CommentsCORRUPTION WATCH-All three of these men have a grandiose sense of entitlement. Whatever they say or do is, by definition, correct. All three appear to suffer from a Narcissistic Personality Disorder as opposed to momentary lapses in judgment.
Society has developed a standardized method to describe behaviors in the DSM (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders). It is an on-going work and we are presently using the DSM-5. One should not consider the DSM to be some type of ultimate truth. Rather, it is a gigantic undertaking by thousands of people to classify human behaviors. When scientific knowledge has greatly advanced decades from now, the DSM may appear quaint, similar to medicine’s “Four Humors.” But presently, it provides a standardized nomenclature for unwanted behavior. Moonves, Weinstein and Trump appear to fall under the general heading of Personality Disorders.
Personality Disorders are characterized by inflexible and pervasive ways of behaving across a person’s interactions, conduct that deviates from accepted norms. In order to diagnose a personality disorder, certain features have to be present.
Certain personality disorders can be diagnosed from a distance. The Narcissistic Personality Disorder and the Histrionic Personality Disorder are the main ones in which a person’s publicly displayed actions can reveal diagnostic features without the need for interviews or testing. (The DSM has no such category as toxic narcissism.)
Psychopaths, formerly called Sociopaths, and currently classified as AntiSocial Personality Disorder, are not as readily diagnosed from a distance as much of their pathology involves an ability to deceive others. Histrionics and Narcissists, however, see no reason to disguise their behaviors since they believe that anything they say or do is per se correct.
Trump is First a Histrionic and Second, a Narcissist
Because this article focuses on Narcissistic PD, we’ll set aside Trump’s Histrionic PD even though it is the more dangerous of his two disorders.
While the diagnostic criteria for the Narcissist [DSM-5 301-81] are shifting, Narcissists generally have a grandiose sense of entitlement, greatly exaggerate their own accomplishments, and have narcissistic rages when thwarted. Narcissistic rages predate the DSM and are not limited to Narcissists. Nonetheless, Narcissists are prone to rage attacks against people whom they see as a threat. Daily, Trump treats us to his Tweeter rages.
Blacklisting as a Narcissistic Rage
All three of the above-mentioned men blacklist people who offend them. The #MeToo Movement has provided us some of the best examples how men with weak egos fly into Narcissistic Rages when women reject their advances. Blacklisting is a favorite way for movie executives and judges to punish anyone who does not kowtow to their grandiose sense of self-importance. That is why Ronan Farrow’s New Yorker articles on Weinstein and Moonves extensively discuss the blacklisting which followed rejection. Since a Narcissistic Personality Disorder is pervasive, Farrow will find other people in non-sexual situations who were treated similarly if they offended Weinstein’s or Moonves’ grandiosity.
Blacklisting Requires Accomplices
The Narcissistic Queen of Hearts in Alice Through the Looking Glass shouted, “Off with her head,” but no one did anything. In contrast, when Weinstein or Moonves blacklisted someone, almost everyone bowed in submission. While society likes to point fingers and blame the evildoer, it does not like sharing the blame. Dare we say that those who did not hire the shunned actresses “colluded” with the blacklisters?
Blacklisting works because people cooperate. If Moonves had tried to rape a 3-year old in public, he would have been stopped. When he blacklisted an actress in private, people acquiesced. That tells us that our society empowers predators. As Matt Damon said more than a year ago – within five minutes, one knew that Weinstein was an asshole.
Bill Cosby, Les Moonves, Harvey Weinstein, His Orangeness, and a host of other predators taunt their victims by saying, “no one will believe you, and if they believe you, no one will do anything.” The predators in business, in government, in the courts, in churches and in everyday life are correct. Well, maybe that statement should be partly in the past tense. The Church stands exposed and #MeToo exists! Weinstein and Crosby face criminal charges. Moonves may escape criminal charges due to the expiration of statute of limitations, but Dr. Larry Nassar is in prison.
We are at the Beginning of the Beginning
Society does not want to look down the long road ahead to see where the exposure of sexual abusers will lead. Predatory abuse of all types is ingrained in our society. Ironically, we are taking action against a few of the miscreants because attacking them titillates our own vengeful predatory nature.
Narcissism is a personality pattern which is successful in our society. We are not willing to make Narcissists persona non grata. The judiciary is jammed with vicious predators who hide behind secrecy, like priests in the 1950s, and many others who blacklist anyone who objects to their outrageous conduct. Liberals covered for Antonin Scalia as if he were a constitutional scholar. Co-dependents in the realm of abusive behavior have filled our lives with predatory authority figures.
Recently, we see Rep Chris Collins (R-NY) arrested for insider trading.
Why did he do it? A grandiose sense of self-entitlement that he’s above the law? That’s the same attitude Trump, Weinstein, Moonves and a legion of judges exhibit each day. Harmful to society as they are, predators operate within a context endorsed by society; we have slipped into corruptionism where predatory narcissists have run amuck for decades. Hopefully, Collins’ arrest is a step back from Obama’s Too Important to Prosecute Doctrine.
We Need to Reform Ourselves
First, we should stop pretending that our own group is pure, and the other group is villainous. In 458 BCE, the Greek playwright Aeschylus warned, "Live by the sword, die by the sword.” Either America returns to the dignity of every individual’s inalienable rights or we allow the strong to trample the weak.
(Richard Lee Abrams is a Los Angeles attorney and a CityWatch contributor. He can be reached at: [email protected]. Abrams’ views are his own and do not necessarily reflect the views of CityWatch.) Edited for CityWatch by Linda Abrams.
