I assume that was written by a secondary account from someone here. It seems to be a common way around the HN demands for civility... :-(
Regarding the victim, my guess would be on early stages of dementia and/or emotional trauma after becoming a widow.
But if I would discuss this with a victim, I would try bringing up the psychology of a scammer. First in general terms, like the Nigeria letters, then the specifics about romance.
To really hurt someone this bad is not far from the level physical torture. It is not easy for normal people to live with the self image of destroying an innocent person's life in that way. So the perpetrators of such horrible acts have to despise and blame the victim. (This is what scare me about hateful political idealists, by the way, they tend to think people contradicting them are evil. Not an American, so this was not about the election.)
So scammers and criminals really hate and despise the victim.
(This scammer wasn't someone desperate or really poor, that is partly another discussion.)
Which gets me back to the what I comment on -- "hilop" could probably get a career in scamming, he has the right attitude to other people.
The post seemed pretty civil to me, just straight to the point. Everyone else is trying to solve the problem by banging a hammer into the nail more - maybe THIS way will help you show her it's a scam.
In my opinion, it's worth considering that she is aware(at least on some level) that this is a scam, and she just doesn't care, because she's too traumatized, because she longs for companionship, or whatever else reason. It's impossible to know without having a deep insight into michael_h's life, but it's worth considering.
Interesting point on the psychology of "bad" people. Could this logic relation be inverted? If you see humans as evil, you are more likely to be a criminal or evil-doer?
Thus Pessimism is the first stage of psychopathy?
I weep for the species.
Also weeping for science.
I didn't study psychology, but from reading a bit and seeing people over the years -- I think there is a common thread with a need for perpetrators to dehumanize their victims.
About being depressed over humanity:
Compare clan societies with modern welfare states. The genes are about the same, so humans are really flexible from cultural programming. Just think about how to organize societies to make for nice places and nice people.
The point is -- don't weep for humanity any more than you would weep for cameras, because they might also be used to make bad art. Instead, wonder how to improve art education.
Regarding the victim, my guess would be on early stages of dementia and/or emotional trauma after becoming a widow.
But if I would discuss this with a victim, I would try bringing up the psychology of a scammer. First in general terms, like the Nigeria letters, then the specifics about romance.
To really hurt someone this bad is not far from the level physical torture. It is not easy for normal people to live with the self image of destroying an innocent person's life in that way. So the perpetrators of such horrible acts have to despise and blame the victim. (This is what scare me about hateful political idealists, by the way, they tend to think people contradicting them are evil. Not an American, so this was not about the election.)
So scammers and criminals really hate and despise the victim.
(This scammer wasn't someone desperate or really poor, that is partly another discussion.)
Which gets me back to the what I comment on -- "hilop" could probably get a career in scamming, he has the right attitude to other people.