Mirror Mirror
Another contribution from Nick Carraway.
“When I got my masters in school counseling I took a few psychology classes. I know enough to be dangerous. I know all about Freud’s defense mechanisms and how many have attributed projection to the president. It makes perfect sense from a clinical standpoint, but I don’t necessarily buy it.
There is something else going on. Most people exist in shades of gray. We cut some corners here and hold fast to some rules there. So, most of us have some conception of people that behave with sinister intent and some that behave with pure intent. We therefore collect evidence and use that evidence to determine which is which.
Occasionally, you run into someone that is almost cartoonish in their level of evil or goodness. Therefore, they see the world through that prism. We’ve seen the president react that way to soldiers giving the ultimate sacrifice or others that give of themselves without expecting anything in return. It literally is a foreign concept to him.
It’s not projection. He literally cannot fathom someone doing anything on the up and up. So, anything that happens to him must be done by someone with equal malintent. That’s why the election has been stolen. That’s also why he has to sell anything that isn’t bolted down. He sells pardons. He sells favor. He sells access. Nothing can be done for its own sake. Heck, even his charity was just a piggy bank for himself.
So, when I heard about him selling pardons it just seemed so perfect. Why not? The church used to sell indulgences and you could make a half-hearted claim that the funds from those went to a good cause. Here is just more transactional greed. That’s why he connects so well with dictators. Every day I’m convinced more and more that this guy needs to go to jail.”
Nick
“The church used to sell indulgences and you could make a half-hearted claim that the funds from those went to a good cause.”
I can only hope this means there’s a Reformation of our democracy coming soon. It needs a lot of work or we’re not going to make it.
1I disagree. Trump sees all interactions as a zero sum, and projects this upon all others. He cannot understand anything from another’s viewpoint.
Any claim of wrongdoing that he applies to others is because that is what he would do. Or has done.
2At times, I think Trumpf appears to be using projection as defined in psychology, but he’s really just trying to change the subject. But other times, I truly think his name calling, such as labeling people as crooked, weak, not very smart, etc. is truly projecting his personality disorders, lack of mental capacity, poor physical prowess and the like. His insecurities.
3Because he has no capacity to show empathy, he disrespects people who sacrifice with statements like “I like soldiers that aren’t captured” or “those that died in Viet Nam were suckers.” He says those things as an excuse to justify his reactions, like people would understand or agree (in his mind). I don’t know what they call that in psychology, but he’s got it.
Let’s face it, he’s one sick man-child, and the head of the repugnantican party.
The fu king moron is a serial killer by DNA and nurture. When Donnie thought Covid-19 was a blue state disease he went all out as Ronnie Reagan did with HIV, only against all liberals instead of homosexuals. Takes 3 generations to produce a serial killer. From Grandpappy Pimp Fred, Daddy Racist Fred to Donnie.
Politically Republicons are on the same sociopath/psychopath trend. Only there are more of them. Nixon, Reagan, both Bushes, Donnie, the sniper on the roof, Moscow Mitch and their backers, Koch, Mercer, Adelson et al.
4“Every day I’m convinced more and more that this guy needs to go to jail.”
Really? Ya think so?
5Nick, have you been in the woods in the U. P. the last 4 years?
I’d be happy if he went to jail. I’d be just as happy if he were sentenced to spend the rest of his life living under a freeway overpass panhandling for pocket change from passing motorists and holding a sign that says, “God bless.”
6Ted,
That is exactly what I was just saying.
Wally,
No, I’ve been paying attention the whole time. My usual opinion is not to criminalize politics. I thought Obama was right not to go after GWB for instance (although Cheney would have been a different story). So, I’m not coming to the criminal party late, I’m coming a little later to the party of what to do about it.
7Nick, et al. It can be summed up like this: paranoid schizophrenia. Look it up. When I went looking I started with the sleep habits which I thoughtwe either a lie or maybe just an infrequent thing. Not a lie. Not infrequent. Sleep habits are about at the top of the list for a diagnosis. Now take in this thing called “iteration” and then “re-oteration”. Also, try “spiraling.” In all, just remember, paranoia translates as excessive overwhelming uncontainable fear. Schizophrenia may be translated literally as “broken brain.” And tjos mental tests the docs give? Useless. Damn near anyone, including a child can get past them. Wht matters is not what shows up in hte doc’s office for a 50 miute hour but in public display such as 46 minutes of ranting about a “stolen” election.
8I think the fundamental description of trump is con artist. I knew quite few exactly like him (and sent a couple to prison) when I was a news reporter.
Subcategory I-am-smarter-than-anybody. Trump says this often and clearly believes it, against all evidence.
This subcategory explains 2 prominent aspects of trump’s behavior: 1) his frequent actions that seem to promise to work against him (like attacking mail-in balloting or downplaying the threat of the virus); and 2) his relish for chaos, stirring things up without an apparent goal.
Because he is smarter than anybody, he can talk his way out of any situation, and he does not need to strategize; all he needs is turmoil and somehow he’ll find a way to make it work for him.
9I am sure that most of us have done armchair psychoanalysis of Trump over the last 5 years. We’ve heard (and observed) a number of possible diagnoses…but really, what it sums up to:
Trump is one delusional and mentally sick person and should have been 25th’d from office in his first 6 months.
As a friend says, he may not be intelligent, but he is cunning.
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