Reply #58: Right, we have those words. My point is that those words

[EFerrari]

weren't handed down on stone tablets. They came from someone who was unbalanced when he wrote them and who was trying to make sense, literally, in writing that piece.

The narrative he created around the loss of his businesses was made during that time of imbalance In other words, his not paying taxes in the 80s may have very little to do with what was happening to him in 2008 or so. The non payment is real, the loss is real but how he processes those events -- as a justification -- is where this goes out of shared reality.

I guess it's possible that you'd have to experience this first hand. When my ex had an expisode -- and they could last for weeks -- he also always had a story to explain it. It was always someone else's fault, he was victimized and his actions might have been over the top but ultimately, justified by his situation. Those were the bones of the story, every time.

So, I'm not trying to be difficult here. It's just that people can be quietly psychotic. They can look fine and be in utter chaos inside. They can write clearly and powerfully, or give monologues in front of two hundred people or pet a kitten and you still really don't know what is going on inside unless you know how to look.