I swear everyone was absent the day they went over narcissism in college; I've been saying this since 2003.
Somewhere along the way the psychological establishment (use whatever alphabet designations or group markers you wish) decided to stop teaching things like narcissism; it's far more useful to teach kids they are steeped in TRAUMA. And repeat (and traumatize) constantly.
Narcissism and trauma doctrine, even to a layman, explain so much of people's mass hysteria these days.
Of course, narcissism/marketing goes all the way back to Ed Bernays, and there's another one I wish people would read/ must've-been-absent-that-day...
Have you ever seen the work of Adam Curtis, perchance, while we're here? (Century of the Self, it Felt Like a Kiss, the Mayfair Set, etc.)
Great piece, and spot-on and very important to get across. Thank you.
The universities teach kids to embrace the narcissism. They teach them to hate, but they call it justice. They teach them bigotry, but call it wokeness. They teach them to censor, but call it freedom. And they teach them not to question, but instead to repeat, and then inform them that they are the smart ones in society.
Me, too - underneath my anger and other emotions is this depressing realization that so many are so gleefully WRONG. They are in contempt of their own stated values and reasoning and are just reactionary jackboots, without even the (dubious) courage to go and do violence themselves.
The left has been such a monstrous caretaker of everywhere it has been given, and it gets more monstrous by the hour. And yet...! Without missing a beat, without a moment's self-reflection, "the best and brightest" all did EXACTLY what everyone predicted they would, the second they met a scrap of Gaza propaganda that comports with their narcissism.
The left need to be stopped, removed, and the earth salted beneath their feet.
Good post, Peter. I just had a conversation with my college freshman granddaughter about this. She's seeing all the sloganeering and spewing of almost directionless hatred with utter bewilderment. One of her grad student assistants cornered her and tried to get her to join a demonstration. When she demurred, he accused her of being a jew-lover and told her to be "part of the protest or part of the problem." This is college today...
Like many it seems, I thought that the amount of anti-semitism in America at least was over blown, just a few fringe hate filled hold overs. Not so much. Frankly, I'm appalled at not only the numbers but the virulence. I have seen pure hate and it's affects around the globe, but some how I had clung to the idea that in America we were better than that. It is a very sad realization.
Oct 31, 2023·edited Oct 31, 2023Liked by Peter Venetoklis
Funny how leftists are always up in arms about "racism," "homophobia," "transphobia," "Islamophobia," and "white supremacy," though actual stories about such have to be manufactured, because the demand far outweighs the supply. Yet, bring up "anti-semitism" and you get told that's just a dog whistle used to protect Zionists. The hatred and cognitive dissonance are more than palpable.
"The term is meant to challenge the purportedly grave injustice of white Europeans expanding into the Western Hemisphere, into Africa, and into wherever else the in-crowd wants to get cranky about."
This sentence made me lol! Spot on for the whole piece too!
I save your columns in the hope that at some point my 47 yo daughter will read them. Her beliefs are formed by mantras and Facebook memes. They are fact free.
Great post. I think someone who's sole source of news and information is Facebook friends posts has no awareness of bias. My daughter is in that category. Her unwillingness to watch or read actual news is astounding. She lives in a fairytale world in her head. It is very sad for me.
It's all confirmation bias. People are very prone to forming quick opinions and then validating them via "motivated reasoning" and cherry picking their references. With the internet, that became much easier, and with social media, the reinforcement became much stronger.
All we can do is plant seeds, and then walk away in the hope that they germinate in a month or six or a year or two. Sometimes they do.
It's aout narcissism.
I swear everyone was absent the day they went over narcissism in college; I've been saying this since 2003.
Somewhere along the way the psychological establishment (use whatever alphabet designations or group markers you wish) decided to stop teaching things like narcissism; it's far more useful to teach kids they are steeped in TRAUMA. And repeat (and traumatize) constantly.
Narcissism and trauma doctrine, even to a layman, explain so much of people's mass hysteria these days.
Of course, narcissism/marketing goes all the way back to Ed Bernays, and there's another one I wish people would read/ must've-been-absent-that-day...
Have you ever seen the work of Adam Curtis, perchance, while we're here? (Century of the Self, it Felt Like a Kiss, the Mayfair Set, etc.)
Great piece, and spot-on and very important to get across. Thank you.
I do not know Adam Curtis, but will look.
The universities teach kids to embrace the narcissism. They teach them to hate, but they call it justice. They teach them bigotry, but call it wokeness. They teach them to censor, but call it freedom. And they teach them not to question, but instead to repeat, and then inform them that they are the smart ones in society.
Exactly. It's pointedly Orwellian. They're proud of themselves.
"It truly makes me despair for the future."
Me, too - underneath my anger and other emotions is this depressing realization that so many are so gleefully WRONG. They are in contempt of their own stated values and reasoning and are just reactionary jackboots, without even the (dubious) courage to go and do violence themselves.
The left has been such a monstrous caretaker of everywhere it has been given, and it gets more monstrous by the hour. And yet...! Without missing a beat, without a moment's self-reflection, "the best and brightest" all did EXACTLY what everyone predicted they would, the second they met a scrap of Gaza propaganda that comports with their narcissism.
The left need to be stopped, removed, and the earth salted beneath their feet.
All along, we've been told time and again that bigotry is the exclusive province of the Right. Classic deflection and total lack of self-awareness.
I don't believe it is a lack of self awareness.
For some it is. Lot of shallow thinkers out there. There are those, on the other hand, who know exactly what they are doing.
Good post, Peter. I just had a conversation with my college freshman granddaughter about this. She's seeing all the sloganeering and spewing of almost directionless hatred with utter bewilderment. One of her grad student assistants cornered her and tried to get her to join a demonstration. When she demurred, he accused her of being a jew-lover and told her to be "part of the protest or part of the problem." This is college today...
"jew-lover." There's the telltale. Watch for tomorrow's post.
Jew-lover ... wow. In America, in this day and age. They are coming out of the woodwork aren't they?
Like many it seems, I thought that the amount of anti-semitism in America at least was over blown, just a few fringe hate filled hold overs. Not so much. Frankly, I'm appalled at not only the numbers but the virulence. I have seen pure hate and it's affects around the globe, but some how I had clung to the idea that in America we were better than that. It is a very sad realization.
America *is* better than that. This hatred is concentrated in a select number of places. They happen to be prominent ones.
Funny how leftists are always up in arms about "racism," "homophobia," "transphobia," "Islamophobia," and "white supremacy," though actual stories about such have to be manufactured, because the demand far outweighs the supply. Yet, bring up "anti-semitism" and you get told that's just a dog whistle used to protect Zionists. The hatred and cognitive dissonance are more than palpable.
Indeed. They're pretzeling themselves to justify their naked bigotry.
Olympic-level mental gymnastics.
"The term is meant to challenge the purportedly grave injustice of white Europeans expanding into the Western Hemisphere, into Africa, and into wherever else the in-crowd wants to get cranky about."
This sentence made me lol! Spot on for the whole piece too!
I save your columns in the hope that at some point my 47 yo daughter will read them. Her beliefs are formed by mantras and Facebook memes. They are fact free.
I haven't imported it to Substack yet, but you might get a kick out of this old post.
https://www.therootsofliberty.com/meme-orializing-opinions/
Great post. I think someone who's sole source of news and information is Facebook friends posts has no awareness of bias. My daughter is in that category. Her unwillingness to watch or read actual news is astounding. She lives in a fairytale world in her head. It is very sad for me.
It's all confirmation bias. People are very prone to forming quick opinions and then validating them via "motivated reasoning" and cherry picking their references. With the internet, that became much easier, and with social media, the reinforcement became much stronger.
All we can do is plant seeds, and then walk away in the hope that they germinate in a month or six or a year or two. Sometimes they do.