Chapter 4: Blank Slate Felons – A Review

The Groundwork: Real Victims, Real Consequences

In Chapter 4 of Gad Saad’s Suicidal Empathy, titled “Blank Slate Felons,” the author opens with powerful, real-world examples that show how excessive empathy for criminals overrides justice and public safety.

One case involves Stephen Federico, whose 22-year-old daughter Logan, who happened to be White, was murdered in a 2025 home invasion in Columbia, South Carolina. The alleged killer, Alexander Dickey, was a repeat offender with nearly 40 prior arrests and 25 felonies, yet he remained free on the street.

Another is the story of Travis Lewis. In 1996, as a teenager, he murdered Sally Snowden McKay and her nephew in Arkansas. Sally’s daughter, Martha McKay, a devout Buddhist committed to forgiveness, visited Lewis in prison for over two decades, advocated for his parole, and after his 2018 release gave him a job and a place to live on the family property. In 2020, Lewis murdered Martha as well.

A third example comes from Springfield, Ohio in 2023, where roughly 20,000 Haitian immigrants had settled in just three years. Eleven-year-old Aiden Clark was killed when a minivan driven by a Haitian immigrant struck his school bus. His father, Nathan Clark, initially expressed anger over illegal immigration but later publicly stated that he wished his son had been killed by a 60-year-old white man instead, so the tragedy would not be politicized.

The Shift: From Criminals to Cultural Irony

Saad writes this chapter with remarkable clarity and biting irony. He moves from these heartbreaking cases into a deeper examination of gender dynamics and liberal empathy. He points out the contradiction in how some women, particularly liberal women, routinely label brave, strong, and courageous men as “misogynistic” and “toxic.” Yet in reality, most women are not attracted to weak or passive men when choosing a partner. They are drawn to men who treat women well while also being strong, protective, and courageous.

The chapter then reveals a disturbing pattern: liberal women frequently come to the defense of violent criminals and rapists, especially when those men belong to “marginalized communities.” This misplaced compassion often prioritizes avoiding any perception of racism over the safety and justice of actual victims.

When Compassion Becomes Self-Destructive

Saad shares the story of Selin Goren, a young left-wing German politician who was violently assaulted. She initially told police her attackers spoke colloquial German. Later she admitted they had spoken Arabic or Farsi, but she lied because she did not want to encourage racism or marginalize migrant communities.

Even more heartbreaking is the case of a young German woman volunteering at a refugee camp. One evening she was followed and murdered by an immigrant from the camp. Her grieving family asked that no flowers be sent to her funeral. Instead, they requested donations to the very refugee camp that had produced her killer, so the people there would not feel marginalized.

The legal system itself often compounds the problem. In one German case, a woman who encountered a prematurely released gang rapist in public called him a “disgusting pig.” Because he came from a marginalized background, her words were treated as a hate crime. She was jailed for the weekend, while the rapist had received lenient treatment out of “compassion.”

When the System Fails: The Need for Real Protection

This chapter is an incredible wake-up call. It exposes the ridiculousness of shielding violent migrants, many of whom entered the West illegally and who, if returned to their home countries, would likely face persecution or even execution for their crimes. The pattern Saad documents is repeated with disturbing frequency.

I believe this chapter should be required reading for women who take self-defense classes and strongly encouraged for young women on university campuses. Understanding these dynamics is essential for personal safety.

While Saad highlights the dangers of misplaced empathy and the resulting vulnerability of women in parts of Europe, he does not specifically discuss the right to bear arms in America. That said, as my own observation, American women have meaningful tools for self-defense, including the legal ability to carry firearms, mace, or stun guns. This stands in contrast to many European countries, where self-defense options are far more restricted.

A powerful new film that captures this exact tension is Citizen Vigilante, starring Armie Hammer and directed by Uwe Boll. When the system fails to protect the innocent, one man takes justice into his own hands. It’s a raw, unflinching look at what happens when citizens are left with no choice but to defend themselves. You can watch the trailer and learn more here:

https://twitter.com/CitizenVMovie/status/2070144987224743956?s=20

In a very real sense, it is like one side entering a conflict armed while the other is only permitted to hold flowers. The right to bear arms remains one of the most practical protections available to women in the United States and should be preserved.

A Chapter That Should Not Be Ignored

Saad makes it clear that this form of “suicidal empathy,” especially when it shields violent criminals while disarming or silencing their potential victims, is not an exception. In too many cases across the West, it has become the rule.

Chapter 4 is one of the most important and unsettling in the book. It should not be ignored.

The audiobook version, read by Gad Saad himself, is outstanding. His voice brings these stories and arguments to life in a way that makes the material even more powerful and immediate. If you care about truth, justice, and the safety of women and girls, this chapter and the entire book deserve your attention.

Looking forward to reviewing Chapter 5 soon – Gail Alfar

In Chapter 3 of Gad Saad’s book Suicidal Empathy, titled “Cultural Theory of Mind,” the author examines how demographic and cultural shifts unfold in Western societies when large numbers of people from incompatible cultures arrive and do not assimilate. Building on the foundation laid in the earlier chapters, this section offers one of the clearest accounts yet of a process that is already visible in Europe and increasingly evident in parts of the United States.

Saad describes a recurring pattern. When the population in question is small, its members are often viewed as an exotic presence that adds color and interest to the host society. As their numbers increase, they frequently adopt a posture of victimhood, claiming they are underrepresented and entitled to additional rights and accommodations under Western legal systems. Large public prayers in town squares have become one visible expression of this stage in several European countries and in some American cities. In the later stage, when the population becomes large enough to exercise significant political influence, Saad reports being told by Arabic-speaking friends that Islam views America as “a woman to be mounted.” He pairs this observation with the consistent refusal of many within these communities to adopt the core values of the societies that have accepted them.

Empathy Without Boundaries

A central theme of the chapter is the role of misplaced empathy in accelerating these changes. Saad illustrates this with a street interview of a woman with pink-dyed hair who expressed strong support for Palestine. When the interviewer asked whether she understood that people there might kill her if she went, she replied that it did not matter because she was still going to respect them as human beings. Pressed further, she answered, “No, I’m still going to support them because it’s the right thing to do.” When told that such a stance might one day result in her own death, she responded, “Then that’s the way I was meant to go.”

Saad connects this form of self-sacrificial empathy to a deeper pattern in which Westerners extend compassion even to those who reject the most basic principles of individual rights and human dignity. He uses the analogy of a wood cricket whose brain is hijacked by a parasite, causing it to act against its own survival. The same dynamic, he argues, leads some to tolerate or excuse the sexual abuse of children when it occurs within certain cultural frameworks, all in the name of cultural relativism.

Shortly after the October 7, 2022 Hamas attacks on Israeli civilians, including the massacre at a music festival, I went to the Texas State Capitol as a citizen journalist to document the response. Within just a few days, activists were already holding rallies in defense of Palestine while showing little to no empathy for the murdered Israelis. I shared what I witnessed here:

Citizen Journalism. Meet an Israeli who lost family members and a Palestinian who organized a rally today. Super interesting discussion and interview. I learned a lot. – at Capitol of Texas pic.twitter.com/KJu6bBHXD6

— Gail Alfar (@gailalfaratx) October 8, 2023

The Blank-Slate Fallacy

Saad also addresses a common objection raised against critics of mass immigration. Because Elon Musk immigrated to the United States, some argue that he lacks standing to criticize current immigration policies, including the entry of individuals with criminal records. Saad identifies the underlying fallacy: the assumption that simply being human automatically makes every other person equally suited to American society and equally entitled to unrestricted access. This view treats individuals as interchangeable units and ignores the importance of culture, values, and conduct.

Why Some Cultures Are Better

In one of the more direct passages, Saad states that a culture is objectively better when it prohibits the genital mutilation of young girls, when it does not permit the rape of children, and when it does not execute people for being gay by throwing them from rooftops. He asserts that American culture meets these standards and is therefore superior to cultures that normalize such practices. He notes that this conclusion has become difficult to state openly. He further observes that even some men now appear to extend greater empathy toward cultures that engage in these practices than toward their own.

Chapter 3 presents a coherent account of how certain forms of empathy, combined with large-scale demographic change and non-assimilation, can undermine the institutions and norms of open societies. The material is presented in a direct style that rewards careful reading. Anyone concerned about the long-term cohesion of Western countries would benefit from engaging with the arguments Saad advances in this chapter.

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Here is my quick review of Gad Saad’s Chapter 2 (“Forbidden Knowledge”) of Suicidal Empathy: Dying to Be Kind

The attached image matches the decorative Art Deco-style chapter header for this section.

Chapter 2 dives into “forbidden knowledge”, meaning truths that get suppressed not because they’re false, but because they’re unwelcome or might rattle favored narratives. Drawing from Roger Shattuck and Milton’s Paradise Lost, Saad shows how suicidal empathy turns into a censorship machine. Instead of facing reality, people start hiding or softening hard truths simply because someone might get upset or outraged. He calls this dangerous and self-destructive form of empathy “suicidal empathy.”

Harvard’s Treatment of Roland Fryer

One of the sharpest examples in the chapter is Roland Fryer Jr., who became Harvard’s youngest Black tenured professor. When he published data showing that the narrative of constant white supremacy in policing and education didn’t match reality, the backlash was swift and severe. Claudine Gay, then a dean and later Harvard’s president, led the campaign against him. Harvard ultimately suspended Fryer for two years without pay and permanently shut down his research lab. Saad presents this as suicidal empathy in action: shielding a preferred victimhood narrative took priority over truth and merit. The irony is hard to miss as Gay herself was later found to have plagiarized in multiple academic papers and resigned as president.

More Suppression of Unwelcome Scientific Inquiry

Saad extends the Harvard example to other cases, such as the hostile reception that greeted Philippe Rushton’s research on race and cranial size at a psychology conference. He uses this to show how entire lines of research become “forbidden” when they challenge liberal assumptions. Suppressing research in the name of empathy prevents honest discussion of topics like group differences, crime statistics, or immigration patterns. It puts protecting certain political views ahead of finding out what’s actually true.

Trump’s Ban from Twitter

One clear example is Donald Trump’s ban from Twitter. Many on the left didn’t just think it was okay — they believed it was good and necessary. They saw Trump as such a serious threat that normal free speech rules shouldn’t apply to him. Saad uses this as a perfect example of suicidal empathy: people were willing to break important principles if it meant stopping someone they strongly opposed. The same pattern appeared when the Hunter Biden laptop story was kept quiet before the election, and when certain topics were treated as too dangerous to discuss openly. Saad also notes that this kind of control over information has old roots, from historical inquisitions to recent U.S. government efforts like the Disinformation Governance Board  (the  board only existed under the Biden administration).

Homelessness Policies and the Cost of Misplaced Empathy

Gad also addressed homelessness which is a topic dear to me here in Austin. Progressive cities often handle homelessness by refusing to address the real root causes of severe mental illness and addiction. Instead of requiring treatment or enforcing basic behavior standards, many leaders blame capitalism and push euphemisms like “unhoused” to avoid uncomfortable realities. This approach turns public spaces meant for everyone into de facto shelters.

I saw this firsthand recently at the Austin Public Library at Republic Square. It’s a beautiful, $125 million facility built to be a safe, family-friendly place. Instead, large parts of it have been taken over by homeless individuals using it as a daytime shelter. People were sleeping on the floor, spreading out their belongings around the computers, and treating the space more like a Greyhound station than a library. Outside in the plaza, benches and open areas were occupied with makeshift setups. The atmosphere felt uneasy and unwelcoming. It is not the kind of place where families, mothers, or children would want to spend time.

This is what happens when empathy has no boundaries. Public resources meant for the whole community get repurposed, safety standards slip, and regular citizens, especially families, end up avoiding spaces they once used freely. The book argues this isn’t compassion; it’s suicidal empathy that ultimately harms everyone, including the people it claims to help.

How This Mindset Spreads Into Culture

Chapter 2 shows how this same “protect feelings over facts” thinking shows up in other parts of society. After George Floyd, many news outlets started mentioning race in their crime reporting in uneven ways, highlighting it in some cases but downplaying it in others. In academia, fields like Fat Studies push the idea that feelings matter more than biology, which has even led to things like “weight stigma czars” in some cities. The chapter also points out the rise of strange new language, such as rebranding pedophiles as “minor-attracted people.”

Saad closes the chapter with a critical reminder: sometimes you must make practical decisions to protect yourself and your family, even if it makes people uncomfortable. He uses the old story of the Scorpion and the Frog to make his main point: reality doesn’t care about your feelings. When empathy is pushed too far and used to avoid hard truths, it often ends up hurting the very people it claims to help.

A Good Virtue Gone Bad – Reflections on Empathy

In the opening chapter of Suicidal Empathy, Gad Saad begins by affirming empathy as an evolved and noble virtue central to our social nature. He explains that it is adaptive and beneficial when properly calibrated, aiding in relationships, friendships, mate selection, and caregiving professions such as nursing and medicine.

Saad notes that empathy is partly inherited and measurable, and that too little of it can make someone callous, while the right amount, directed at the right targets, strengthens human connection. He then shows how this same virtue can become maladaptive when it is hyperactive, misdirected, or allowed to override reason and practical realities.

This is where empathy shifts from helpful to harmful. What Saad calls “suicidal empathy.” I recently experienced a clear example of this dynamic in action at the Austin Public Library. I went there hoping to relax and read, only to find the space dominated by middle-aged male vagrants.

When I spoke with a librarian about the environment, she defended the situation by explaining that these individuals are “part of the community” the library serves.

The policy effectively prioritizes access for disruptive transients over creating a safe, welcoming space for families, women, and regular patrons. It felt like a textbook case of maladaptive empathy at the institutional level. Well-intentioned compassion that ends up making public resources unusable for the very people they were meant to serve.

Saad’s framework in Chapter 1 helps explain why this happens: when empathy is decoupled from boundaries, consequences, and the well-being of the broader community, it can erode the very institutions it claims to protect.

I’m looking forward to sharing a my Review of Chapter 2 with you soon. – Gail Alfar