By: Charlie Buckreis
The European Declaration of Independence by Andrew Berwick is his thousand-ish page long manifesto detailing his anti-Muslim, anti-feminist, and anti-immigration beliefs. He is a Norwegian neo-Nazi who staged multiple terrorist attacks – a van bombing and a mass shooting – in July 2011 and has been in prison since 2012. Before the trial, he was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia (just like Kaczynski) by one team of clinicians, but a second team found that to be false and diagnosed him with Narcissistic Personality Disorder and Antisocial Personality Disorder, a nasty combination. Let’s examine this.
Antisocial Personality Disorder is often overlooked by professionals. People with the disorder usually show very little – if any – concern for the rights, lives, and safety of themselves and/or other people. They may steal, cheat, lie, or manipulate others for their own gain. They may have issues with drug or alcohol abuse and may act impulsively without considering potential consequences. They may violate laws and they typically show very little to no remorse or guilt for the consequences of their actions. Looking at Berwick’s actions, this diagnosis does make some sense.
Narcissistic Personality Disorder is characterized by feelings of grandiosity – superiority – in a person’s thoughts and feelings. It is also characterized by occasional bouts of vulnerability, where the person is extra sensitive to criticism and failure. People with NPD are usually very self-centered and pretty much only act in self-serving ways. Berwick has reportedly been continuously trying to sue the Norwegian government for imprisoning him, claiming it violates his human rights, which could be a result of the NPD.