It's not a mystery at all how these " 'Christian conservative' in public, super kinky in private" Republicans look at themselves in the mirror and sleep (with various companions of various sexual persuasions) at night. They are all amoral, cynical, sociopathic opportunists.
It's not a mystery at all how these " 'Christian conservative' in public, super kinky in private" Republicans look at themselves in the mirror and sleep (with various companions of various sexual persuasions) at night. They are all amoral, cynical, sociopathic opportunists.
I also think they make no association whatsoever between their own lifestyle and behavior in their private lives, and what they stoutly trumpet, and attempt to impose on others, in public. I think they view their public political stances and 'moral' outrage as just that: stances that are purely marketing, designed to manipulate the voting/buying public to give them more power, influence, and opportunities to grift by choosing their political 'product'--themselves or their party or their doctrine--as opposed to that of other, competing political actors. In other words, for Republicans, not only is money speech, but all political exchanges are nothing but 'free' market economic transactions, in which they feel free to say and do whatever, to gain advantage for themselves in the political marketplace.
Democrats, at least the Democratic party, still see politics as a sincere and moral endeavor. They appear not to have tumbled yet to the fact that these days, *all* Republicans have completely detached from any notion that getting elected to any office and creating a governing majority in Congress or any state or town has anything whatsoever to do with public service, or morality, or truth. Donald Trump has spent his campaign, his four years desecrating the office, and every second since relentlessly disconnecting the Republican party from service, morality, and truth. That is his greatest crime, even greater than his attempt to overthrow the 2020 election and fraudulently remain in office.
And I think Republicans are probably either confused or outraged to be called hypocrites for the contrast between their private behavior and their public pronouncements. They have thoroughly internalized their own bullshit rationalization that "everybody's doing it." They actually believe that's true. So when Trump bloviates at a rally about "the corrupt Biden crime family"--a slur that doesn't fit the Bidens but exactly describes The Donald and his own clan--one of the things he's doing is acting like a highly dysfunctional "parent" publicly modeling for his "children", "Hey kids, watch how Daddy deals with his massive sucking insecurity wound and his inadmissable knowledge that he is a lying, grifting, heartless cheater and a loser! Watch Daddy take all his ugly feelings, dump them all on the nearest scapegoat, and emerge feeling powerful and blameless! Watch me and do like I do."
What would psychiatrists call it when a malignant narcissist feeds his own insecurity by recruiting a huge group of admiring and similarly emotionally damaged followers, and proselytizing his own twisted methods for turning sucking insecurity into triumph so effectively that the insanity of one man becomes a mass psychosis? I think we have to recognize that in his deeply twisted way, Donald Trump is a hugely effective teacher. He teaches his followers his personal methods for pushing all feelings of their own loser-hood onto demonized scapegoats. He makes them feel like awesome, morally righteous winners, justified in vanquishing his/their opponents, who are "vermin" only because they have been made to carry the projected sins and shortcomings Trump and his supporters cannot bear to acknowledge in themselves. He has turned them all into addicts of the drug of projection. His supporters stay on the drug because without a steady supply, the self-awareness of withdrawal is too painfully ugly. This is how a maniacal totalitarian leader is capable of taking over a country--unless a critical mass of people see through his Svengali bullshit and organize nationwide to call him to account for his crimes, and to disconnect the totalitarian from political power by legitimately electing his opponent and making it stick. We succeeded in doing that in 2020. We have to do it again in 2024.
the closest thing to what you're talking about is no longer officially used by psychiatrists, but from psychoanalytic theory, especially of the Kleinian School (Melanie Klein was the dominant presence in British psychoanalysis). the term is "projective identification."
now it MIGHT be the case that projective identification specifically occurs in the context of a dyadic relationship, but I'm not sure why that would have to be the case.
fuck it, let's call it "projective identification" so we can feel a little smarter for five minutes.
...it gets even better (in terms of explaining the phenomena you're describing): in Projective Identification, the person (or group) getting projected upon experience the projecting person's complicated mixture of rage, love, need, fear, rejection et al and actually INTERNALIZE the projections. so, on some level, they actually become--to a degree--what the projecting person needs them to be.
I can imagine that works in couples, families, and small groups. I resist the idea that I, as a Democrat, have internalized any of the steaming load of crap that Dumpster has tried to project onto Democrats.
but if I decided to launch the famous ad hominem bullshit trope favored by psychoanalysts forever, I might argue that it's an Unconscious Process so of course etc. etc.. trouble is, the "unconscious" thing is all they got, and it gets tired.
no, I really don't think so either. what I DO feel much too much is BELEAGURED. and that's HERE.
Ah, innocent as in not making the connection. I don't think they think there is any connection to be made. I honestly think they view their public statements and positions to have a purely marketing function, completely disconnected from reality, truth, morality, or integrity. The older ones are choosing that disconnection consciously. I bet some of the younger ones are too young to realize they should ever have been connected in the first place. I'd be fascinated to see them squirm and stutter or bloviate and distract, if some press person collared a series of them at a Repub gathering, and asked them to define the words "integrity" and "shame".
It's not a mystery at all how these " 'Christian conservative' in public, super kinky in private" Republicans look at themselves in the mirror and sleep (with various companions of various sexual persuasions) at night. They are all amoral, cynical, sociopathic opportunists.
I also think they make no association whatsoever between their own lifestyle and behavior in their private lives, and what they stoutly trumpet, and attempt to impose on others, in public. I think they view their public political stances and 'moral' outrage as just that: stances that are purely marketing, designed to manipulate the voting/buying public to give them more power, influence, and opportunities to grift by choosing their political 'product'--themselves or their party or their doctrine--as opposed to that of other, competing political actors. In other words, for Republicans, not only is money speech, but all political exchanges are nothing but 'free' market economic transactions, in which they feel free to say and do whatever, to gain advantage for themselves in the political marketplace.
Democrats, at least the Democratic party, still see politics as a sincere and moral endeavor. They appear not to have tumbled yet to the fact that these days, *all* Republicans have completely detached from any notion that getting elected to any office and creating a governing majority in Congress or any state or town has anything whatsoever to do with public service, or morality, or truth. Donald Trump has spent his campaign, his four years desecrating the office, and every second since relentlessly disconnecting the Republican party from service, morality, and truth. That is his greatest crime, even greater than his attempt to overthrow the 2020 election and fraudulently remain in office.
Yes to all.
And I think Republicans are probably either confused or outraged to be called hypocrites for the contrast between their private behavior and their public pronouncements. They have thoroughly internalized their own bullshit rationalization that "everybody's doing it." They actually believe that's true. So when Trump bloviates at a rally about "the corrupt Biden crime family"--a slur that doesn't fit the Bidens but exactly describes The Donald and his own clan--one of the things he's doing is acting like a highly dysfunctional "parent" publicly modeling for his "children", "Hey kids, watch how Daddy deals with his massive sucking insecurity wound and his inadmissable knowledge that he is a lying, grifting, heartless cheater and a loser! Watch Daddy take all his ugly feelings, dump them all on the nearest scapegoat, and emerge feeling powerful and blameless! Watch me and do like I do."
What would psychiatrists call it when a malignant narcissist feeds his own insecurity by recruiting a huge group of admiring and similarly emotionally damaged followers, and proselytizing his own twisted methods for turning sucking insecurity into triumph so effectively that the insanity of one man becomes a mass psychosis? I think we have to recognize that in his deeply twisted way, Donald Trump is a hugely effective teacher. He teaches his followers his personal methods for pushing all feelings of their own loser-hood onto demonized scapegoats. He makes them feel like awesome, morally righteous winners, justified in vanquishing his/their opponents, who are "vermin" only because they have been made to carry the projected sins and shortcomings Trump and his supporters cannot bear to acknowledge in themselves. He has turned them all into addicts of the drug of projection. His supporters stay on the drug because without a steady supply, the self-awareness of withdrawal is too painfully ugly. This is how a maniacal totalitarian leader is capable of taking over a country--unless a critical mass of people see through his Svengali bullshit and organize nationwide to call him to account for his crimes, and to disconnect the totalitarian from political power by legitimately electing his opponent and making it stick. We succeeded in doing that in 2020. We have to do it again in 2024.
the closest thing to what you're talking about is no longer officially used by psychiatrists, but from psychoanalytic theory, especially of the Kleinian School (Melanie Klein was the dominant presence in British psychoanalysis). the term is "projective identification."
now it MIGHT be the case that projective identification specifically occurs in the context of a dyadic relationship, but I'm not sure why that would have to be the case.
fuck it, let's call it "projective identification" so we can feel a little smarter for five minutes.
we deserve it!
:D
...it gets even better (in terms of explaining the phenomena you're describing): in Projective Identification, the person (or group) getting projected upon experience the projecting person's complicated mixture of rage, love, need, fear, rejection et al and actually INTERNALIZE the projections. so, on some level, they actually become--to a degree--what the projecting person needs them to be.
ain't it cool?
I can imagine that works in couples, families, and small groups. I resist the idea that I, as a Democrat, have internalized any of the steaming load of crap that Dumpster has tried to project onto Democrats.
oh god...so do I.
but if I decided to launch the famous ad hominem bullshit trope favored by psychoanalysts forever, I might argue that it's an Unconscious Process so of course etc. etc.. trouble is, the "unconscious" thing is all they got, and it gets tired.
no, I really don't think so either. what I DO feel much too much is BELEAGURED. and that's HERE.
I'm not sure I can agree they're ALL that innocent. a few might be so unconscious they don't even SEE the obvious contradictions.
but christ, they sure can COMPARTMENTALIZE.
I certainly didn't intend to imply that any of them are innocent.
I meant innocent about the fact that their behavior contradicts their expressed "values."
Ah, innocent as in not making the connection. I don't think they think there is any connection to be made. I honestly think they view their public statements and positions to have a purely marketing function, completely disconnected from reality, truth, morality, or integrity. The older ones are choosing that disconnection consciously. I bet some of the younger ones are too young to realize they should ever have been connected in the first place. I'd be fascinated to see them squirm and stutter or bloviate and distract, if some press person collared a series of them at a Repub gathering, and asked them to define the words "integrity" and "shame".
I'd like to see all of that. and then some.
that is certainly true.