't cost a thing.
    The hardest to love are those who need it most.

    Love,
    Merry
    I love this Merry! I feel like the people that come into my life come for a reason. I'm the one that gets "freaked out" sometimes. If I could just let the love flow right through me, it would be sooo much better. I'll keep trying, I won't give up!

    I just heard the this song this mornin. Love it!

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lRvrbDVYdAA&feature=kp

  12. #52

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    I met the most annoying homeless person on the C and O canal towpath last year. Was camping at a hiker biker campsite with a broken water pump and I heard him yelling and cussing about the lack of water. He was on a Mongoose cheapo bicycle it should have been no problem. He came down to complain and try to mooch of him. Said his trailname is Marine and he sometimes lives on the AT. Said he got no money, no food, no coffee, no cigaretts. I gave him some instant coffee and told him to go to Cumberland Md for the help he needed. He said he could kill someone for a cigarette 3 times. Eventually he realised I aint going to give him no food, money or cigaretts and left. I was glad to see him go as he was making me mad. So be like a Boy Scout, be prepared and bring enough to share. And beware of sociopaths.

  13. #53

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    I'm finding it a little ironic that two of your scenarios are two sides of the same coin...what do you do when you want in the shelter and some sociopath won't let you in....and what do you do when some sociopath wants in the shelter and you don't want to let them in...hmmm...who is really the sociopath here? When you ask, "What do you do about the sociopaths?" are you asking a philosophical question about how do you live with yourself?

  14. #54

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    Quote Originally Posted by Blue Mountain Edward View Post
    I met the most annoying homeless person on the C and O canal towpath last year. Was camping at a hiker biker campsite with a broken water pump and I heard him yelling and cussing about the lack of water. He was on a Mongoose cheapo bicycle it should have been no problem. He came down to complain and try to mooch of him. Said his trailname is Marine and he sometimes lives on the AT. Said he got no money, no food, no coffee, no cigaretts. I gave him some instant coffee and told him to go to Cumberland Md for the help he needed. He said he could kill someone for a cigarette 3 times. Eventually he realised I aint going to give him no food, money or cigaretts and left. I was glad to see him go as he was making me mad. So be like a Boy Scout, be prepared and bring enough to share. And beware of sociopaths.
    I hear ya.

    Here's what I think: We all have issues. Some are more problematic than others. Some may have physical and or mental issues. One can find help/ treatment, if one reaches out for help. Many do not. Some choose to "self medicate".

    This can become a problem for themselves & others if proper treatment is not pursued.

    Sooo..."heads up" everyone! Be the eyes and ears of the trail to keep yourself & everyone else safe. That is all.

  15. #55
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    Quote Originally Posted by HikerMom58 View Post
    One can find help/ treatment, if one reaches out for help. Many do not. Some choose to "self medicate".

    This can become a problem for themselves & others if proper treatment is not pursued.
    Many people with mental health issues are not able to reach out for help.


    Quote Originally Posted by HikerMom58 View Post
    Sooo..."heads up" everyone! Be the eyes and ears of the trail to keep yourself & everyone else safe. That is all.
    I love this though! Everyone would be safer if we all look out for each other.

  16. #56

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    Quote Originally Posted by Wolve View Post
    Many people with mental health issues are not able to reach out for help.

    This is true Wolve. Some need lots of support that just isn't there for them sometimes.



    I love this though! Everyone would be safer if we all look out for each other.
    I agree, of course!!

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