Yes, it’s the same theme I’ve been running on for a while now, but it’s still true.
I’m disappointed in several people today whom I thought would understand that no, we cannot “come together” with the people who voted for Trump. I will not name names, but I will say this:
No, we cannot “respect the office” when it’s inhabited by a person with obvious Narcissistic Personality Disorder. (Goldwater Rule be damned; he has every. single. marker.)
No, we cannot give them — or him — any fodder or concessions. None. At all. That includes anything that looks like agreeing with, pacifying, or placating him or the people who voted for him.
Three pieces of evidence for this argument, below…
1. They Are Right-Wing Authoritarian Followers Who Found Their Great Leader in Trump
Back in March, ApostleOfCarlin got in touch with Dr. Robert Altemeyer about his book The Authoritarians, which explained more than thirty years of social science research completed on the people who vote for demagogues and dictators, and asked him to comment on Trump’s run for the Presidency. You can read that excellent diary (which did NOT get enough attention, recommends, or comments when it was published) here.
In his book, Altemeyer gives the three main traits of an authoritarian follower (all bolds are my highlighting, for emphasis):
1) a high degree of submission to the established, legitimate authorities in their society;
2) high levels of aggression in the name of their authorities; and
3) a high level of conventionalism.
In his response to ApostleOfCarlin, Altemeyer expanded on these ideas in the list below:
We know a lot about authoritarian followers, but unfortunately most of what we know indicates it will be almost impossible to change their minds, especially in a few months. Here are a dozen things established by research.
- They are highly ethnocentric, highly inclined to see the world as their in-group versus everyone else. Because they are so committed to their in-group, they are very zealous in its cause.
- They are highly fearful of a dangerous world. Their parents taught them, more than parents usually do, that the world is dangerous. They may also be genetically predisposed to experiencing stronger fear than most people do.
- They are highly self-righteous. They believe they are the “good people” and this unlocks a lot of hostile impulses against those they consider bad.
- They are aggressive. Given the chance to attack someone with the approval of an authority, they will lower the boom.
- They are highly prejudiced against racial and ethnic majorities, non-heterosexuals, and women in general.
- Their beliefs are a mass of contradictions. They have highly compartmentalized minds, in which opposite beliefs exist side-by-side in adjacent boxes. As a result, their thinking is full of double-standards.
- They reason poorly. If they like the conclusion of an argument, they don’t pay much attention to whether the evidence is valid or the argument is consistent.
- They are highly dogmatic. Because they have gotten their beliefs mainly from the authorities in their lives, rather than think things out for themselves, they have no real defense when facts or events indicate they are wrong. So they just dig in their heels and refuse to change.
- They are very dependent on social reinforcement of their beliefs. They think they are right because almost everyone they know, almost every news broadcast they see, almost every radio commentator they listen to, tells them they are. That is, they screen out the sources that will suggest that they are wrong.
- Because they severely limit their exposure to different people and ideas, they vastly overestimate the extent to which other people agree with them. And thinking they are “the moral majority” supports their attacks on the “evil minorities” they see in the country.
- They are easily duped by manipulators who pretend to espouse their causes when all the con-artists really want is personal gain.
- They are largely blind to themselves. They have little self-understanding and insight into why they think and do what they do.
When we look at Trump supporters, we can find every single one of these highlighted traits in their behavior, can’t we?
Seeing the world as their in-group vs. everyone else? See below for their attacks on people who aren’t exactly like them.
Highly aggressive? Sore winner syndrome, violence against women, racist attacks, more racist attacks, anti-Semitism, Islamophobic attacks, many and varied attacks against the “other”… you get the picture.
Highly prejudiced? See above about all their various prejudiced motivations for their aggressive behavior.
Beliefs are a mass of contradictions? Many of his supporters claim that they are Christians while at the same time voting for a man who admitted to sexual assault — need I say more?
Poor reasoning skills? Here’s just one example — Kentucky Trump voters honestly believed that voting for him would not lead to the loss of their healthcare under the Affordable Care Act. No, really.
Blind to themselves? Take a look at this article on Alternet about the deep and rigid fundamentalism of the rural right that keeps them from ever examining their beliefs or their motivations too closely. Money quote:
[R]ural Christian white Americans are entrenched in fundamentalist belief systems; don’t trust people outside their tribe; have been force-fed a diet of misinformation and lies for decades; are unwilling to understand their own situations; and truly believe whites are superior to all races. No amount of understanding is going to change these things or what they believe. No amount of niceties will get them to be introspective.
Be aware of these traits — both the ones Altemeyer sent over as a response to ApostleOfCarlin and the ones he listed in his book. Keep these program notes in mind.
2. Trump is a Narcissist, and Any Cooperation Will Just Encourage Him
First, look at the Mayo Clinic’s definition of Narcissistic Personality Disorder (hereinafter NPD — again, bolding for emphasis is mine):
DSM-5 criteria for narcissistic personality disorder include these features:
- Having an exaggerated sense of self-importance
- Expecting to be recognized as superior even without achievements that warrant it
- Exaggerating your achievements and talents
- Being preoccupied with fantasies about success, power, brilliance, beauty or the perfect mate
- Believing that you are superior and can only be understood by or associate with equally special people
- Requiring constant admiration
- Having a sense of entitlement
- Expecting special favors and unquestioning compliance with your expectations
- Taking advantage of others to get what you want
- Having an inability or unwillingness to recognize the needs and feelings of others
- Being envious of others and believing others envy you
- Behaving in an arrogant or haughty manner
Although some features of narcissistic personality disorder may seem like having confidence, it's not the same. Narcissistic personality disorder crosses the border of healthy confidence into thinking so highly of yourself that you put yourself on a pedestal and value yourself more than you value others.
Read that list and tell me if any of them do NOT fit Trump.
Now that we’ve dispensed with the formal, scientifically-accepted definition, this post on Imgur goes into some detail about what to do, and what NOT to do, when someone who has power over you is NPD. Again, here’s some highlights.
6) It’s very, very confusing for non-disordered people to experience a disordered person with NPD.
While often intelligent, charismatic and charming, they do not reliably observe social conventions or demonstrate basic human empathy. It’s very common for non-disordered people to lower their own expectations and try to normalize the behavior. DO NOT DO THIS AND DO NOT ALLOW OTHERS, ESPECIALLY THE MEDIA, TO DO THIS. If you start to feel foggy or unclear about this, step away until you recalibrate.
9) Gaslighting is real and torturous.
Gaslighting : where someone tries to convince you that the reality you’ve experienced isn’t true . He will gaslight, his followers will gaslight. Many of our politicians and media figures already gaslight, so it will be hard to distinguish his amplified version from what has already been normalized. Learn the signs and find ways to stay focused on what you know to be true. Note: it is typically not helpful to argue with people who are attempting to gaslight. You will only confuse yourself. Just walk away.
10) Whenever possible, do not focus on the narcissist or give him attention.
Unfortunately we can’t and shouldn’t ignore the president, but don’t circulate his tweets or laugh at him — you are enabling him and getting his word out. Pay attention to your own emotions: do you sort of enjoy his clowning? do you enjoy the outrage? is this kind of fun and dramatic, in a sick way? You are adding to his energy. Focus on what you can change and how you can resist, where you are.
3. His Followers Will Not Listen To You, and Cooperation Will Bring No Concessions
Now let’s combine the right-wing authoritarian (RWA) followers and their traits with the traits of NPD, and realize — please — how it will not only be ineffective to reach out to them, but it may cause things to get even worse, and rapidly.
First, Trump is a narcissist. He lives for attention and adulation. Meanwhile, his RWA supporters see him as the strongman they’ve been waiting for, because he routinely runs roughshod over anyone who opposes or questions him (aggression). They see him as worthy of submitting to and obeying because of the way he’s behaving, not in spite of it.
Second, his RWA supporters are more likely to believe what he says, no matter how ridiculous it is. They are prime targets for his gaslighting. They do not reason well, and they do not examine what they believe because so much of it is contradictory. They also hold dogmatic religious beliefs and an us-and-them mindset that’s set in concrete.
In his book, Altemeyer points out that we would expect RWAs
to submit to corrupt authorities in their lives: to believe them when there is little reason to do so, to trust them when huge grounds for suspicion exist, and to hold them blameless when they do something wrong […] Authoritarian followers seem to have a “Daddy and mommy know best” attitude toward the government. They do not see laws as social standards that apply to all. Instead, they appear to think that authorities are above the law, and can decide which laws apply to them and which do not--just as parents can when one is young.
Let’s see. Have Trump’s supporters done any of those things?
- Trump mocked a disabled reporter on national television.
- Trump ignored international protocol and spoke to the president of Thailand, endangering the US diplomatic and trade ties with China.
- Trump tweeted that he personally saved jobs at Carrier, Sprint, and Ford, despite none of that being true.
- Trump has now stated that he is more inclined to listen to Julian Assange than most of the US intelligence community.
- When it comes to campaign promises, Trump has backpedaled on putting Hillary Clinton in jail (for what? having an email server?), repealing Obamacare (although Congress doesn’t seem to care, as they’re moving ahead with that), “building a wall,” and “draining the swamp.”
- Trump’s supporters are fine with a “mommy state” as long as it benefits them.
His supporters are not daunted by any of this. They have ignored, defended, and normalized it every step of the way — and they are going to keep doing so. We will not be able to talk them out of it with facts. It’s not going to happen.
Conclusion: Stop Trying To Win Them Over, And Get Ready To Fight
One last quote from Altemeyer’s book:
When I say authoritarian followers are aggressive I don’t mean they stride into bars and start fights. First of all, high RWAs go to church enormously more often than they go to bars. Secondly, they usually avoid anything approaching a fair fight. Instead they aggress when they believe right and might are on their side. “Right” for them means, more than anything else, that their hostility is (in their minds) endorsed by established authority, or supports such authority. “Might” means they have a huge physical advantage over their target, in weaponry say, or in numbers, as in a lynch mob. It’s striking how often authoritarian aggression happens in dark and cowardly ways, in the dark, by cowards who later will do everything they possibly can to avoid responsibility for what they did. Women, children, and others unable to defend themselves are typical victims. Even more striking, the attackers typically feel morally superior to the people they are assaulting in an unfair fight.
We cannot win them over. Every time we try it wastes resources we need to find and motivate people who will vote for progressives and liberals. Yes, they were once part of the Democratic party, but they are not any more. They are not going to “come to their senses” and blame the Republicans or Trump for their condition. That will never happen. They feel that they are justified in their racism, sexism, homophobia, and all the other prejudices that, to them, are “right.” Their Great Leader has endorsed it. They are not going to back down.
So folks, it’s time to fight, and yes, time to fight dirty if necessary — because they don’t fight any other way. They do not understand our language and never will. They don’t do compromise. They think we’re a bunch of weak-willed, “beta,” milquetoast “pussies,” and our attempts at outreach will not change their views. Quite to the contrary — they will affirm those views.
The sooner we all get that where it hurts, the sooner we can start trying to win over the people who sat out the election, did not register to vote, or voted third-party.
The kicker is, once we’re back in power the RWAs will get what they wanted, but they’ll still hate it. Why? Because they have never examined themselves and they do not understand what they really need. And don’t tell me that I’m being patronizing here. They have no self-knowledge, so they’re going to grab at whatever might look good in that moment.
Stop enabling them. Stop defending them. Stop coddling them.
Any concession is an automatic loss. Any leeway is an automatic failure.
We cannot win back the white working-class voter who supported Trump. Stop planning on it. Stop devoting resources to it. Work on GOTV with the people who didn’t vote and voter registration.
But please — let’s stop kidding ourselves.
