Like many psychopaths, I don't think that Armstrong has the ability to really see (or even imagine) the world through any set of eyes or interests but his own. As a result, the cutthroat and ruthless pursuit of his own interests regardless of the body count or pain inflicted on others doesn't seem to strike him as being wrong or even worthy of reconsideration.Reub wrote:I totally agree. It makes you wonder what motivation he had in "coming clean" now. That doesn't seem to be in his nature unless there is an advantage for him personally.MediumTex wrote: I thought that was a pretty good interview.
Armstrong came off looking like a pathological liar and had the cool detachment of a psychopath, but I enjoyed hearing the story he had to tell.
Knowing how being sued can ruin people finanically, I would think long and hard about suing someone even if I knew they were wrong and I was right. I would think long and hard about it because I don't like hurting people just for the sake of hurting them, and legal action tends to inflict far more pain on the person being sued than it does relief on the person bringing the legal action. With Armstrong, however, he didn't just sue distant strangers and big organizations who had supposedly defamed him, he sued former friends and associates for telling the truth. That's such a twisted thing to do.
He did the Oprah thing because it could possibly help him get back on track with recreating his fantasy world in which he is #1 all of the time.
I don't question Armstrong's athletic talent. With or without performance enhancing drugs, he is clearly a great rider. What I marvel at is his complete lack of any moral compass of any kind, and his seeming lack of interest (or ability) to even pretend to care about anyone or anything but himself. To people like Armstrong, the world is inhabited by him and stick figures waiting for him to arrange them. This quality is part of what makes a person a psychopath.
There is a cold-blooded quality to Armstrong's overall demeanor that is chilling to watch (pardon the pun).
I can't wait for Part II tonight.
