In this chapter, Jon Ronson went into more discoveries of psychopaths. He took it upon himself to study the works of Elliot Barker, a Canadian psychiatrist. Elliot Barker geared himself up to work inside of Oak Ridge hospital; this place was for the criminally insane people. Ronson went into his experiment of LSD-fueled sessions and some of the psychopaths involved. Many would call his experiment abuse, but many also applauded for Barker. With all the chaos going on in Oak Ridge, some of the patients did find peace with one another, forced to or not. As some were released, they either made a life for themselves or stepped back into their past. Jon Ronson took in a lot from this study of Elliot Barker and his fan winning experiment.
This chapter felt unsettling for me. The story of Steve Smith popped out the most to me. As a young boy coming into this hospital, he was quickly rushed in to becoming an adult inside of a prison. His relationship was Peter Woodcock was also very strong. They connected in a scary sense of way. This chapter made me think of current issues with psychopaths and how we’re dealing with them now. I don’t know if I should feel happy that they’re kept away or sad that they no longer have a life of their own. It seemed like Oak Ridge created a new identity for them.
