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90 SNAKES IN SUITS
for his 30-minute “Christian Power Hour” program. He also ran a
Christian dating service, had numerous girlfriends, and “chased
the unmarried women.” He attempted, and often achieved, “instant
intimacy” by spinning a bewildering line of tall tales that
many found exciting and fascinating. His checks bounced.
As one of his victims said, “My feeling right now is that if [he]
weren’t on this earth, it would be a better place.”
Affinity groups—religious, political, or social groups in which all
members share common values or beliefs—are particularly attractive
to psychopaths because of the collective trust that members of these
groups have in one another. Those who perpetrate affinity and similar
frauds rely on the common belief system of the group members
for cover. Common belief systems allow people who may be very
different in many other aspects of their lives to find common ground
for social interaction. As long as the psychopath can accurately espouse
these beliefs while in the presence of group members, the true
motives are less likely to be discovered. Religious belief groups, open
to new members joining their group from all lifestyles, readily assume
that those who join them hold similar beliefs and values, and
tend to focus on professed beliefs and values and to forgive past
transgressions. These noble qualities, unfortunately, make them easier
targets for manipulation by unscrupulous fraudsters. While most
people join affinity groups to associate with those who share their
values, beliefs, and interests, psychopaths join to take advantage of
them by hiding within a well-defined set of personal expectations.
Heaven on Earth?
The poetic phrase, “fleecing the lamb,” was used as the title
of a book exposing the flagrant lack of ethics and regulation involved
in the shameless promotion of highly speculative—and
almost certainly worthless—investments. But with its implied