Malignant narcissists never feel shame despite their underlying insecurities. Having seen this first hand among executives in the workplace, it is absolutely toxic. Rather than feel shame, they deflect and project on to those who tell them they are behaving badly. These people get a high out of this! They get a high out of abusing those who allow it! But what they hate is being called out, being forced to look in the mirror. How do you know you have gotten to them? They double down on their abuse and attacks. Their vitriol increases. Their statements and views become increasingly unhinged from anything resembling reality. At this point what it takes are strong people who say enough is enough and gains a critical mass to ostracize of strip the malignant narcissist of any power to control others. This is exactly what happened to McCarthy. He basically was self destructing, and all Welch did was deliver the blow that ostracized him. But the act of self-destruction can entail much collateral damage if it is not addressed early enough. And that collateral damage can last for years.
The problem today with gerrymandering and self selection/separation is that the methods of confronting these narcissistic politicians is now gone. They have no consequences for self-destructing because they can simply ignore those who oppose them as they will always have their power base and groups they can abuse from afar.
Alas, shame needs two sides to be effective. Yes, we have people with no shame. But it needs some amount of public acquiescence to be effective. Where is the public’s insistence on upholding virtue instead of celebrating vice?
The question of our time: will they be held accountable? I believe yes, but oh so slowly. The upside is that the reputations of these people and organizations are being ground down in slow motion, also, which may have more permanence than the typical forgotten in a day modern media circus.
I knew shame and meaningful consequences were things of the past after FauxNews pumped up James O’Keefe’s fraudulent ACORN videos. There were no mea culpas and no consequences after they were found to be edited to show the opposite of what really happened when O’Keefe and company tried to sting ACORN. ACORN lost it’s funding which was the purpose of the scam, so FauxNews and O’Keefe got to do a victory lap despite being lying thugs.
As always, well said. While the malignant members of the Republican Party may never allow themselves to feel shame, let alone quilt, we must believe that our efforts to expose their lies will slowly start to change the thinking and actions of their less hardened followers. We must all use our every effort to expose the truth, so the potential consequences of their lies and support those in public office with the courage to do the same.
Prof B: Thank you as always! Clear, concise, cogent, and important. Just to share: "Abstract liberty, like other mere abstractions, is not to be found." So sayeth Edmund Burke in 1775. It really seems to me as though so many descendants of the colonists who founded and created this magnificent country, don't know the meaning of the words "liberty, democracy, civil society, decency, tolerance," etc. Heck, as you pointed out, so eloquently, they don't even know the meaning of the word "woke!"
Probably one of the best things I will read today . Thanks Steven for posting this .
Tucker Carlson and FOX have no love or regard for their audiences when the need for ratings and viewership comes first even when it means perpetuating narratives that they as “ reporters “ know to be false.
It will take things like this Dominion lawsuit and more public cries of “have you no decency “ to rattle cages and hopefully cause some change .
It is up to the 51-57% of the population that vote or identify as liberal, democrat or Independent to come out and vote along with moderates from either side of the spectrum to come out and for e change via taking the power away from the Maga right.
We are so close to actually taking solid control of all levers of power. Then we will make the legal changes in this land that will fo two things that I believe are necessary. 1. Codify legal rights to easily vote. 2. Codify solid tax changes so that wealth is taxed much higher than it is today 3. Make the required changes in campaign finance so younger , non lawyers can run for office as idea logs and win . This will lead to more idealistic thought for the people.
I can go on but you get the picture. Change to a more humanistic political environment will drive the fascists and nazis and white supremacists back into their hidy holes from where they came due to the former President.
Malignant narcissists never feel shame despite their underlying insecurities. Having seen this first hand among executives in the workplace, it is absolutely toxic. Rather than feel shame, they deflect and project on to those who tell them they are behaving badly. These people get a high out of this! They get a high out of abusing those who allow it! But what they hate is being called out, being forced to look in the mirror. How do you know you have gotten to them? They double down on their abuse and attacks. Their vitriol increases. Their statements and views become increasingly unhinged from anything resembling reality. At this point what it takes are strong people who say enough is enough and gains a critical mass to ostracize of strip the malignant narcissist of any power to control others. This is exactly what happened to McCarthy. He basically was self destructing, and all Welch did was deliver the blow that ostracized him. But the act of self-destruction can entail much collateral damage if it is not addressed early enough. And that collateral damage can last for years.
The problem today with gerrymandering and self selection/separation is that the methods of confronting these narcissistic politicians is now gone. They have no consequences for self-destructing because they can simply ignore those who oppose them as they will always have their power base and groups they can abuse from afar.
I had just been mentioning the McCarthy era in another online discussion so was pleased to read that I am not the only one to see the parallels. These sham investigations by this new crop of committee members are the exact opposite of oversight. They are examples of the inmates running the asylum. Some of them who participated against our country leading up too , during and after the Jan6 events have the reigns of power in the House. But we do have Democrats participating and pushing back. But these Ds can not stop the shameless exploitation of position by these Rs to push a false agenda. That is what eats at me almost daily after reading the headlines. I can only hope they don't destroy the most precious and valuable part of our country before they are pushed out.
I have a theory about Tucker Carlson. It's that he's acting out of spite. Tucker has had failures in his career—rejection by the CIA; his comeuppance from Jon Stewart. This is his big revenge.
He's happy to destroy his country as long as he is hurting those who he feels do not give him the respect he craves. He knows better. But he can't act on that knowledge because he is too twisted by his hurt.
Sadly, it's a downward spiral because the more he is successful in his revenge, the more he is hated by the very people whose rejection hurt him and whose respect he really craves. So he just goes deeper and deeper into his plot against our democracy.
I'm a little late coming to this excellent essay. I touches on a topic often in my thoughts. The way I make my peace with it is to note that the extravagant lying and shamelessness you describe is all taking place within the GOP echo chamber. There is no counterpart to it on the Left. In that sense, it is self-sustaining. Our hope of extinguishing it lies in voting the GOP out of office at all levels of government. At heart, these liars are cowards. At some level, they know they need each other in order to feel justified in their dupllicity. ("But mom, all the kids are doing it!") Once their ranks are thinned, I believe their bravado will fade with it. On the other hand, I could be dreaming...
Malignant narcissists never feel shame despite their underlying insecurities. Having seen this first hand among executives in the workplace, it is absolutely toxic. Rather than feel shame, they deflect and project on to those who tell them they are behaving badly. These people get a high out of this! They get a high out of abusing those who allow it! But what they hate is being called out, being forced to look in the mirror. How do you know you have gotten to them? They double down on their abuse and attacks. Their vitriol increases. Their statements and views become increasingly unhinged from anything resembling reality. At this point what it takes are strong people who say enough is enough and gains a critical mass to ostracize of strip the malignant narcissist of any power to control others. This is exactly what happened to McCarthy. He basically was self destructing, and all Welch did was deliver the blow that ostracized him. But the act of self-destruction can entail much collateral damage if it is not addressed early enough. And that collateral damage can last for years.
The problem today with gerrymandering and self selection/separation is that the methods of confronting these narcissistic politicians is now gone. They have no consequences for self-destructing because they can simply ignore those who oppose them as they will always have their power base and groups they can abuse from afar.
Alas, shame needs two sides to be effective. Yes, we have people with no shame. But it needs some amount of public acquiescence to be effective. Where is the public’s insistence on upholding virtue instead of celebrating vice?
The question of our time: will they be held accountable? I believe yes, but oh so slowly. The upside is that the reputations of these people and organizations are being ground down in slow motion, also, which may have more permanence than the typical forgotten in a day modern media circus.
I knew shame and meaningful consequences were things of the past after FauxNews pumped up James O’Keefe’s fraudulent ACORN videos. There were no mea culpas and no consequences after they were found to be edited to show the opposite of what really happened when O’Keefe and company tried to sting ACORN. ACORN lost it’s funding which was the purpose of the scam, so FauxNews and O’Keefe got to do a victory lap despite being lying thugs.
As always, well said. While the malignant members of the Republican Party may never allow themselves to feel shame, let alone quilt, we must believe that our efforts to expose their lies will slowly start to change the thinking and actions of their less hardened followers. We must all use our every effort to expose the truth, so the potential consequences of their lies and support those in public office with the courage to do the same.
Well said! Always let your conscience be your guide, right? Didn't an insect coin that phrase?
Prof B: Thank you as always! Clear, concise, cogent, and important. Just to share: "Abstract liberty, like other mere abstractions, is not to be found." So sayeth Edmund Burke in 1775. It really seems to me as though so many descendants of the colonists who founded and created this magnificent country, don't know the meaning of the words "liberty, democracy, civil society, decency, tolerance," etc. Heck, as you pointed out, so eloquently, they don't even know the meaning of the word "woke!"
Probably one of the best things I will read today . Thanks Steven for posting this .
Tucker Carlson and FOX have no love or regard for their audiences when the need for ratings and viewership comes first even when it means perpetuating narratives that they as “ reporters “ know to be false.
It will take things like this Dominion lawsuit and more public cries of “have you no decency “ to rattle cages and hopefully cause some change .
Great thought provoking words Steven.
It is up to the 51-57% of the population that vote or identify as liberal, democrat or Independent to come out and vote along with moderates from either side of the spectrum to come out and for e change via taking the power away from the Maga right.
We are so close to actually taking solid control of all levers of power. Then we will make the legal changes in this land that will fo two things that I believe are necessary. 1. Codify legal rights to easily vote. 2. Codify solid tax changes so that wealth is taxed much higher than it is today 3. Make the required changes in campaign finance so younger , non lawyers can run for office as idea logs and win . This will lead to more idealistic thought for the people.
I can go on but you get the picture. Change to a more humanistic political environment will drive the fascists and nazis and white supremacists back into their hidy holes from where they came due to the former President.
Malignant narcissists never feel shame despite their underlying insecurities. Having seen this first hand among executives in the workplace, it is absolutely toxic. Rather than feel shame, they deflect and project on to those who tell them they are behaving badly. These people get a high out of this! They get a high out of abusing those who allow it! But what they hate is being called out, being forced to look in the mirror. How do you know you have gotten to them? They double down on their abuse and attacks. Their vitriol increases. Their statements and views become increasingly unhinged from anything resembling reality. At this point what it takes are strong people who say enough is enough and gains a critical mass to ostracize of strip the malignant narcissist of any power to control others. This is exactly what happened to McCarthy. He basically was self destructing, and all Welch did was deliver the blow that ostracized him. But the act of self-destruction can entail much collateral damage if it is not addressed early enough. And that collateral damage can last for years.
The problem today with gerrymandering and self selection/separation is that the methods of confronting these narcissistic politicians is now gone. They have no consequences for self-destructing because they can simply ignore those who oppose them as they will always have their power base and groups they can abuse from afar.
Confucius also said: "the wheels of justice grind slowly but exceedingly fine" I haven't lost faith in our institutions
I had just been mentioning the McCarthy era in another online discussion so was pleased to read that I am not the only one to see the parallels. These sham investigations by this new crop of committee members are the exact opposite of oversight. They are examples of the inmates running the asylum. Some of them who participated against our country leading up too , during and after the Jan6 events have the reigns of power in the House. But we do have Democrats participating and pushing back. But these Ds can not stop the shameless exploitation of position by these Rs to push a false agenda. That is what eats at me almost daily after reading the headlines. I can only hope they don't destroy the most precious and valuable part of our country before they are pushed out.
I have a theory about Tucker Carlson. It's that he's acting out of spite. Tucker has had failures in his career—rejection by the CIA; his comeuppance from Jon Stewart. This is his big revenge.
He's happy to destroy his country as long as he is hurting those who he feels do not give him the respect he craves. He knows better. But he can't act on that knowledge because he is too twisted by his hurt.
Sadly, it's a downward spiral because the more he is successful in his revenge, the more he is hated by the very people whose rejection hurt him and whose respect he really craves. So he just goes deeper and deeper into his plot against our democracy.
A keeper of an essay.
I'm a little late coming to this excellent essay. I touches on a topic often in my thoughts. The way I make my peace with it is to note that the extravagant lying and shamelessness you describe is all taking place within the GOP echo chamber. There is no counterpart to it on the Left. In that sense, it is self-sustaining. Our hope of extinguishing it lies in voting the GOP out of office at all levels of government. At heart, these liars are cowards. At some level, they know they need each other in order to feel justified in their dupllicity. ("But mom, all the kids are doing it!") Once their ranks are thinned, I believe their bravado will fade with it. On the other hand, I could be dreaming...
Carlson is evil and I turn my eyes and ears from him.That's it, 'til I'm gone to protect my spirit.