I don't need to replace "white supremacist" with "white supremacist" in my browser, but if someone could sneak that code into a few major news sites' CMS, it would be glorious. Until the inevitable fallout did more harm than good, at least.
You people with your hope for humanity. It's cute.
It's not going to overturn the election. But if they do investigate, and they do find evidence of something fucked up going on, that's one more thing to undermine the legitimacy of Trump's presidency, and I'm alright with that.
You people with your hope for humanity. It's cute.
It's not going to overturn the election. But if they do investigate, and they do find evidence of something fucked up going on, that's one more thing to undermine the legitimacy of Trump's presidency, and I'm alright with that.
If the last election has taught me anything, it's that the investigation itself is all it takes to undermine something. The findings are irrelevant.
I want to talk a little about narcissistic personality disorder. I’ve unfortunately had a great deal of experience with it, and I’m feeling badly for those of you who are trying to grapple with it for the first time because of our president-elect, who almost certainly suffers from it or a similar disorder. If I am correct, it has some very particular implications for the office. Here are a few things to keep in mind:
1) It’s not curable and it’s barely treatable. He is who he is. There is no getting better, or learning, or adapting. He’s not going to “rise to the occasion” for more than maybe a couple hours. So just put that out of your mind.
2) He will say whatever feels most comfortable or good to him at any given time. He will lie a lot, and say totally different things to different people. Stop being surprised by this. While it’s important to pretend “good faith” and remind him of promises, as Bernie Sanders and others are doing, that’s for his supporters, so *they* can see the inconsistency as it comes. He won’t care. So if you’re trying to reconcile or analyze his words, don’t. It’s 100% not worth your time. Only pay attention to and address his actions.
3) You can influence him by making him feel good. There are already people like Bannon who appear ready to use him for their own ends. The GOP is excited to try. Watch them, not him. President Obama, in his wisdom, may be treating him well in hopes of influencing him and averting the worst. If he gets enough accolades for better behavior, he might continue to try it. But don’t count on it.
4) Entitlement is a key aspect of the disorder. As we are already seeing, he will likely not observe traditional boundaries of the office. He has already stated that rules don’t apply to him. This particular attribute has huge implications for the presidency and it will be important for everyone who can to hold him to the same standards as previous presidents.
5) We should expect that he only cares about himself and those he views as extensions of himself, like his children. (People with NPD often can’t understand others as fully human or distinct.) He desires accumulation of wealth and power because it fills a hole. (Melania is probably an acquired item, not an extension.) He will have no qualms *at all* about stealing everything he can from the country, and he’ll be happy to help others do so, if they make him feel good. He won’t view it as stealing but rather as something he’s entitled to do. This is likely the only thing he will intentionally accomplish.
6) It’s very, very confusing for non-disordered people to experience a disordered person with NPD. While often intelligent, charismatic and charming, they do not reliably observe social conventions or demonstrate basic human empathy. It’s very common for non-disordered people to lower their own expectations and try to normalize the behavior. DO NOT DO THIS AND DO NOT ALLOW OTHERS, ESPECIALLY THE MEDIA, TO DO THIS. If you start to feel foggy or unclear about this, step away until you recalibrate.
7) People with NPD often recruit helpers, referred to in the literature as “enablers” when they allow or cover for bad behavior and “flying monkeys” when they perpetrate bad behavior on behalf of the narcissist. Although it’s easiest to prey on malicious people, good and vulnerable people can be unwittingly recruited. It will be important to support good people around him if and when they attempt to stay clear or break away.
8) People with NPD often foster competition for sport in people they control. Expect lots of chaos, firings and recriminations. He will probably behave worst toward those closest to him, but that doesn’t mean (obviously) that his actions won’t have consequences for the rest of us. He will punish enemies. He may start out, as he has with the NYT, with a confusing combination of punishing/rewarding, which is a classic abuse tactic for control. If you see your media cooperating or facilitating this behavior for rewards, call them on it.
9) Gaslighting — where someone tries to convince you that the reality you’ve experienced isn’t true — is real and torturous. He will gaslight, his followers will gaslight. Many of our politicians and media figures already gaslight, so it will be hard to distinguish his amplified version from what has already been normalized. Learn the signs and find ways to stay focused on what you know to be true. Note: it is typically not helpful to argue with people who are attempting to gaslight. You will only confuse yourself. Just walk away.
10) Whenever possible, do not focus on the narcissist or give him attention. Unfortunately we can’t and shouldn’t ignore the president, but don’t circulate his tweets or laugh at him — you are enabling him and getting his word out. (I’ve done this, of course, we all have… just try to be aware.) Pay attention to your own emotions: do you sort of enjoy his clowning? do you enjoy the outrage? is this kind of fun and dramatic, in a sick way? You are adding to his energy. Focus on what you can change and how you can resist, where you are. We are all called to be leaders now, in the absence of leadership.
"Hillary Clinton said she was going to do these positive things, but she's evil and we can't trust her. Donald Trump said he was going to do these negative things, but ehhh, maybe it was just a campaign tactic? Trust him to do good things that he said he wouldn't do. At least he's not Hillary!"
The sad thing is that Scott Adams is not the only person to say this.
I think his point is that if Trump moves to the center and the media/Democrats double down on what a horrible person he is it is a sign of cognitive dissonance because they are refusing to change their view of him when he changes his stances.
I think his point is that if Trump moves to the center and the media/Democrats double down on what a horrible person he is it is a sign of cognitive dissonance because they are refusing to change their view of him when he changes his stances.
He rose to power due to the direct support of racists and by way of nakedly racist rhetoric.
I think his point is that if Trump moves to the center and the media/Democrats double down on what a horrible person he is it is a sign of cognitive dissonance because they are refusing to change their view of him when he changes his stances.
He rose to power due to the direct support of racists and by way of nakedly racist rhetoric.
Anything he does is fruit of a poisoned tree.
Here's The thing about Donald, he's narcissistic to the max so he's going to do whatever earns him the loudest cheers. In front of GOP primary voters that was racism. Now that he's going to be president we need to cheer loudly for the things we want him to do. Since he's listening to everyone now, we might might get what we want since liberals are a majority.
He is a narcissist, and he will say whatever he wants. But he has already kowtowed to the conservatives in his party. Pence will keep things on the straight and narrow Republican path. Notice how Trump didn't acknowledge racism or neo-nazi's until after he was elected. This was a precision-guided move. He used their support to get elected, then he discards them, which is what the Republicans have been doing for years. Come next election season, the Republicans will again quietly nod to this group that they are the only ones who support them, and they will vote Republican like they always do.
Liberals have been loud about what they want forever. Bush didn't care. Trump won't either. He will do whatever he wants, which will largely be what keeps his party happy. He will lie about corruption on the liberal side of things (as he already has), and spin a tale where he is pure and great.
Trump will not be a moderate president. He will use every single piece of media to pretend that he is, but don't believe it. Look at what he does. In the next four years, I can all but guarantee you will not see a moderate presidency.
Normally I'd agree, but Trump has basically zero allegiance to the GOP. He's going to do literally anything he wants, which I read as whatever polls highest. So if we want abortion access louder than the anti-abortion people, we're probably going to get it.
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Ein Volk, Ein Reich, Ein Fu... ture
"We find that Act 43 was intended to burden the representational rights of Democratic voters"
"We find that the discriminatory effect is not explained by the political geography of Wisconsin nor is it justified by a legitimate state interest"
British Ministry: "Fuck you."
What even is this.
Donald Trump said he was going to do these negative things, but ehhh, maybe it was just a campaign tactic? Trust him to do good things that he said he wouldn't do. At least he's not Hillary!"
The sad thing is that Scott Adams is not the only person to say this.
Anything he does is fruit of a poisoned tree.
Liberals have been loud about what they want forever. Bush didn't care. Trump won't either. He will do whatever he wants, which will largely be what keeps his party happy. He will lie about corruption on the liberal side of things (as he already has), and spin a tale where he is pure and great.
Trump will not be a moderate president. He will use every single piece of media to pretend that he is, but don't believe it. Look at what he does. In the next four years, I can all but guarantee you will not see a moderate presidency.