From: americanthinker.com, by Sam Valnin, on Mar 14, 2016, see the article HERE. Emphasis is Garnet92’s.
Damn, his hand really IS tiny and you know what they say about small hands …
Trump’s supporters and fans are frustrated.
In 1939, a team of psychologists led by John Dollard, hypothesized that frustration always leads to aggression. Legitimate grievances against a dysfunctional, corrupt, and compromised polity, a deceptive ethos, an American Dream turned nightmare, a broken system that no longer works for the overwhelming majority and appears to be unfixable lead Trump’s base to feel that they had been duped, exploited, abused, ignored, disenfranchised, and trampled upon. They are in the throes of dislocation, disorientation, and trauma. Their declining fortunes and obsolete skills render them insignificant and irrelevant, and their lives meaningless. It is hopelessness coupled with impotent helplessness.
Trump’s adulators seek to bypass the system and even to dismantle it altogether – not to reform it. This is the stuff revolutions are made of and the pronouncements of Trump’s cohorts are inadvertently copy-pasted from the texts of the French Revolution, the October Revolution (which led to Bolshevism), and even the Nazi Revolution.
Such conditions often give rise to cults, centered around a narcissistic or psychopathic leader-figurehead. In Trump’s case, the abyss between his life’s circumstances and his followers’ is unbridgeable and yet, they hope that by associating with him, however remotely, some of his glamour and magical, fairytale success will rub off on them. Voting for Trump is like winning the lottery, becoming a part of a juggernaut and of history. It is an intoxicating sensation of empowerment that Trump encourages by telling his voters that they are no longer “average;” they are now, by virtue of following him, “great” and “special,” even if only by proxy.
Trump idealizes his voters and they return the favor. In their eyes, he is the Cleanser of the Beltway’s Augean Stables. He, singlehandedly, “in 10 minutes,” will destroy the ancient regime, the old order (of which he had been a part since age 21), settle scores “Dirty Harry” style, and thus make their day. It is a nihilistic mindset. Some of his followers gleefully contemplate the suspension of the Constitution and its elaborate check and balances. Others compare him to the first Roman emperors. They wish to unburden themselves by transferring their decision-making and responsibilities onto The Chosen One.
To his acolytes — and contrary to much evidence — Trump is a “doer,” with a long list of (mostly illusory) accomplishments. He is best equipped to get things done and to prioritize. In Washington, where appearances matter far more than substance, no one is better credentialed that The Donald, they smirk. These champions of small government and Conservatism look to Trump-when-President (in other words: to the State!) to generate jobs, to insulate them from the outside world, to protect them from illegal aliens and terrorists (surely one and the same), and in general, to nanny and cosset them all the way to the bank. The world is a hostile, psychopathic place and who best to deal with it than an even more hostile, narcissistic leader like Trump? We need a big bad wolf to navigate through the jungle out there. This is a form of collective regression to toddlerhood with Trump in the role of the omnipotent, omniscient Father.
In abnormal psychology this is called “shared psychosis.” The members of the cult deploy a host of primitive (infantile) psychological defense mechanisms as they gradually dwindle into mere extensions and reflections of their skipper. Theirs is a malignant optimism, grounded not in reality, but in idealization: the tendency to interact not with Trump himself, but with an imaginary “Trump” that each fan tailors to suit his or her fears, hopes, wishes, and fervent fantasies.
Then there is denial: a pathological response, the repression of inconvenient truths about Trump and their relegation to the unconscious where they fester into something called “dissonance.” Dissonance breeds rage and violence and these oft accompany nihilistic and destructive political cults. Denial goes well with splitting: the demonization and denigration of opponents and adversaries, critics, and bystanders. If you are not 100% with us, you are 1000% against us and if you are against us, you are the enemy to be sucker-punched and carried out on a stretcher.
But by far the strongest psychological defense mechanism is fantasy. When reality becomes unbearable, fantasy, however improbable and implausible, is a welcome refuge. This is Trump’s forte: the promulgation and dissemination of fantasies customized to resonate irresistibly with the weaknesses, fears, disenchantments, and disillusionment of his hapless hoplites.
One such fantasy Trump actively encourages is that he is just acting to the crowds now. His below-the-belt obnoxiousness is just for show. In a feat of rationalization worthy of Houdini, Trump’s legions attribute his crass boorishness to “market research” and reasoned electoral calculus. Once elected, he will miraculously be transformed into a “presidential” and dignified politician who plays by the rules and is by no means buffoonish, vulgar, and offensive, they insist with a knowing wink, as though they have ever truly been in-the-know, pals with the Great Man Himself. Such intimations of arcane knowledge cater to their growing sense of self-importance. Indeed, Trump’s may well be the first postmodern narcissistic mass movement.
Such admirable thespian skills attributed to Trump (and proudly owned by him) require the inbred personality of a consummate and thoroughly psychopathic con-artist. Narcissists effect these transitions effortlessly, precisely because they only have a False Self (a confabulated grandiose image that they project) whose sole aim is to garner narcissistic supply: attention and, if possible, unmitigated adulation and admiration. Faking it is second nature to the narcissist: exaggerating, lying, pretending, shapeshifting, Zelig-like. Whatever it takes.
Another fantasy is that the narcissist will never turn against his own people. Trump will mercilessly crush the coterie of corrupt power brokers in Washington — but will never ever direct the full might of his gratuitous sadism against his followers, fans, ardent supporters, and fawning admirers. History, of course, teaches otherwise. Sooner or later, the narcissist cannibalizes his own power base and treats as enemies his most rabid lackeys and toadies.
People shrug and say: “but ain’t all politicians narcissists?” The answer is a resounding: no. Granted, it would be safe to assume that most politicians have narcissistic traits. But, as the great psychologist Theodore Millon observed, there is a world of difference between being possessed of a narcissistic style and being a full-fledged, malignant narcissist. The famous author M. Scott Peck suggested that “narcissism” may just be a modern, fancy byword for “evil.” He may have had a point. But evil should be contained, not elevated to the position of Leader of the Free World.
Sam Vaknin, Ph.D. has authored the books Malignant Self Love: Narcissism Revisited and Narcissistic and Psychopathic Leaders. His work of over twenty years on Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD) is cited in dozens of scholarly, peer-reviewed articles.
~~~~~~~~~~
I’ve spent some time trying to figure out why some reasonably intelligent conservatives have fallen under the spell of Donald Trump and I’ve failed. But fortunately, I did find someone with the credentials to ensure that he’s taken seriously, who explains the how and why of Trump’s followers and it all makes sense. Of course, they’ll deny it, they have no other choice, but the truth will come out eventually and they’ll have to deal with the disappointment and emptiness when they finally realize that they were snookered by a realty-star con-man with tiny hands and a bad comb-over.
Garnet92.
Categories: Political
Pesky Truth 
>>”Denial goes well with splitting: the demonization and denigration of opponents and adversaries, critics, and bystanders.”
Boy, does that sound familiar!
This guy is right. The country has lost its collective mind, thanks to a battle-weary citizenry tired and frustrated with the constant fight to preserve its freedom from the never-ending tyranny of the Left.
You can’t reason with Trump voters because in order to have a productive debate over a mutually agreeable path you must first agree on what the objective is, and we don’t. The objective of conservatives is to preserve liberty, uphold the Constitution and advance conservative values. The objective of the Trump-ites is to elect Donald Trump – period. Whatever argument we make about Trump’s history and behavior that bodes ill for the GOP and for a Trump presidency will only be met with avoidance and denial. We’ve fought the battle of reason for decades with liberals under the false assumption that we, as Americans, share the same goals, so we know how futile this path is. IMO the only weapon we have in this fight is the prospect of Hillary as POTUS should we refuse to be blackmailed into supporting a narcissistic, big-government con man.
LikeLike
I think that we have reason to feel vindicated. We’ve seen the “demonization and denigration of opponents and adversaries” up close and personal and we’re vindicated by the very apt descriptions by the good doctor. And forget convincing them with evidence, they excel in the repression of inconvenient truths about Trump and simply ignore anything that doesn’t fit their image of him.
I do think that you’ve hit the nail on the head when you offer the opinion that their objective is to elect Donald Trump regardless of his lack of conservative credentials or values. I think that the mob mentality has squashed any thoughts of conservatism and replaced them with the goal of electing “their guy,” which means that they all become “winners” simply via their association with him. That’s a psychological can o’ worms, for sure.
LikeLike
The mob mentality is one of the most dangerous phenomena. Coupled with democratic delusions of power, it has the potential to become a powder keg. This is the current state of Trumpdom. They have an expectation of entitlement to the nomination, though the candidate has won a majority of votes exactly once, and then only in his own, liberal home state with lousy turnout.
LikeLike
You’re right Curtis – powder key it is and Trump is encouraging an explosion when he mentions the possible ramifications of his being “cheated” out of the nomination. I think that regardless of the number of delegates that Trump brings into Cleveland, there will be a full-court press for him to be named the nominee, even if he’s a couple of hundred delegates short. Manafort made that plain when he said, “We don’t want to be in Cleveland fighting for a nomination that’s already been decided.”
LikeLike
I’ve thought a lot about these people as well, Garnet. When I meet one in person, they are certainly taken with Trump as this post states. On twitter, however, the rabid viciousness of the Trump followers is frightening. They are definitely leftists in their speech. I’ve never really read good conservatives use the F word in print on the net against me, another conservative. But they are vile.
I’ve always thought they were taken by the RT reality star playing his role just as they followed him on his TV show. I never watch TV so never saw it. Also they make me think of mobs. The kind that storm the castle with torches and sythes and sickles. You know, the peasants.
I can’t criticize much for I was once one of them.
But why can’t they come to their senses????????
LikeLike
I think that they look to their “leader” for clues and prompts as to how they should conduct themselves. He is antagonistic, belligerent, and combative, so they are as well. They’ve apparently taken on the role of his defender and being vile is part of their job description.
I’ve never seen his TV series either, but I just checked and it’s been on since 2004!
An apt description: a mob with pitchforks. I fear that they won’t “come to their senses” because to do so will require admitting that they were wrong.
LikeLiked by 1 person