When it comes to giving descriptive terms regarding wierwille..........quite often, I gravitate to words like 1) narcissist, 2) plagiarist, 3) false prophet/teacher, 4) opportunist, 5) misogynist, 6) paranoid personality disorder, and 7) sexual predator. I do not claim to have any expertise in psychological evaluations or clinical study. Clearly, there is lots of overlap in these complex fields of psychological study. Therefore, I usually hesitate to say with any certainty that wierwille was a psychopath .....
But what I did see in wierwille's dominant character pattern was the unique alignment with narcissistic personality disorder ...... where *lack of empathy* is one of the nine criteria listed. And, jokingly........I refer to these 9 criteria as wierwille's "all nine all the time."
Grandiosity with expectations of superior treatment from other people
Continually demeaning, bullying and belittling others
Exploiting others to achieve personal gain
Lack of empathy for the negative impact they have on the feelings, wishes, and needs of other people
Fixation on fantasies of power, success, intelligence, attractiveness, etc.
Self-perception of being unique, superior, and associated with high-status people and institutions
Need for continual admiration from others
Sense of entitlement to special treatment and to obedience from others
Intense envy of others, and the belief that others are equally envious of them
And then, there's the moral/spiritual hypocrisy aspect of wierwille.......that takes much of this entitlement to a whole new level. Wierwille utilized the bureaucratic levers of religion to exploit a mass following. In this deception, wierwille was NOT anti-social, crazy or a nut-job. He was methodical and cunning in manipulating others. Wierwille built a pyramid by exploiting youth labor. He was the classic, modern-day Pharisee.......embracing a sacrosanct demeanor of himself (over others).
That which is sacrosanct is doubly sacred: the two Latin components underlying the word, "sacro" and "sanctus," were combined long ago to form a phrase meaning "hallowed by a sacred rite." Sacro means "by a sacred rite" and comes from "sacrum," a Latin noun that lives on in English anatomy as the name for our pelvic vertebrae-a shortening of "os sacrum," which literally means "holy bone." Sanctus means "sacred" and gave us "saint" and obvious words like "sanctimony," "sanctify," and "sanctuary."
Those last 8 years of wierwille's life (1977-1985) .......he amplified his ancestry, his stedfastness, his calling and his legacy to the corps, repeatedly. Not only did he need the continual admiration of his corps and followers.......he wanted his legacy to be elevated in the pantheon of great men.