It’s Almost As If One Were An Excuse For The Other
Lifted from yesterday’s comments:
It’s interesting just how often “social justice” posturing entails something that looks an awful lot like spite or petty malice, or an attempt to harass and dominate, or some other obnoxious behaviour. Behaviour that, without a “social justice” pretext, might get you called a wanker or a bitch. A coincidence, I’m sure.
There are numerous examples of such behaviour in the archives, including this, this, this, and both of these. One of the more vivid illustrations is this little gem, in which Black Lives Matter enthusiasts at an Ivy League university claim to be oppressed by hats and headphones, and promptly indulge in racist thuggery, targeting random white people with violence and abuse – and with impunity, of course – before being applauded by university staff.
Today, Liz points out another, more recent example – a plan to disrupt Donald Trump’s inauguration by blocking bridges, obstructing traffic and sabotaging all of the Metro trains in Washington DC. Because nothing says “I’m virtuous” like ruining the day of tens of thousands of people and leaving them to worry about how to get home, or to work, or get to the doctor, or pick up their children.
[ Update, via the comments: ]It’s an odd thing to watch, this “radical” approach to “social change.” You have to wonder, at what point in the little warriors’ planning sessions did the tactics linked above – preventing Wal-Mart staff from getting home to their families, harassing random white people and making them walk through mud, and trapping a woman in a wheelchair and then taunting her – become good ideas, the way to signal righteousness? And as this behaviour is unlikely to result in any social effect that the activists claim to want – and in fact tends to strengthen opposition to their ostensible cause – you also have to wonder what the fundamental motive actually is. Given the vanishingly slim chance of instant social transformation, there isn’t much else to consider, apart from narcissism, selfishness and an obvious delight in having power over others.
It’s sometimes hard to see much difference between a “social justice” activist and a sociopath with a flimsy excuse.
I hope the Republican president who takes office in 2021 remembers to thank these people.
IIRC, traffic problems is how the ultimate Angry White Man movie, Falling Down, began.
I should watch that movie again. Lot’s of dark humor in that movie.
It’s sometimes hard to see much difference between a “social justice” activist and a sociopath with a flimsy excuse.
There’s that, but I wonder how many of the hangers-on are simply dupes who are seeking some sort of meaning for their otherwise worry-free lives. Their own “guilt” requires that they find some means to be “heroic.”
Accosting random strangers is easier than joining the Marines, so they get to bathe in an heroic narrative with little to no risk to themselves.
Accosting random strangers is easier than joining the Marines,
Heh. Yes, there is that. But it’s an odd thing to watch, this “radical” approach to “social change.” I mean, at what point in the little warriors’ meeting does preventing Wal-Mart staff from getting home to their families – or harassing random white people and making them walk through mud, or trapping a woman in a wheelchair and then taunting her – become a good idea, a way to signal their righteousness?
And as this behaviour is unlikely to result in any social effect that the activists claim to want – and in fact tends to strengthen opposition to their ostensible cause – you have to wonder what the fundamental motive actually is. Given the slim chance of instant social transformation, there isn’t much else to consider, apart from narcissism, selfishness and an obvious delight in having power over others.
Sabotaging mass transit, almost exclusively a blow against ordinary working people, to protest the result of a democratic election.
I mean there’s no right-wing spin I could put on that to make it sound worse!
Falling Down
Yes, a movie to revisit.
Thanks for reminding me sumdumguy. One of Michael Douglas’s better films.
And as this behaviour is unlikely to result in any social effect that the activists claim to want – and in fact tends to strengthen opposition to their ostensible cause…
A currently popular Twitter hashtag: #ThisIsHowWeGotTrump
I mean there’s no right-wing spin I could put on that to make it sound worse!
If you really need it to sound worse, contemplate that the less-violent of the rabid left are arranging protestory Foucalt readings. I am not making this up.
“protestory Foucalt readings”. And they mean it to sting, by Jove.
Someone – perhaps Russian – hacks the DNC’s files and leaks: cue outrage from SJWs globally.
The emaciated mulatto* releases Bradley Manning, who betrayed his country and put US operatives at risk by passing classified information to wikileaks: cue silence from the SJWs.
I rest my case: they are sociopaths.
* And no friend of the UK
I would have termed them “malignant narcissists” rather than “sociopaths.” Potato, potahto.
malignant narcissists
Works for me.
at what point in the little warriors’ meeting does preventing Wal-Mart staff from getting home to their families – or harassing random white people and making them walk through mud, or trapping a woman in a wheelchair and then taunting her – become a good idea, a way to signal their righteousness?
I blame the parents. Most of these SJW types ought to have been kicked in the arse at some point, preferably before they were old enough to inflict mischief on that scale.
It does make one wonder whether the principle of kin liability (what the Germans call Sippenhaft), which seems to be a thing in Chinese jurisprudence, doesn’t have some validity.
kin liability (what the Germans call Sippenhaft)
I’d settle for some We Need to Talk About Kevin style dirty looks and shunning if one raises an Occupy monster, but actual liability isn’t too terrible either.
I would have termed them “malignant narcissists” rather than “sociopaths.” Potato, potahto.
How about The Children Of Trump, i.e. those who vehemently preach and practice upon others what they claim Trump is and will do?
This YouTube channel may prove instructive.
https://www.youtube.com/user/ConvosWith2YrOld
Do try and keep in mind that the scruffy adult male is not actually a hipster activist, and his lines were in fact written by a two year old.
How about The Children Of Trump, i.e. those who vehemently preach and practice upon others what they claim Trump is and will do?
That works. Or maybe “Trumpstraps” for all the support they give him, however unintentionally?
Perhaps as perverted reflections (or seeing themselves as reflections, at any rate) carrying out what they think is his will or will answer his will, committing the “hate crimes” that Trump supporters won’t commit, etc, etc… What if we were to borrow from gnosticism for our jokes? Refer to these people as Comb-iurges and any leader thereof or spokesman as a Metatrump?
“Spite or petty malice”
What is that famous quote, something like the purpose of terror is not to secure the revolution, the purpose of revolution is to institute terror?
I would have termed them “malignant narcissists” rather than “sociopaths.” Potato, potahto.
Technically, narcissism has no physiological basis (it’s all psychological); sociopathy and/or psychopathy spring from a cerebral deficit or lesion.
Narcissism is a characteristic of sociopathy but not vice-versa: my dad was a narcissist and he was strictly law-abiding. Sociopaths have no conscience; narcissists might.
It’s likely these folks are a liberal admixture of psychological cripples and cerebral defectives. Mixed in with the occasional Misguided Soul Who Went Too Far And Finds He Really Likes It.
Either way, it’s unlikely they can be dissuaded or rehabilitated; they can only be neutralized.
Accosting random strangers is easier than joining the Marines
Well, it is for now.
Damn HTML! I closed the dang tag.
One definition of a helicopter is ‘ a collection of parts flying in close formation’. Similarly a SJW is a collection of Personality Disorders traveling together and sharing a mouth.
And again, note the projection regarding cowardice and numbers.
So here we have people who in public chant “No hate, no fear” and imagine themselves as heroic, while planning to punch people in the throat and boasting among themselves,
The mental landscape implied by this dissonance is not a happy one.
It’s likely these folks are a liberal admixture of psychological cripples and cerebral defectives. Mixed in with the occasional Misguided Soul Who Went Too Far And Finds He Really Likes It.
Assuming the brainstorming session isn’t attended entirely by people with quite worrying personality disorders, you have to wonder what it’s like to be the run-of-the-mill lefty poseur who slowly but vividly realises that he or she is in a room with a high concentration of people with quite worrying personality disorders.
Is there a moment when it occurs to them that maybe, just maybe, they got on the wrong metaphorical train?
#Resistance
https://twitter.com/RealJamesWoods/status/821978113684869121
A potentially popular one in 2023: #GivePresidentsFourTermsAgain
It’s absurd, I know. But if you had speculated to me about Trump’s presidency six years ago, I would have said that was absurd too.
O/T: I can’t find the link now (I saw it on Twitter) but Laurie Penny’s latest scam is to beg for “a few dollars” support per month from people so she can idle around in the USA writing harangues about how awful Trump is.
Of course, those advocating loudest for the throat-punching and arson will always maintain plausible deniability if/when such is accomplished by their weaker minded comrades. As for “going to war,” something tells me they haven’t really thought that through.
If you try to close us down, we will look for your house. We will burn it… We will go to war, and you will lose.
It is important to note that these cretins only pull this stuff in reliably leftist and unarmed places in the USandA where they know no one will fight back.
It will be interesting, however, to see what happens if these drug store Zhukovs actually run into a crowd they have never encountered before like the bikers, many of whom actually have been to war and who will fight back.
As for “going to war,” something tells me they haven’t really thought that through.
They seem to have forgotten they are not the ones who own guns. They’re even more delusional if they think the government (police) will back them up.
…these cretins only pull this stuff in reliably leftist and unarmed places in the USandA where they know no one will fight back.
That.
This.
where they know no one will fight back.
Let’s not forget the fearless, selfless anti-Trump protestors who surrounded and terrorised a lone female driver by trying to smash the windscreen into her face, before amusing themselves by videoing her distress.
Likewise, the BLM activists and “social justice” juggernauts who deliberately and laughingly obstructed ambulances. Because the way to show the world that you’re righteous, deserving and more virtuous than Donald Trump is to block the path of emergency vehicles and endanger the lives of random people, while giving the ambulance drivers the finger.
This isn’t politics, it’s sociopathy.
This isn’t politics, it’s sociopathy.
Indeed, and never having had to face any sort of consequences for their asshattery, they will keep at it until they do. Of course, after that they will scream they are being repressed by “fascists”, but I expect the proper assignment of cellmates could sort that.
Norman, I read somewhere that suddenly, Lefty Preppers are a thing, and are gunning up.
Perhaps when a few of them have put a shot through their own foot, they will cease to be a thing.
and never having had to face any sort of consequences for their asshattery, they will keep at it until they do.
The word asshattery doesn’t quite convey the extent of the degeneracy.
Jeff – though there are reports, I suspect that among the leftists it is mainly all talk as it requires actually performing manual labor and learning manual skills that many among the righty preppers already had at least a passing familiarity with.
The irony, is that those least able, skilled or prepared are agitating in hopes of creating a chaos, in which they are the least likely to survive.
Bring it.
Lefty preppers & arming…
I suspect the process itself, and especially the annoyances of legal gun ownership (esp. in California and New York) may have a salutary effect.
Years ago Kim duToit wrote an essay detailing a friend’s experiences with his lefty neighbors re: basic emergency preparedness (not “prepping” as commonly understood) If I can find it I’ll llink to it.
More antisocial wankers.
https://pjmedia.com/trending/2017/01/19/lgbt-activists-throw-queer-dance-party-at-vp-elect-pences-house/
No thought for the other people who live there.
No thought for the other people who live there.
No thought for how idiotic a “protest” it is.
No thought for the other people who live there.
Quite. It also looks like the naffest “queer dance party” I’ve ever seen. Which is saying something. And the point of it escapes me.
And the point of it escapes me.
I expect the point was just to be irritating. What these bozos never seem to get is that pissing people off by being irritating (or for any other reason, like not letting you get home from work) isn’t exactly a good tactic to win the unconverted to your cause.
What these bozos never seem to get is that pissing people off by being irritating (or for any other reason, like not letting you get home from work) isn’t exactly a good tactic to win the unconverted to your cause.
How can they not get it? Aren’t they supposed to be the clever ones? Unless, as you say, being needlessly, pointlessly irritating is regarded as a triumph in itself and a basis for the inevitable self-congratulation. And it seems to me that of the two parties – Mr Pence and these clowns – the latter are doing a greater disservice to the wider reputation of gay people.
Either way, it’s unlikely they can be dissuaded or rehabilitated; they can only be neutralized.
Germany and Japan went narcissistically crazy together once. Undeniable, abject defeat cured that. Lotta cost to the benefit, though.
I do sometimes wonder if modern narcissism (aot sociopathy) might also be cured by a true boot camp approach, akin to basic training: strip away all pretense of being special, exhaust you, teach you discipline that can hopefully then translate to self-discipline, make you feel strong and proud in your new identity instead of weak and helpless, etc. I still contend that weakness->insecurity->narcissism.
Other than those two observations, I’m outta ideas as to how to cure true narcissism once it’s been instilled; Cluster B’s are a tough nut to crack.
I do know that the modern educational system keeps grinding out more all the time, though, and that it’s by design, so we might as well start with prevention.
Final thought: if praising kids for being smart creates narcissists whereas praising them for working successfully through a problem creates capable people … doesn ‘t that guarantee narcissism via identity politics? “You’re so smart because you’re a [insert identity group here]” will cause the kid to shut off the effort and thereby fall further behind his/her non-narcissistically-raised peers, thereby deepening the cycle of envy.
Dammit, I previewed that last comment, too … on all but the last little typo that screwed up the “start with prevention” link, sigh. David, would you be so kind? Thanks.
Fixed. You do realise I’m trying to drink wine while watching Fast and Loud…?
Slowly and quietly appreciated, sir….
Aren’t they supposed to be the clever ones?
In this case, “supposed to be” and “actually are” do not overlap in the great Venn diagram of life, but then, it is also the case for nigh all leftist actions and policies which will only work for once if there are more of them. Dunning-Kruger in action.
…pointlessly irritating is regarded as a triumph in itself and a basis for the inevitable self-congratulation.
Which is precisely the case – “haw, did you see how we stuck it to The Man tonight !” et cetera, et cetera. Did you accomplish anything, “No, but we stuck it to The Man !”
…the latter are doing a greater disservice to the wider reputation of gay people.
Bingo, but it is not just gays, the same applies to any group using the same tactics – BLM sponsored rioters looting weave shops and convenience stores, followers of mohammed running amuck in Cologne. It is hard to win hearts and minds while you are burning the village down, but, hey, as long as you think you are sticking it to The Man, it’s all good.
if praising kids for being smart creates narcissists whereas praising them for working successfully through a problem creates capable people … doesn ‘t that guarantee narcissism via identity politics? “You’re so smart because you’re a [insert identity group here]” will cause the kid to shut off the effort and thereby fall further behind his/her non-narcissistically-raised peers, thereby deepening the cycle of envy.
Eye of The Storm
Jane Elliot is an anti-racism activist, and educator, as well as a feminist and LGBT activist. They weren’t always complete idiots.
Surprised that no one has mentioned the old “little Eichmanns” comment by Ward Churchill after 9/11. You’re wondering how is it that the SJWs don’t realize that their tactics are counterproductive in bringing over the unconvinced, etc., but are overlooking the fact that to them, those unconvinced – those who go about earning an honest living, raising their families, etc. – are the enemy, whose inconvenience (or, ideally, death) is to be celebrated as an end in itself.
“being needlessly, pointlessly irritating is regarded as a triumph”
But then people make fun of them, so they can claim victimhood and lash out at their oppressors.
It’s a thought but a tad too close to totalitarianism itself, unless one is speaking of one’s own charges…
And there’s the nut. It’s in the educational system. Stop funding and “guaranteeing” it with the public’s involuntarily given tax dollars/pounds/wampum/etc. Not speaking of the straw man of basic education, but the “humanities”, “literature”, philosophy, in higher “education”. Not that there is anything wrong with the concepts in general but unless the subjects are germane to an educational path and to a student deemed worthy of the money spent BY THE PERSON WHOSE MONEY IS BEING LOANED/SPENT, they are a waste of time and money.
Just for the record, I am aware that the use of scare quotes is quite tiresome but in an age when words are losing their meaning, when “literally” does not literally mean “literally”, my communications skills just aren’t up to the task without them.
Jane Elliot is an anti-racism activist,
This Jane Elliott?
I’m outta ideas as to how to cure true narcissism once it’s been instilled; Cluster B’s are a tough nut to crack.
If the neuropsychiatrists are right about neuroplasticity and the source of Cluster B personality disorders (severe, sustained and concealed abuse during crucial childhood development ages) then it probably isn’t possible to cure Cluster B PDs. At best you can teach the sufferer how to recognize and mitigate their disordered responses. This would jibe with what I’ve seen in the treatment of women with severe BPD/CPTSD.
“What I’ve learned is, it’s all about justice.”
I wonder what the badge for that looks like?
I also wonder if I am an inherently bad person for thinking that is genuinely awful idea.
genuinely awful idea
The earlier you start the brainwashing, the harder it is to overcome later.
The earlier you start the brainwashing, the harder it is to overcome later.
Seemed to work for the Jesuits.
Then again, ‘work’ implies ‘success’ and ‘success’ in that context needs to be weighed against the amount of therapy the subjects required later in life as adults …
if praising kids for being smart creates narcissists whereas praising them for working successfully
That creates self-centered, spoiled brats who are in for a Big Awakening, either sooner or later. Praise doesn’t create Narcissistic PD, which, as Daniel Ream points out, is caused by “severe, sustained and concealed abuse during crucial childhood development ages.”
PDs are like the trees at the mouth of a windy canyon: when saplings, they bent with the wind but could still straighten up when the wind stopped. Gradually, the hardwood grows into a permanent tilt that cannot be righted without snapping the trunk in half.
It is hard to win hearts and minds while you are burning the village down
If you fight nastily enough, you don’t need to win hearts and minds: you just need to instill fear. Pour encourager les autres, of course. They don’t want to persuade us intellectually: they want to cow us into submission.
At best you can teach the sufferer how to recognize and mitigate their disordered responses.
PDs can’t tell their responses are disordered. In their minds, they’re just fine–it’s the rest of the world that’s screwed up.
The people closest to PDs are the actual sufferers of PD and the ones who need the counseling: to undo the constant gaslighting that PDs subject them to.
Of course, after that they will scream they are being repressed by “fascists”
Someone over at Legal Insurrection used the acronym DARVO. Deny, Attack, Reverse Victim and Offender; a tactic the left and Islam both share (the latter all the way back to ol’ Mo himself).
those least able, skilled or prepared are agitating in hopes of creating a chaos, in which they are the least likely to survive.
The term is useful idiot. Follow up the chain of those directing them and you will find those who do not care what happens to these people, and/or hope for them to suffer harmful consequences for the opportunity that would create for more DARVO.
Years ago Kim duToit wrote an essay detailing a friend’s experiences with his lefty neighbors
IIRC that was the one where the guy said something along the lines of, “Well I know whose house I’m going to if there’s a disaster.” And Kim’s response (if this was Kim I’m thinking of) was “No, you aren’t.” The neighbor did not think that a man would not risk his own family’s safety in a time of crisis by taking in a hanger-on who assumed entitlement to vital resources.
Squires,
Yes, that’s the one.
PDs can’t tell their responses are disordered. In their minds, they’re just fine–it’s the rest of the world that’s screwed up.
That’s not universally true. I’ve known a few people with BPD/CPTSD who have learned to recognize their disordered responses and take corrective action. It’s not many and it requires massive and intense therapy. And the last good statistic I heard on this was that only 15% of people with BPD/CPTSD ever show any improvement.
Someone over at Legal Insurrection used the acronym DARVO. Deny, Attack, Reverse Victim and Offender; a tactic the left and Islam both share
Interestingly enough, this is exactly what many Cluster B PDs do. It’s about getting responsibility the hell away from oneself by any means necessary.
a plan to disrupt Donald Trump’s inauguration by blocking bridges, obstructing traffic and sabotaging all of the Metro trains in Washington DC.
So the ‘protestors’ (vandals and rioters) have already started smashing windows.
https://twitter.com/ReutersPolitics/status/822470047167815681
So the ‘protestors’ (vandals and rioters) have already started smashing windows.
Or as Iowahawk put it, “The committee to re-elect Trump already hard at work.”
This Jane Elliott?
Sadly, yes. It’s almost like she fell for her own experiment.
I watched the brown eye/blue eye video years ago and was really struck by the power just a few hours of poor/positive treatment had on people. It’s baffling to me that they could have gotten so far off track.
It’s baffling to me that they could have gotten so far off track.
It’s what identity politics and grievance hustling tends to do. It attracts obnoxious personalities and then excuses and encourages their obnoxious urges. As I hope the post illustrates, she’s an irretrievably malign human being.
Please spare a thought for Laurie Penny at this difficult time.
Regarding the ever charming Miss Penny, as long as she and her lady bits go, that will be swell, though perhaps she can be persuaded to go some other place than back to England, no reason why just the US and UK should benefit from her presence.
The biggest cheer of all came when Trump promised to wipe out ‘Islamic’ terrorism.
The bastard, putting all those workers in ISIS bomb factories out of work.
It’s Fascism. Literally the dictionary definition.
Hmmm. The main theme of the speech was getting power out of DC and giving government back to the people as intended, so it literally isn’t. Do these cretins know any word for things they don’t like other than “fascist” ?
‘In an actual anarchy, people who behaved this way would be killed, or enslaved until they paid off the damage they did.’
https://pjmedia.com/instapundit/255091/
the last good statistic I heard on this was that only 15% of people with BPD/CPTSD ever show any improvement.
It’s good to know that there’s a glimmer of hope, but it’s certainly not enough to pin one’s hopes on if you have the misfortune of being married to one or of having one for a parent.
The PDs are always the result of terrible emotional trauma, but the PD behavior is so obnoxious any sympathy quickly evaporates.
but the PD behaviour is so obnoxious any sympathy quickly evaporates.
Whatever the cause, and given the nature of the beast, the abusive and obnoxious behaviour isn’t likely to be fixed by pity, or forgiveness, or discussion, or indulgence, however patient and high-minded. Indeed, such efforts are likely to be exploited. At some point, ideally promptly, self-defence has to kick in.
More broadly, the extent to which one can change another person or help them consider their own motives, is, I think, quite limited, even in the best possible circumstances. It’s not something I’ve been hugely successful at, at least. And the disorders we’re talking about are among the worst possible circumstances.
It’s good to know that there’s a glimmer of hope
Actually, for me that statistic was the key to moving on from my ex-wife. It meant that I could stop feeling guilty, because nothing I did was going to have made any difference.
At some point, ideally promptly, self-defence has to kick in.
It isn’t a rabid dog’s fault that it’s rabid. That doesn’t make it any less dangerous.
Here in the deranged Dominion, January 25th is “Let’s Talk About Mental Health Day”. I suspect that plain talk about BPD and the other cluster B personality disorders and their impact is not quite what Facebook is expecting.
people with BPD
When I were a lad, we called them arseholes.
Another peace-loving lefty hits a woman in the face.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S1eb9vQ1vAk