Silhouette
Gold Member
- Jul 15, 2013
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To understand why people blindly support a cult icon, you need to understand the dynamics of the leader and the followers. They are two symbionts, mutual parasites that fortify the cult's cohesion. Think of it like those types of glues you get in the hardware store or that fiberglass resin. They come in two components which, apart, are useless. But when you combine them, they make a substance that cures rock solid and is nearly unbreakable. The charismatic or strong leader, & the followers.
On the one hand a cult leader is almost always a narcissist. A self-centered being who thrives on attention like a starving dog thrives on a roast. Over time, narcissists acquire a great deal of wile and talent learning how to find their food and keep it around. By the time they're in their 30s or 40s, they've got those skills down to a fine art. Their attraction is really quite simple and boils down to this: They spend so little time worrying about others, focused solely on themselves and their greatness, that even by advanced age of say, 70, they seem to exude the energy of a 30 something year old in their prime. Being constantly focused on their public appearance, their usually flawless grooming helps to enhance this image. People become impressed by their physical presence alone. (The rest of humanity at age 70, having actually cared or worried about others, looks as they should: bedraggled, bent, haggard. And certainly not capable of presenting a robust public image day after day after day.)
Narcissists almost always seek out positions of leadership. And, yes, Congress has its fair share. So do governorships and counties and townships; all the way down to just PTA groups and other non-profits. They seem to gravitate towards jobs where there is little review or accountability. Which is why if you have a non-profit group, look in the leadership. You will almost always have an NPD person in the highest ranks..or stepping on necks to get there soon. Political leadership especially lends itself nicely to the aspiring narcissist. After all, these positions are ones of power and influence over others, by their very definition.
Ways you can instantly recognize someone who has narcissistic personality disorder (NPD) are these: They:
1. Always present themselves as larger than life, "impressive" "great" "talented" or "accomplished". To this they always have a dialogue in their back pocket at the ready. Think about every cult leader you've ever known, from Hitler to Jim Jones, Warren Jeffs and so on. They always pitch that if you glom around them, you might just have a chance of a share of that pie. (You never will, but every good fisherman has a great lure with sharp hooks).
2. They seek out and particularly prey upon "food" that is down and out, scattered, flustered, worried or just uncertain about their life or situation. How easy to do today in our political climate. It was the same in Germany in the 1930s. That country had just undergone a deep recession as a result of WWI and the countrymen and women were starving in the streets literally. Rail thin, turning to prostitution just to eat. The perfect ripe fruit for the narcissist/cult leader to begin to insert messages of utopian bliss if only the people would follow his obvious greatness.
3. Once they've gathered a significant following where they feel they have a tide in their favor, or, more like a large team of horses in hand... they begin what I like to call the "discipline by example". (Part I) They'll select a person in the throngs who isn't quite worshiping their greatness like they should. First what they do to this person is what I call the "pre-emptive strike". They will go about the crowd seemingly "concerned" about this target. They will spread gossip about them using trickery. They will say something like "I'm concerned about "Jane", I think she's having a breakdown. I think we should pray for her. I even heard she has a dozen dead puppies in her freezer; but that's probably just a rumor". (See how clever they are?) At once, they look reasonable, even concerned, gaining the trust of those listening. At the same time, they completely undercut and destroy the reputation of their target. Once they sniff the wind and sense that's 3/4s of the way done in the ranks of their followers, they will POUNCE on that target person in a very public venue, and rip them to shreds unabashedly.
4. At first you'd think #3 is the worst evil they could do...no.. That was just one part of the glue mixture I mentioned in the opening. (Part II) The real gain for the hungry narcissist is that the public nature of the final outrageous attack, the completely overt evisceration of the target person is the catalyst to seal the glue. People looking on in horror would normally say "hey, that's way over the top!, back off!" but they fear to do that because after all, they think that maybe, just maybe Jane does have a dozen dead puppies in her freezer and siding with someone like Jane would be crazy. (After all, three other people in the crowd swore this was probably so) And nobody wants to look crazy. Plus, when everyone is thinking the same thing in the crowd (because the narcissist carefully insured ahead of time that this is so), they most certainly don't want to feel left out of the way everyone else seems to be thinking...
Which brings me to the next element in the bond of a cult: the followers.
Followers are by their very nature, followers. They are too busy, to hassled, too under-powered in some way to really start their own group or way of thinking. Looking back in their lives if they were honest, they'd admit they always looked outward for direction, hoping someone would present the lead and "show them the way". If they're not that, they're really into belonging to a group. They enjoy the feeling a group gives them in the form of propped up energy. This becomes vital for them. For them it is like their 'food' and they starve for it like a thin dog. They'll do anything to belong; especially if they feel afraid and really need the protection of a group to prop them up. Like, say, in a recession where they're not sure if they or their spouse will have a job from year to year. Times like that.
Once a narcissist finds the perfect field to plant his seeds, like the one I've just described, it's a matter of pure bliss for him or her. When they are busy forming up this "food" for endless adoration of themselves, you can almost see them drooling or smacking their lips. It's a certain Cheshire cat smile they get. Once they have gathered the significant crowd, the devoted followers, then do a few "discipline by examples" it really sets the glue. Once that is accomplished, they need only put the thing on autopilot. They only need to regularly insert another real or insinuated "discipline by example" at intervals to keep the motor humming. From there, the crowd will reinforce the discipline on each other, being sure they all stay within the leader's whim, lest they suffer the obvious pain of being "cast out" (publicly and horribly). Hitler, for example, having reached unlimited power slowly, in exactly this way, starting out much less forceful, used to eventually murder people in front of witnesses publicly, even for the slightest infractions of obeying him. Talk about reinforcing the group's devotion to you! That guy had no peers. But there are other ones below that level of expertise that are all around you; even to this day.
Donald Trump: Age 70
For further reading: A college roommate of Donald J Trump Jr tells a disturbing story about Donald Trump Sr
On the one hand a cult leader is almost always a narcissist. A self-centered being who thrives on attention like a starving dog thrives on a roast. Over time, narcissists acquire a great deal of wile and talent learning how to find their food and keep it around. By the time they're in their 30s or 40s, they've got those skills down to a fine art. Their attraction is really quite simple and boils down to this: They spend so little time worrying about others, focused solely on themselves and their greatness, that even by advanced age of say, 70, they seem to exude the energy of a 30 something year old in their prime. Being constantly focused on their public appearance, their usually flawless grooming helps to enhance this image. People become impressed by their physical presence alone. (The rest of humanity at age 70, having actually cared or worried about others, looks as they should: bedraggled, bent, haggard. And certainly not capable of presenting a robust public image day after day after day.)
Narcissists almost always seek out positions of leadership. And, yes, Congress has its fair share. So do governorships and counties and townships; all the way down to just PTA groups and other non-profits. They seem to gravitate towards jobs where there is little review or accountability. Which is why if you have a non-profit group, look in the leadership. You will almost always have an NPD person in the highest ranks..or stepping on necks to get there soon. Political leadership especially lends itself nicely to the aspiring narcissist. After all, these positions are ones of power and influence over others, by their very definition.
Ways you can instantly recognize someone who has narcissistic personality disorder (NPD) are these: They:
1. Always present themselves as larger than life, "impressive" "great" "talented" or "accomplished". To this they always have a dialogue in their back pocket at the ready. Think about every cult leader you've ever known, from Hitler to Jim Jones, Warren Jeffs and so on. They always pitch that if you glom around them, you might just have a chance of a share of that pie. (You never will, but every good fisherman has a great lure with sharp hooks).
2. They seek out and particularly prey upon "food" that is down and out, scattered, flustered, worried or just uncertain about their life or situation. How easy to do today in our political climate. It was the same in Germany in the 1930s. That country had just undergone a deep recession as a result of WWI and the countrymen and women were starving in the streets literally. Rail thin, turning to prostitution just to eat. The perfect ripe fruit for the narcissist/cult leader to begin to insert messages of utopian bliss if only the people would follow his obvious greatness.
3. Once they've gathered a significant following where they feel they have a tide in their favor, or, more like a large team of horses in hand... they begin what I like to call the "discipline by example". (Part I) They'll select a person in the throngs who isn't quite worshiping their greatness like they should. First what they do to this person is what I call the "pre-emptive strike". They will go about the crowd seemingly "concerned" about this target. They will spread gossip about them using trickery. They will say something like "I'm concerned about "Jane", I think she's having a breakdown. I think we should pray for her. I even heard she has a dozen dead puppies in her freezer; but that's probably just a rumor". (See how clever they are?) At once, they look reasonable, even concerned, gaining the trust of those listening. At the same time, they completely undercut and destroy the reputation of their target. Once they sniff the wind and sense that's 3/4s of the way done in the ranks of their followers, they will POUNCE on that target person in a very public venue, and rip them to shreds unabashedly.
4. At first you'd think #3 is the worst evil they could do...no.. That was just one part of the glue mixture I mentioned in the opening. (Part II) The real gain for the hungry narcissist is that the public nature of the final outrageous attack, the completely overt evisceration of the target person is the catalyst to seal the glue. People looking on in horror would normally say "hey, that's way over the top!, back off!" but they fear to do that because after all, they think that maybe, just maybe Jane does have a dozen dead puppies in her freezer and siding with someone like Jane would be crazy. (After all, three other people in the crowd swore this was probably so) And nobody wants to look crazy. Plus, when everyone is thinking the same thing in the crowd (because the narcissist carefully insured ahead of time that this is so), they most certainly don't want to feel left out of the way everyone else seems to be thinking...
Which brings me to the next element in the bond of a cult: the followers.
Followers are by their very nature, followers. They are too busy, to hassled, too under-powered in some way to really start their own group or way of thinking. Looking back in their lives if they were honest, they'd admit they always looked outward for direction, hoping someone would present the lead and "show them the way". If they're not that, they're really into belonging to a group. They enjoy the feeling a group gives them in the form of propped up energy. This becomes vital for them. For them it is like their 'food' and they starve for it like a thin dog. They'll do anything to belong; especially if they feel afraid and really need the protection of a group to prop them up. Like, say, in a recession where they're not sure if they or their spouse will have a job from year to year. Times like that.
Once a narcissist finds the perfect field to plant his seeds, like the one I've just described, it's a matter of pure bliss for him or her. When they are busy forming up this "food" for endless adoration of themselves, you can almost see them drooling or smacking their lips. It's a certain Cheshire cat smile they get. Once they have gathered the significant crowd, the devoted followers, then do a few "discipline by examples" it really sets the glue. Once that is accomplished, they need only put the thing on autopilot. They only need to regularly insert another real or insinuated "discipline by example" at intervals to keep the motor humming. From there, the crowd will reinforce the discipline on each other, being sure they all stay within the leader's whim, lest they suffer the obvious pain of being "cast out" (publicly and horribly). Hitler, for example, having reached unlimited power slowly, in exactly this way, starting out much less forceful, used to eventually murder people in front of witnesses publicly, even for the slightest infractions of obeying him. Talk about reinforcing the group's devotion to you! That guy had no peers. But there are other ones below that level of expertise that are all around you; even to this day.
Donald Trump: Age 70
For further reading: A college roommate of Donald J Trump Jr tells a disturbing story about Donald Trump Sr
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