In a contentious world, one little-disputed statement is that Donald Trump is a narcissist. Whether he is clinically diagnosable with NPD (Narcissistic Personality Disorder) is unknown, and as he’s unlikely to let any psychologist make an assessment, is likely to remain unknown. So let’s use the words of the psychiatrist who defined NPD and simply say he’s a ‘world-class narcissist’.
Granted this, it seems strange that no-one pays much attention to the other side of the equation: the victims of narcissism. Here are some cherry-picked tactics narcissists employ:
- Divide and conquer. Isolate individuals by spreading mistrust amongst friends and family.
- Truth is only what the narcissist says it is at that particular time. Any adherence to facts completely unnecessary. If anyone questions this, question their sanity and/or moral integrity.
- Propose yourself as the victim’s only saviour. The single one between them and destruction.
Victims of narcissists experience, among others, symptoms such as:
- Intense isolation and helplessness
- Confusion
- A conviction of their own worthlessness
- Idolization of the narcissist
- A need to make excuses for the narcissist and justify them to others
Hmm. Does this sound at all like the public? We all know that for Trump’s ‘base’, he simply can do no wrong. As he said himself. ‘I could stand on 5th Avenue and shoot someone and not lose any voters. It’s like incredible.’ We know that Americans feel near-catastrophically divided, not only between the two main parties but into smaller and smaller segments, many of the newly formed sub-divisions and offshoots, each warring their own little corner with increasing hate. Each segment thinks most if not all of the others are entirely misguided (worthless), and suspects (rightly) that the other groups think the same of them. Which, along with creating instant indignation, also inspires the niggling doubt that perhaps they ARE mistaken after all – which further escalates matters.
We all also know, much as he is a colourful character, Trump is a symptom, not a cause… albeit a symptom that heavily exacerbates the cause. We also know that the US phenomenon is being mirrored across the globe in various forms. Isolationism, paranoia, restriction of freedoms, xenophobia. The neo-Nazis in the States have quickly been dubbed ‘Vanilla Isis’ – a term they detest, presumably because it aligns them with an ideology they think they have nothing in common with. And there is certainly no need to point out again here the screaming parallels between the circumstances that created the opportunity for Fascism to thrive: economic hardship, a dramatic rise in propaganda, a huge wealth divide, and subsequent use of nationalism to (ironically) fist divide the nation to conquer it. We also know that it required colourful and none-too-intelligent figureheads to achieve this. We know that intense paranoia on all sides gave rise to notorious entities such as the Gestapo and subsequently the KGB and the Stasi – all of which are themselves both symptoms and perpetuators of intense, continued mistrust, fear and hatred.
So there is evidently *some* global force pulling us apart, even as the world of communication and interconnectedness is shrinking to a pinhead. There is no shortage of speculation on what that force is (communists, liberals, feminists, neo-Nazis, plutocrats, Republicans), but by definition the entity is bound to be unknown. Were it known, it would not be the entity. ‘Its’ very power lies in its facelessness. And like Rumpelstiltskin, were it to be called by its name, it would stamp its foot through the castle floor and vanish in a cry of despair.
What is its name?
Let’s go back to the victims of narcissists. How can victims recover? ‘With difficulty’, is one answer. However, we could reasonably say:
- Step 1: remove the narcissist.
- Step 2: reconnect the victim to society.
These two steps make a world of difference. It’s nothing like full recovery, but the whirlwind stops, the insanity dies down to a blissful silence. One can work from there.
As for the name of the force… forget conspiracy theories. Who’s plotting what is small stuff, even if they think they’re going to blow up the world. Past civilizations had no problem personifying these frightening and intangible forces. They named them many times over: Atë, Eris, Loki. Deities of mischief, delusion strife and discord. Strife itself is the force to be conquered.
Eris will not be quelled by dropping bombs, or boots on the ground, or a new form of government. But she squeals in agony at random acts of kindness, shrivels at harmony, disappears with friendship. Easy to suggest, hard in practice to do, especially if your gut reaction is to lash out rather than reach out. But the good news is, world peace may be more within reach than we think – perhaps no further away than the local gas station. 'Love is all you need' may be too simplistic to provide economic stability and public sanitation, but it's probably true that without love, you will have nothing you need.