Hogfather, the criminals

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Motivation of the criminals


I think TP deliberately portrays the criminals as each different, each with classic motivations, playing with lists like he likes to do, remember Carpe Jugulum where he works through lots of different types of parenting, and so on. Anyway - 


Although it’s impossible to diagnose correctly at a distance and of a fictional character I think TP is trying to portray Teatime (not a Johntom thing to my knowledge, just sounds silly, even worse than rude in children’s eyes maybe) as 2, some of the gang as 1. (see below)


The locksmith is portrayed as sane and intelligent, calculating, proud of his skills.

The wizard Sideney just needs money to pay his debt.


 Banjo and Medium Dave are different again as they care about each other and were brought up in crime. They both have loyalty, MD to Banjo, Banjo to his mum, and a sort of morality that goes with it. Classic Maffia. They would be fun to pseudo psychoanalyse. 


I thinkTP intends the distinction to be important. He was a journalist and he knew. He hit it bang on the head when portraying them all as having childhood trauma (97 flipping percent!!). This makes the deaths the darkest I’ve come across in the Discworld series. They die of their childhood terrors which seems funny at first and sick the more I think about it lol. I’m a social worker, OK, give me a bit of slack.

 

Contrast with respectable - The Assassins, Téatimé and Mr Crumley the capitalist store manager



Contrast with Susan 


who also had childhood trauma but helps cure the children of their childhood terrors without ever patronising and finds Banjo a stable occupation. Note she’s not sentimentally biassed either - she tells the little boy off for deliberately stepping on pavement cracks to get some poor bear into trouble. 


I find it moving that what affected Susan most, the line of weakness that the bogeyman found was that she’d wanted to have a grandma. 





Summary of mental illness related criminal diagnoses according to Dr Das


J HarbingerEp 755, 32m 

Dr. Sohom Das (@dr_s_das) is a consultant forensic psychiatrist who works in prisons and criminal courts to assess and rehabilitate mentally ill offenders. He is the author of In Two Minds: Stories of Murder, Justice, and Recovery From a Forensic Psychiatrist.

What We Discuss with Dr. Sohom Das:



  • Telling the difference between someone whose treatable madness is causing them to act out and someone whose irredeemable, criminal badness makes them a permanent danger to society.

  • Over 97% of the mentally ill defendants with whom Sohom works experienced trauma in childhood.

  • Comparing and contrasting psychopaths and sociopaths.

  • How can a psychiatrist determine whether someone in custody is mentally ill or just faking it (and has Sohom ever been fooled)?

  • What precautions does Sohom take for his own safety when working in close quarters with mad or bad people who mean him harm?

Summary of disorders as described at 33 min in. -


  1. Antisocial personality disorder  -

Often impulsive aggression, career criminal, intend to offend the law, no regret, don't learn from mistakes 


  1. Psychopathy, 

Like APD plus charm, manipulative deceitfulness, will stab anyone in the back emotionally. Overall more stable, no regret. Revenge is served cold. 


  1. Sociopathy, informal term. Sociopaths tend to live on the fringes, can't control themselves, explode in anger.


  1. Borderline Personality Disorder 

Rarely intend to offend the law, do care about people,  usually offend in the context of a relationship, but can't contain themselves. Explode, lash out, regret immediately. Can't contain feelings. 

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