Viva Brighton Issue #57 November 2017

PERFORMANCE
..........................
Jon Ronson
Psychopath Night II
You’ve done Psychopath Nights tours before.
What’s the difference this time? We’ve a couple
of people appearing, and their stories and experiences
are extraordinary. You should hear the gasps
from the audience at the twists and turns. Their stories
are diametrically opposed – I can’t say anything
more – and that’s really important. We play a sort
of trick on the audience. It begins as a ‘how to spot
psychopaths’ thing, but then it’s about the vagaries
of diagnoses, the complexities of being human.
This being human. Far more to it than a
symptom checklist… Yes, I think we’re living in
incredibly judgmental times, naming and shaming,
writing others off. I’m very aware that as I get
older I’m more aware of human frailty and sadness.
We all have flaws and biases, and being open about
that is better than simply being ashamed about
it. Then again, I do get annoyed when people say
‘Oh, there’s no such thing as mental illness, no
such thing as anxiety disorder.’ I’d like it to be
true, but I think otherwise. I also get cross at ivory
tower academics who say the opposite, so I’ve a
foot in both camps. I’m tolerant, I guess.
Your tolerance was mightily tested when you
confronted the academics who created the
Jon Ronson twitter spambot and tweeted using
your name. Anyone else would’ve lamped
them… Oh, I did get cross with them! I think
that’s as annoyed as I get. The entitled beliefs of
academics. It became an important part of the So
You’ve Been Publicly Shamed book, and it made me
question that urge we can all have to shame others.
When someone behaves badly, there’s usually
something else going on…
And you’ve a curiosity to find that something
else? Yes, and I once abandoned a book about
the banking and credit world because I found the
people very boring. I couldn’t light up the page,
because they were so dull. It would’ve come out
at the moment of the last credit crunch, so it
would’ve been the go-to book, perfect timing! I
really admire people like Nick Hornby who can
take small things, tiny minutiae, and make them
gripping. That skillset is something I don’t have.
Maybe I’ve a bit of ADD (attention deficit disorder),
not in an extreme way, but I’ve a very short
attention span. I find it hard to concentrate for
more than a couple of hours, and as a reader I get
very bored. It probably affects my subject matter,
which has to be big and unusual things, and it’s
probably why my books are relatively short.
This throwing yourself into extreme worlds
– Broadmoor, scientology, the porn industry,
ultra-conspiracy theorists – has it left you pessimistic?
At the moment I’m not optimistic. Actually,
I am. I’ve changed my mind! I think it’s great
and exciting that white male dominance of society
is crumbling, and I hope it happens in a gentle way.
I’ve a natural human sympathy for people.
Interview by Andy Darling
Brighton Dome, 13th November
....49....