Stealing a Writers Identity - Case Study Example

? Stealing a Identity Each person is created uniquely. Even twins have their own differences. Sometimes a person may wish that he would be somebody else to have a better life or a better family. Sometimes a person would just want to be known. It is quite uncanny for a writer to write false information in newspaper or any material with such credibility just to be known. However, how can this so-called liar defend himself his identity is stolen by a person with a Narcissistic personality? What happens in a life of a person with such disorder? Michael Finkel was a very promising reporter for The New York Times Magazine in 2001. He has written 5 featured cover articles already in less than 2 years that he have worked with the magazine. Another opportunity to write another featured article arose when he was told to write about slavery on cocoa plantations in Africa. He was not able to find enough good materials to be the foundation of a feature article in the brewing. For Finkel to have his masterpiece, he formulated a story by putting bits and pieces of information of each of the person that he has interviewed. He passed the formulated story and eventually got fired from the magazine (Kolhatkar 2005). He started to feel lost after the incident. Just when he needs a break to redeem his credibility as a writer and his persona as well, somebody in Mexico was caught using the name Michael Finkel. That man was eventually identified as Christian Longo. He was one of FBI’s 10 Most Wanted Fugitive for murdering his wife and 3 children (Engstrom, 2011). Christian Longo was said to be have a Narcissistic Personality Disorder. The said disorder is described legally as a character disorder however it is being disputed by several medical institutions to be as a personality disorder (Krajko, 2007). Longo was described to be a kind man who goes to church with his family, provided for them, and a man who unlike others would seldom curse and fight others. Born in Burlington, Iowa, Chris together with his brother and parents moved several times around the Midwest area as a result of employment opportunities. His father gave him a black-eye when he was 3 years old. His parents’ marriage ended up in a divorce and their mother, Joy, re-married a Jehovah’s Witness follower named Joe Longo (Engstrom, 2011). On a child’s stage of development, the microsystem structure of environment is what influences his personality. As Bronfenbrenner put it into words, the microsystem incorporates the associations and interactions a child has with the surrounding he is directly subjected to. For a child who is not yet going to school, its immediate surrounding would be his family and the home. However in Longo’s case, their home was a place where his mother was beaten up by his biological father. Their home was also the place where he got his first taste of physical abuse which resulted into a black-eye at an early age (Paquette & Ryan, 2011; Jehovahs-Witness.Net, 2003). It may not be evident immediately however the actions that parents have done to the child will eventually show in the child’s characteristic as he goes on in life. Taking Chris Longo as an example, he grew up in a violent home before being incorporated in a society that has a code of ethics in which they can easily socialize with the people. It is not just the parents who influence the child, but there would be instances where children will influence their parents. An example of which can be concluded is the divorce of Chris’s parents. This kind of influence is being regarded by Bronfenbrenner as bi-directional influences. Actually, bi-directional influences occur in every type of environment (Paquette & Ryan, 2011; Engstrom, 2011). Luckily for Chris, his brother and mother, they came into a society that would influence them on a positive way. Though it may not consciously evident that they have been negatively affected by the violent home, they embraced a more tranquil environment. This mesosystem or the structures that provides association of a person’s microsystem became the foundation for Chris to build the family and life of his dreams (Paquette & Ryan, 2011; Engstrom, 2011). Chris then married Mary Jane whom he met when he was just 17. It was then when he started to build his dream family. He put up a business which eventually went on a down turn. The event was the finger that is itching to pull the trigger. He started cheating, stealing, swindling, and counterfeiting checks. He did not want to end up like others on the bankrupt list. Though business was not earning any more, he was still able to provide for his family and bought vehicles every now and then. His wife, Mary Jane, did not question him as to where he got the funding for the luxurious belongings he is taking home. The economy served as the exosystem for Longo. This is the system where a person is not directly involved however he does experience the positive or negative force involved with his interaction within his own organization (Paquette & Ryan, 2011; Engstrom, 2011). The macrosystem structure of environment may be the driving force which led Longo to killing his very own family. Since he was said to be a narcissist, it was typical for those kinds of people to not feel any guilt. Instead they would feel shame. Longo feels ashamed that his business was crumpling down and he would not be able to provide for his family. He feels ashamed of being a failure rather than guilt of being a murderer. He would be feeling worse being caught as a con artist rather than being found guilty of man slaughtering his own family (Paquette & Ryan, 2011; TheLastPsychiatrist.Com, 2010) Longo believed that he is somebody else and lived the life he wanted to without feeling any guilt of what he has committed. He did not hide from the public and was pretty much visible in Cancun and was even living a bachelor’s life without any signs of remorse as to what have transpired of his family. He risked his own freedom for as long as his family would not see him as a failure. Risk is the existence of several factors that will escalate the probability of negative consequences towards a person. On the other hand, resiliency is being able to overcome experiences and events which are caused by traumas and problems (TheLastPsychiatrist.Com, 2010; Engstrom, 2011; Richman & Fraser, 2003), Actually, Longo did not risk anything because he gave up everything. He even gave up his own identity and took up someone else’s to be able to overcome the shame he had gone through. It is not the shame of being a killer, but the shame of being a failure to provide for his family. At each structure of environment, there is the presence of risk and resiliency. At the micro level, the risk would be what has transpired when he was still a toddler having a violent father. He and his family were resilient enough to move on from that nightmare and began a new life in a new place with a new family. On the other hand, at the mesosystem level, the risk that has transpired was growing up in a conservative family. It was when Longo took a job and moved out of the house. He was still resilient as he was able to build a foundation of the family that he would be building with the girl of his dreams. He struggled to pass through the exosystem level’s resiliency. He risked their livelihood as he started a business of his own. Economy was not on their side. His business failed to be resilient with the factors revolving around it (Engstrom, 2011; Richman & Fraser, 2003). At the macrosystem level, Longo have risked not just his livelihood but his life as a whole. It was all about the risk nothing about resiliency. He was taken over by the shame that he is feeling. He did not want to be blamed for his family’s economic misfortune so he just took their lives so that he would not look ashamed in their eyes. So before his failure was about to be exposed, he killed the very people who were the reason why he was working for. As a narcissist, they would do anything so that their failure would not be made public. They would do anything just to cover up the shortcomings that they have done (TheLastPsychiatrist.Com, 2010; Engstrom, 2011; Richman & Fraser, 2003). Longo took on another persona to be resilient in this world. Maybe for him, Chris Longo is already a failure. That is such a drastic word for people with such personality disorders. It was what made him kill Chris and acquired Michael in his life. He may not have killed himself physically but for him Chris does not exist anymore. He became Michael. Michael Finkel lost his identity after he was discredited from The New York Times Magazine. Yet here is a man who would still have his identity rather than his just because of the fame and fortune that person has. Longo did not have any remorse when asked about how he murdered his family. He gave a typical narcissistic answer when he said in his post-sentencing testimony that he was not able to comprehend the gravity of the situation until he was brought behind bars. He even pitied himself for what have happened to him and not guilt with regards to what his family has gone through in his very own hands. (TheLastPsychiatrist.Com, 2010; Engstrom, 2011) It was also evident that he was ashamed of himself as to not being able to provide for his family. That was all he ever wanted. It was the first time there was some sort of regret when Longo said, “I was the one, in fact, and they needed protection from." (Engstrom, 2011) References Engstrom, E. (2011). The Trials of Christian Longo. TruTV.Com. retrieved 2011 December 5. http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/notorious_murders/family/christian_longo/index.html Finkel, M. (2006, August 15). True Story: Murder, Memoir, Mea Culpa. Harper Perennial. Inskeep, S. (2005, June 2). Finkel Tells 'True Story' of Murder, Mea Culpa. NPR.Org. Retrieved 2011 December 5. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4676713. Kolhatkar, S. ( 2005, August 5). Michael Finkel Hacks Back. The New York Observer. Retrieved 2011 December 5. http://www.observer.com/2005/05/michael-finkel-hacks-back/. Krajko, K. (2007, January). What Makes Narcissists Tick. OperationDoubles.Com: USA. Jehovahs-Witness.Net. (2003). "Longo's Dad Beat Him As a Child" Psychologist Claims. Associated Press. Richman, J. M., Fraser, M. W. (2003). Risk, Protection, and Resilience in Childhood. UNC SSW Research to Teaching. Paquette, D., Ryan, J. Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Systems Theory. Retrieved 2011 December 2011. pt3.nl.edu/paquetteryanwebquest.pdf. TheLastPsychiatrist.Com. (2010, January 10). This Man Killed His Family And He Doesn't Know Why. Retrieved 2011 December 5. http://thelastpsychiatrist.com/2010/01/this_man_killed_his_family_and.html. Wheelwright, J. (2005, May 18). True Story: Murder, Memoir, Mea Culpa by Michael Finkel. London: The Independent. Read More