It is commonly acknowledged that next to the definition of Narcissist in the dictionary there is a photo of Donald Trump with his horrid smirk. I refuse to show the photo because, personally, I am so sick of seeing his face that I suspect that many of you feel about the same and would be happier never to see photos of him ever again.
What does a narcissist fear the most? Perhaps there is a hint in the saying, “What women fear is that men will kill them. What men fear is that women will laugh at them.” A corollary is that a Strong Man who is vying to be the new fascist authoritarian ruler would likewise fear being laughed at. The reason being laughed at is disturbing lies in what happens in the minds of those who witness the subject being laughed at. Respect for the ridiculed man plummets and he loses influence over others. Much of the power of the Strong Man type ruler is being feared. When one is publicly ridiculed they are perceived as quit a bit less scary. Certainly less admired. A star to which you no longer want to hitch your wagon.
I reference the following:
Ridicule as a Weapon
By J. Michael Waller
Annenberg Professor of International Communication The Institute of World Politics
January 24, 2006
www.google.com/…
Here is a smidgeon from that article:
Ridicule serves several purposes:
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Ridicule raises morale at home.
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Ridicule strips the enemy/adversary of his mystique and prestige.
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Ridicule erodes the enemy’s claim to justice.
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Ridicule eliminates the enemy’s image of invincibility.
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Directed properly at an enemy, ridicule can be a fate worse than death. “
The article really does an amazing job of exploring ridicule including the pitfalls as well as the power.
Ridicule is instrumental for two things:
to raise the people’s morale by helping them to laugh at their enemies, and to dent the morale of enemy forces.
I have noticed many people on our side becoming somewhat despondent with dread of a possible Trump presidency. It is a truly frightening prospect. Shudder. However, it is not healthy and empowering for us to lapse into that despondency. It is important to rally the morale for those of us who would like to save our country from disaster.
Therefore, rather than trying to defeat Trump by calling out his lies, inconsistency, hatefulness, illogic, etc, we would do better by laughing at him publicly.
A great example of such laughter was demonstrated on Don Lemon’s CNN show:
www.rawstory.com/...
In an ideal world we could convince others of the rationale of our positions with reasoned arguments based on facts and data analysis. This year, especially, that will not prevail over the very emotional tribal identification embodied in Trump supporters. Trump is right that if he went out and shot somebody, his supporters would not adulate him any less. However, if he were held up to ridicule publicly repeatedly, many of those would-be Trump voters would simply fade into the woodwork and not bother voting for him.