Narcissism, The Pre-Moral Mind and Donald J. Trump

Again, we must thank Cheryl Mendelson, former Professor of Ethics and author of 'The Good Life' , who I earlier  (Oct. 11 post) referenced in terms of explaining the  nature of moral capacity and defining the moral character.   In the same work she explores the pathology of the premoral mind and narcissism.  As one reads through her chapter 'Premoral and Moral Culture', it soon becomes evident that Hitler and Trump (both as premoral narcisists) likely had the same childhood development.

Mendelson writes in terms of the parental element (pp. 80-81):

"Narcissistic parents tend to raise narcissistic children and this is one significant means by which premoral thinking achieves cultural dominance. Narcissistic trends have been linked to cold, neglectful cruel and unloving parents  or to tendencies on the part of parents to treat the child as a means of stoking their own narcissism with the child's achievement, beauty or popularity.....

Narcissism in the parent often combines with authoritarianism to create specific failures in child rearing. The parents' own narcissism is bound up in the need for power....and expressed in harsh and cruel punishment"

The classic example is the genesis of Adolf Hitler, for example,  as documented by Robert Payne in his 'The Life and Death of Adolf Hitler'.     Therein we learn how mercilessly the young Adolf was beaten by his father Alois.  See also:

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2005/aug/04/research.secondworldwar


Alois, himself a narcissist at heart, vented his power  on his boy because he deemed him too needy and dependent on his mother. (A "muttersohnchen" or "mama's boy")

In the case of Trump, we've learned he was making special  "all purpose"  switchblades as a young lad that appalled his parents.  According to one site, "By the age of 13, he became a bit more than his parents could handle. They determined the best avenue for the young Donald was to send him to military school, New York Military Academy".  Without a doubt the young kid felt abandoned and probably unloved.

The effect of such treatments has been spelled out by Harvey Hornstein in his book 'Cruelty & Kindness: A New Look At Altruism and Aggression' (p. 41):

"The baggage of their youth is filled with inescapable hates and fears. Mistrusting their own impulses, they are wary of others and the impulses they might possess. Their world becomes a jungle which must be carefully scrutinized because it is filled with human beings who harbor the 'evil' that they painfully learned to deny in themselves."

To cut to the chase, the effect of Alois' projection of his own authoritarianism and narcissism on Adolf created a premoral personality with premoral, narcissistic values.  In like manner,  Trump's parents authoritarian solution  to their little problem spawned the egomaniacal, bombastic presidential candidate we behold today. As Mendelson points out (p. 71):

"In the premoral mind, in place of moral individualism - the individual's capacity to think and act according to conscience - there is mere egoism: the demand or wish, to be allowed to do and have what one wants. The premoral individual who confronts a moral culture must cope with social demands that he regards as illegitimate.

Because of his sense of entitlement, his greed and his demand for superiority feel right to him and are not internally moderated as they are in moral minds. Moral restraints may provoke him to outright rage and hatred."

Thus, we beheld Trump's ravenous rage when held to account (by the still existent moral culture) for his groping and forced kissing of women without their will. (As disclosed in the NY Times, the Palm Beach Post and other sources). In response Trump's rage has turned to  gaslighting his antagonists by resort to claims of managing a "rigged election"  with the women as part of a "conspiracy" driven by "global power elites". In the same manner, Hitler violently reacted when the existing moral culture in Germany looked askance at his attraction to sordid, sadomasochistic pornography. He retaliated by actually instigating a blame game directed at the Jews (for producing it) and then dispatching his S.A. thugs to intimidate them with violent beatings.

Hitler, once he claimed power, then went one step further and began shuttering German newspapers and dispatching journalists to the early concentration camps. (He grew enraged at their constant criticism.) Will Trump do the same if he claims power in this forthcoming U.S. election? We don't know but one can't feel confident that the Constitution will protect us. Recall one former president referred to it as "just  piece of paper".

Mendelson goes on to observe (p.73):

"The moral condemnation of power and wealth gained or used unethically is felt as emasculating and compliance with the moral demand is regarded as effeminate and weak.

In these respects and others, the premoral mind is primitive and childish."

In the above context we beheld Trump fulminating at the media's holding him to moral account for exploiting a $926b write off as means to avoid paying taxes for nearly 20 years. (Trump insisted, consonant with his narcissist nature he was a "genius"). That nearly billion bucks came from the pockets of legitimate  casino franchise owners and ordinary taxpayers. In the case of Hitler, he mocked as "effeminate"  those who held to the Versailles Treaty and showed his scorn by his invasion of the Sudetenland in 1938, and Poland in 1939.

By the same token, Trump's bragging about his ability to just kiss women and "grab their p**sy" exemplifies his primitive and childish mind. Also that he could banter on such degrading issues with glorified frat boy, Billy Bush,  Meanwhile, Hitler was reported to have had a violent sexual relationship with niece Gabi Raubal.  Payne reports how he was obsessed with sadomasochistic (SM) porn and enticed Gabi to actually act out with him, mainly her delivering occasional floggings.  He appeared to require violent stimulation to get off. Most psychologists today would classify such behavior and preoccupations as primitive and childish, in the sense that only a regressed personality (trapped at the "anal stage" of development) would be so obsessed.

After ascension to power Hitler outlawed all pornography which had been produced in abundance during the Weimar Republic.  He also outlawed abortion. But these actions are also characteristic of the narcissist authoritarian. Mendelson again citing a key section from The American Law Institute, 1999  for a Handbook of Jury Research (p..87):

"Narcissistic authoritarians are drawn to sexual material ...but they profess to find the material offensive and seek tp punish those who possess it."

And Hitler did this, dispatching those in possession of the Weimar created material to the early concentration camps.  Mendelson's comment to do with the attitude of the premoral mind is also illuminating and may definitely also have application to the hyper-sexual mores of conservative Catholics (p. 157):

"The premoral mind confuses the disgusting with the wrong and retains an infantile fear of things sexual. Its rationality is overcome by emotion, fantasy, wish and projection.."

Some may think that this controverts Trump's groping behavior and sexual innuendo but they may forget the dynamic of reaction formation. That is, adopting a mechanism by which "emotions and impulses which are anxiety-producing or perceived to be unacceptable are mastered by exaggeration of the directly opposing tendency."  In other words, any sexual contact with women is actually anxiety producing for Trump (as it was for Hitler) but that anxiety is resolved by exaggerated behavior in the opposite sense.

But a far more serious matter than sexual distortion concerns how the authoritarian narcissist and authoritarian can draw minds of similar nature to himself..  In most cases those drawn to such figures are both "fanatical" and likewise narcissistic. One primary trait (p. 76) is the yen for retaliation to "return evil for evil" or just to get even. We see this trait with almost every move Trump makes, e.g. to use tweets to get back at one target or another, whether the media, the women now accusing him of groping, Alicia Machado, or trashing a 'Gold Star' family,  the Khans. He always wants the last 'punch'. It is impossible for him to "turn the other cheek" or  for his followers to do the same.

This reinforces the worst traits of the narcissist's followers, as Mendelson notes (p. 82):

"In any fanatical group, charismatic, narcissistic figures easily assume positions of power.  They  are idealized and worshipped by followers whose narcissistic hungers are satisfied by the identification with the idealized leader or the group he leads."

We see this with the Trumpies too. They identify with fellow Trumpies by their hatred of  political correctness (which is also the manifestation of a form of social moral capacity)  and the "establishment elites"  Their narcissistic hungers also compel them to identify with Trump and when he says "punch 'em out" they feel enabled to do it to the nearest anti-Trump protestor, as we've seen.  In a similar vein, Hitler's S.A. fanatics had no problem beating up socialists, Jews or labor leaders if they protested at Hitler's rallies.  Hitler had only to cast an eye in the direction of trouble makers for them to feel the blows from dozens of Nazi  (S.A.) clubs.

Trump's most vile recent transgression against the commonweal and polity is his repeated claim of a "rigged election".  At a rally on Saturday he blabbered at a rally to star struck groupies:

"The election is being rigged by corrupt media pushing false allegations and outright lies in an effort to elect Hillary Clinton President".

Increasingly, Trump issues this gibberish in the context that it is part of a "conspiracy" to take him down. (See also previous post).  Indeed, in the past 48 hours Trump has claimed this tommyrot at least 20 times and even insisted.....wait for it....."Saturday Night Live" is in on it.

Any other person, say an ordinary bloke, would be locked up at Bellevue in a secure straitjacket and given ECT  and thorazine every three hours. But Trump can walk about at will spewing his balderdash.

Make no mistake that Trump's claim for rigging is an exculpatory move designed to seed rage in his more unhinged and gullible followers if he loses the election - which he is very likely to do and in a landslide. Never mind that Trump's election loss on November 8th will be entirely due to his unhinged, bombastic, disreputable campaign. In a similar way, Hitler's toxic narcissism led him to blame "those traitorous generals" for the failure of Operation Barbarossa and specifically the Wehrmacht's failure of will at the Battle of Stalingrad. Never mind it was Hitler's own fault for over extending his forces and also his failure to keep them resupplied during a Russian winter.

But Trump followers believing his bollocks that the election is rigged has hugely negative repercussions for the democratic process - namely the sowing of widespread distrust among a large portion of the populace.  This, in turn, destabilizes the political fabric and leads to loss of civility and dramatic increase in polarization.

Why do so many latch onto this nonsense, including some of the more educated, with degrees from Harvard? Mendelson offers a  clue (p. 82):

Most narcissistic followers "only mouth the ideas and mimic the behaviors required for membership in the group"

In other words, a herd syndrome - - with compliance dictated by the narcissistic leader who determines their identity in the "You're either with us or against us!" mode. Trump evangelical backers have even gone so far in their support rationalizations that they've cited "a Bible abounding in useful scoundrels". (TIME,  Oct. 24, p. 22). .  That is, trying to show that even the Old Testament God made use of "scoundrels" and vagabonds for his purposes. So why not the Donald?

Given "irrationality is also a prominent characteristic of premoral thinking" then it follows that the more irrational conspiracy claims Trump comes out with the more his most steadfast followers will cling to them. Again, they must be viewed en masse as a premoral, narcissist entity for which leader and followers find a mutual,  self-reinforcing basis in identity. This identity pushes Trump to ever wilder, more unhinged claims as it pushes his most devout followers to accept them.  Each new outrageous claim is then integrated into the ongoing Trumpist "identity" matrix. That includes that the election is rigged despite the fact general elections are not run by the federal government but by the states. And the fact of the matter is that the plurality of states (31)  have Republican governors who control the ballot boxes in a very real sense, e.g. access hours, locations, type of machines used etc.

The real danger is that the millions of people driven by resentment to follow Trump are unlikely to change their minds after he loses the election. Rather, they will very likely have their paranoid ideations reinforced by his loss and make trouble where their "rageful feelings" find expression. Who knows what might transpire? We can only hope it is not as bad as after Obama won in 2012 when numerous Obama voters were waylaid and beaten up,  campaign posters defaced with Nazi swastikas and KKK.

Mendelson, for her part, shows that the premoral mind (and narcissism) in this country is now ascendant, e.g. p. 76:

"The prevalence of the premoral psychology of revenge is obvious when we consider how common are the endless incidents of road rage, air rage, horrendous murder-suicides and shootings at schools, workplaces and public events. These incidents are so familiar that they are now cultural memes in the United States."

Sadly, even the defeat of Trump will not quell these tendencies and one can only hope the Republic is strong enough to survive them.

See also:

http://smirkingchimp.com/thread/william-rivers-pitt/69403/sodom-gomorrah-and-trump-the-evangelical-quandary
 

Ted Cruz - A Real Life "Greg Stillson" - From the 'Dead Zone'?

Ted Cruz has recently announced his presidential candidacy but there is no doubt that anyone who knows about this guy's background ought to be nervous, especially if he manages to bamboozle enough dopes to vote for him in primaries.  Given the stupidity of too many American voters it's quite possible this zealot could be the Reepo's candidate come 2016.

The New York Times, in a recent piece, describes him as "a conservative with sharp elbows" but he is more than that, he's a damned narcissist - which we certainly don't need occupying the White House.  The Times also described one incident in 2000 in which his inability to take orders became manifest while a junior Bush campaign aide. Cruz had originally secured a ticket to be present in the Supreme Court for Bush v. Gore but was asked to relinquish it to Donald Evans -long time Bush buddy. Cruz "chafed at the very idea, refusing to hand over his ticket and only backed down after an angry phone call from a senior staffer."

"Classic Cruz", according to the Times, but also classic narcissist and egomaniacal zealot - who believes his own ego, desires and pride dominate all other issues. The fact this renegade went so far as to shut the government down with his Tea Party crazies shows where his interests lie, and they aren't invested in the nation's welfare.

The more I saw of Cruz speeches and demagoguery the more they evoked the zealot fictional presidential candidate Greg Stillson, from the science fiction flick. 'The Dead Zone'.  In the movie, Stillson was a junior  Senator  whose messages of "personal responsibility"  and "small government"  combined with firebrand speeches and charisma catapulted  him to the top as a presidential candidate.

Poll after poll showed him locking up the nomination, again, because too many morons bought into his shtick.  The only suspicious  citizen turned out to be a former school teacher: Christopher Walken's crippled character.  However, after a nasty car accident he came away with an unusual talent: being able to see the future merely by making hand contact with a person.

Thus it was during one Stillson campaign stop, the teacher stands in line for the glad-handing and when he does make contact the image of Stillson as President takes hold.   There Stillson is, with a gun pointed at the head of his VP,  demanding he enter his own nuclear codes to complete Stillson's aspiration for a first strike missile launch   "sending the missiles forth to launch Armageddon."

The Veep complies as the new Prez receives the call that "the missiles are flying" and he screams in a voice eerily resembling Ted Cruz': "Hallelujiah! We have made history and fulfilled Bible prophecy!"

Of course, that would be the future had Walken's character not made contact. But he did. Thus, the film ends with the teacher making an unsuccessful assassination attempt on Stillson at a local confab.  Stillson survives, but only by snatching an infant from a supporter- which he holds up in front of his head. In the next instant the would-be assassin is felled by bullets from bodyguards, and Stillson leaves with his entourage,  shaken. However, the media are there with cameras at the ready and catch him using the infant as a shield. He (baby held up in front) makes the cover of all the major news magazines the following week.

The day after, staring at his cowardly image on the cover of Newsweek, he blows his own brains out, his Armageddon dreams unfulfilled.

But, of course, that movie was fiction. There are in reality no such things as crippled school teachers with precognitive powers who can see a presidential candidate's future actions.  If, indeed, Ted Cruz is a real life "Greg Stillson" (even in some limited but disturbing ways) it will be up to the American electorate to ensure he doesn't progress to the stage of being a GOP 2016 nominee.

Then there is the matter of funding. Will the GOP's deep pocket contributors really be prepared to back a zealot like Cruz? I doubt it.  But hey, the "race"  is still early so we will see. I somehow think Cruz jumping the gun on the rest of the field will show them what a narcissist he is and why his claim  to history will be short-lived. If nothing else, the debates next year should expose him to the nation as the Sen. Joe McCarthy-like creepazoid he really is.

Oklahoma U. Needs To Expel ALL These Little SAE Bums!

Offloading stuff from Sigma Alpha Epsilon House- Now Closed- at Oklahoma U.

I could not believe my eyes and ears on viewing the news last night when I saw and heard the racist chants from a bunch of Oklahoma University frat boys aboard a bus bound for a "Founder's Day" event. Screaming the N-word out loud in the form of a senseless chant (starting "Yuh can hang 'em from a tree"), the little morons from the frat Sigma Alpha Epsilon perhaps didn't realize how widely their stupid "song' renditions would circulate.

Well, it got the attention of the national office of SAE - which promptly disowned the Oklahoma University chapter. It also got the attention of the University President who shut their frat house down and has already expelled two of the little maggots as of this writing. Amazingly, one of them - lead "conductor" Parker Rice- actually came from a Jesuit HS in Dallas, according to the CBS News tonight. The little bastard ought to be ashamed of himself since he clearly never absorbed Jesuit values!

Of course, all should be expelled and pronto! What these entitled,  racist narcissists manifested was not "free speech" - not by any stretch - but abuse of speech to the point of denigrating (and bullying) a minority race on their campus. One for which they've evidently gone so far as to prevent pledging.. For such wanton, disgusting vocalization all of these brats need to pay and that means expulsion.

What a far cry from the SAE I knew (while pledging Delta Tau Delta fraternity) at the Univ. of South Florida decades ago. That chapter - as well as all the chapters on the USF campus - was open to all and sundry irrespective of race, or religion.  All fraternities were open to prospective pledges and each new guy was entitled to endure the same initiations, as well as "road trips" - but also the fraternity parties. (I ceased pledging in my next to last quarter at USF, realizing I needed to work harder and leave out the parties, or I'd never graduate!)

Meanwhile, JeffriAnne Wilder, associate professor of sociology at the University of North Florida in Jacksonville  - where a school board decided in 2013 to rename a high school named after an honorary Ku Klux Klan leader - said the incident at OU is a quick reminder of how far the state, and the U.S., has to go in dealing with racial issues. As she said recently in a quote to the Denver Post, referring to the 1965 civil rights march in Alabama from Selma to Montgomery:


"It's saddening and unfortunate that just a few days ago, we were commemorating Selma. We have to pause and on one hand, we can look back and see how far we've gone and on the other hand, how far we have to go."

Indeed, and those issues become raw reminders to those of us who lived in those days, whether we currently behold cops beating or shooting black kids - as in Madison, WI or Ferguson, or note Fox news anchors referring to Obama as a "chimpanzee" or one's own kin (from OK) portraying Obama as a skunk in a national emblem ("half white and half black")

Worse even, is how many of this Millennial generation don't seem to process their own racism, such as the spectacle we saw at Ole Miss after Obama's re-election when the "Rebs" came out in their numbers and chanted racist slogans and hung an effigy of him. (But this gets back to an earlier point I made in a previous post about too many being raised as entitled narcissists, e.g.

http://brane-space.blogspot.com/2014/09/narcissist-kids-biggest-products-of.html


As Prof. Wilder observed:

"The millennial generation is supposed to be both colorblind and post-racial, but that's not true."

Well, let's be fair - for many it isn't - but that's all the more reason we need to re-acquaint these kids with our past history, lest they forget - including how tawdry a history of racism this nation has.

See also:

http://www.smirkingchimp.com/thread/robert-c-koehler/61358/frat-boys-on-the-bus