#so your degree your grades your weight your looks your intelligence your trivia knowledge your artistic output your ability to just

[tremerechantry]

You identify with Patrick Bateman because "sigma male manipulator emotionless masculinity based schizo murderer", I identify with Patrick Bateman because of his fundamental lack of self esteem--the fact that he feels so empty inside that he has to turn to absolutely disgusting competitive materialism in an effort to maintain any sense of self worth. His clothes, his furniture, his belongings, the music he listens to, the food he eats, the shows he sees, the politics he'll pay only basic lip service to and then contradict three sentences later, the women he fucks, his career, his degree... these are the only things that he has in terms of an identity, and he reacts absolutely violently to anyone that threatens that. He kills Paul Owens because he threatens Patrick's sense of status. Patrick kills gay men who threaten his masculinity. The ex-girlfriend who threatens his image as a perfect specimen. Prostitutes and the homeless, because his ability to kill them and get away with it bolsters his own sense of wealth and status.

And he thinks of himself as a killer because killing is something he alone in his circle supposedly does. He continuously pushes the envelope, committing increasingly more horrific and blatant murders, because this is something he can be noticed for. He begins viewing his own reality as if he were watching a movie... filling up the emptiness inside him with delusions of grandeur. And if anyone around him could actually notice the murders, he would gain some sense of recognition, but no one does. Even if they actually do happen in the novel, the only person that actually remarks on them is Patrick himself. Even if the outside world pays absolutely no attention to what Patrick is capable of, he knows what he is on the inside.

But inside doesn't matter.

So we're not the same. And I think you're pretty stupid.

#Notable also that the only people he seems not to kill whatsoever are those in love with him. thus boosting his self esteem #I'm... such a Patrick Bateman as an artist truther #like... the murders are his artistic output #he is otherwise a completely generic person who means nothing. but he genuinely takes solace in his identity as this 'artist' #but I think in the course of the novel it's revealed that MUCH LIKE ME most of his artistic output happens in his mind #so it doesn't matter you know? Inside doesn't matter. Patrick has all these ideas and fantasies and creativity inside him #and none of it is real until he actually puts it out into the real world. which he fails to #and inside doesnt matter. inside doesnt matter. the novel is just his process of giving up on himself as an artist and resigning himself #to the fact that HE IS NOTHING #he has absolutely no worth because the one thing he prides himself on is not actually being seen by anyone else...... #like he is just like me for real. the continuous rambling about things you're an 'expert' on #that are blatantly false or misunderstood because you are stupid really #but you can't accept that because the idea of being a person that Knows Things About This is too important to your self worth #because the only way you can respect yourself is if everyone sees all the great things you have on the outside. #got to make it clear on the outside. because inside youre hollow and there's nothing actually good there. #so your degree your grades your weight your looks your intelligence your trivia knowledge your artistic output your ability to just #KEEP MAKING THINGS ALL THE TIME #how much you can make people laugh. how well read you are (you arent really) how good your taste in music is #this is what matters and you need this to be noticed by other people all the time because inside you arent anything really #but its okay if inside doesnt matter. youre not fucking pretty on the inside