D Sunaw
A
thread 1/15
To understand why people follow and adore a tyrant and show cruelty to those who don’t, the brilliant work by Dr. Elizabeth Mika is of great value.“Who Goes Trump? Tyranny as a Triumph of Narcissism” in “The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump. https://www.positivedisint...
05:23 AM - Mar 10, 2024
Avatar
0
0
1
D Sunaw
A
thread 2/15
Tyrannies are three-legged beasts. They encroach upon our world in a steady creep more often than overcome it in a violent takeover, which may be one reason why they are not always easy to spot before it is too late to do much about them.
05:24 AM - Mar 10, 2024
0
1
D Sunaw
A
thread 3/15
Their necessary components, those three wobbly legs, are: the tyrant, his supporters — the people — and the society at large that provides a ripe ground for the collusion between them. Political scientists call it “the toxic triangle.” The force binding all three is narcissism.
05:25 AM - Mar 10, 2024
0
1
D Sunaw
A
thread 4/15
It animates the beast while, paradoxically and not, eating it alive, bringing its downfall in due time.
05:26 AM - Mar 10, 2024
0
1
D Sunaw
A
thread 5/15
This force and its influences that knit the beast into such a powerful and destructive entity remain invisible to us for reasons that are clearly hinted at, but somehow continue to evade our individual and collective comprehension.
05:26 AM - Mar 10, 2024
0
1
D Sunaw
A
thread 6/15
They make sure we don’t recognize the tyranny’s marching boots, which can be heard from miles and months away, until they show up on our doorstep, and that’s despite the fact that this very same process has repeated itself countless times in history.
05:26 AM - Mar 10, 2024
0
1
D Sunaw
A
thread 7/15
The Tyrant’s Supporters
The process through which the tyrant gains popularity and power usually baffles the outside observers and historians looking at it from the perspective of time, as its main ingredient, narcissism, somehow remains invisible to both participants and observers.
05:28 AM - Mar 10, 2024
0
1
D Sunaw
A
thread 8/15
The tyrant’s narcissism is the main attractor of his followers, who project their hopes and dreams onto him. The more grandiose his sense of his own self and his promises to his fans, the greater their attraction and the stronger their support.
05:29 AM - Mar 10, 2024
0
1
D Sunaw
A
thread 9/15
As Plato wrote in The Republic, “The people have always some champion whom they set over them and nurse into greatness.”
Through the process of identification, the tyrant’s followers absorb his omnipotence and glory and imagine themselves as powerful as he is, the winners in the game of life.
05:29 AM - Mar 10, 2024
0
1
D Sunaw
A
thread 10/15
This identification heals the followers’ narcissistic wounds, but also tends to shut down their reason and conscience, allowing them to engage in immoral and criminal behaviors with a sense of impunity engendered by this identification.
05:30 AM - Mar 10, 2024
0
1
D Sunaw
A
thread 11/15
Without the support of his narcissistic followers, who see in the tyrant a reflection and vindication of their long-nursed dreams of glory, the tyrant would remain a middling nobody.
05:30 AM - Mar 10, 2024
0
1
D Sunaw
A
thread 12/15
The narcissism of the leader who is convinced of his greatness, and who has no doubts, is precisely what attracts the narcissism of those who submit to him. (Makes me think of Lindsey Graham)
05:31 AM - Mar 10, 2024 (Edited)
0
1
D Sunaw
A
thread 13/15
The half-insane leader is often the most successful one until his lack of objective judgment, his rage reaction in consequence to any setback, his need to keep up the image of omnipotence may provoke him to make mistakes which lead to his destruction.
05:33 AM - Mar 10, 2024
0
1
D Sunaw
A
thread 14/15
But there are always gifted half-psychotics at hand to satisfy the demands of a narcissistic mass.
05:33 AM - Mar 10, 2024
0
1
D Sunaw
A
thread 15/15
Also by Dr. Mika, who sadly passed away recently:
05:34 AM - Mar 10, 2024
0
1

 

{{ notificationModalContent }} {{ promptModalMessage }}