Collective narcissism: The destruction of reality, reason and society.

Over four years ago, I wrote a piece about how Critical Social Justice activism, colloquially known as ‘woke’ ideology was a haven for narcissists, giving rise to collective narcissism. Following the horrific events in Auckland on the 25th March, it seemed this was the right time to revisit my earlier notions concerning these thoughts. The group that has catapulted themselves into the spotlight and, therefore, worthy of scrutiny are Trans Rights Activists. My original article primarily centered on events at Evergreen State College, the witch-hunt of a Professor of evolutionary biology, Brett Weinstein and the apparent self involved arrogance found within these movements. This notably was driven generally by accusations of racism towards members of the teaching staff. However, we need not look so far geographically for a more recent example. In this article, I shall turn my attention towards the events in Auckland, plus the media and government collusion with the Trans Rights Activists.

Prior to 2013, nobody really knew much about this group or their grievances. However, within just 10 years, they have managed to capture all principal mechanisms of control across all primarily English speaking countries. This includes government, traditional media, academia, schooling, social media, plus the film and the entertainment industry as a whole. Understanding the origins, finances and power brokers involved are important in their own right, but this will be left for another day. Instead, I will focus on the primary mechanism of control used by these groups to determine the narrative and the societal agenda. This tool, consciously or otherwise, is narcissism, both on an individual and group level.

Firstly, it’s important that we map out the ‘woke‘ worldview to fully appreciate how narcissism seemingly melds well with this. Woke ideology can formally be called Critical Social Justice theory, which is viewed as an identarian perspective, whereby immutable characteristics, such as race, sexuality, gender and ability, are assigned moral value. This creates an in group/out group split between the victim or oppressed and the perpetrator or oppressor. The in group are assigned collective innocence, while the out group are saddled with the role of guilty party. This template is then utilised to judge every interaction on an individual level, which includes characteristics, emotions, judgments, actions and intentions. This manifests in the splitting of groups into entirely good or bad. It is interesting to note that this way of viewing the world is primarily seen in infants, regressed people and certain personality disorders.

Splitting allows the in group to devalue and dehumanise the oppressor. Viewing them as inhuman, evil and cruel, thus, giving rise to feelings of hatred towards them. The oppressed group now emboldened, feel they have a right to destroy and eradicate the oppressor group by considering them inherently evil. In contrast, the in group is blessed with unparalleled moral purity and total innocence while simultaneously perceiving themselves as utterly vulnerable. It’s worth noting that the ‘woke’ in group perform exactly the same acts of which they readily accuse the so called oppressors of doing; reputation destruction, the suppressing of free speech, violence, death threats and public humiliation, among many other methods.

Dichotomous thinking is indulged upon by both woke members and narcissists. This absence of tolerance for nuance is guided by part object representation. Psychoanalytically, object relations is a way to explain how an individual perceives the world, based on the beliefs and expectations one may have of themselves and others, unconsciously affecting how we relate to one another. Narcissists have a particular inclination with regard to these mechanisms by relating to themselves and others as parts. Therefore, a person can be deemed totally good or bad, purely by reason of aspects or parts that the narcissist decides as good or bad. For example, if an individual has an opposing viewpoint to the narcissist, this one thing would be enough for the person to be considered deplorable. It’s this suspect cognitive process that permits members of this group to engage in moral self justification, online mobbing, destruction of property and violence towards another human.

Narcissists demand total obedience, approval, agreement and affirmation. This is suggested to be owing the narcissist, due to being fused in their object relations. Meaning, that they assume the thoughts, feelings and beliefs they hold are the same set of values others subscribe to. Demonstrating a distinct lack of ability to recognise that subjective experiences in others may differ. Compounding this, the narcissist remains cocooned in an echo chamber, whereby their beliefs and perceptions are continually affirmed while they celebrate any perceived achievement. In the case of a woke activist, this echo chamber could comprise of web pages, political allegiances, people who share ideological positions, certain social groups and friends. This process is referred to as the narcissistic extension of the self, with those facets of their life becoming objects of narcissistic attachment.

Narcissists possess another characteristic of object relations, that of defensive splitting. On the idealistic all-good side of the split, the narcissist perceive themselves to be, for example; adored, morally infallible, aesthetically beautiful, special and highly intelligent. Further to this, they are intertwined with an omnipotent Other who provides them with interest, admiration and approval while constantly putting the narcissist first. However, if this idealised world is threatened and narcissistic supply is not adequately obtained, their very sense of self is exposed, giving rise to what can be described as a narcissistic injury. This may occur from a tepid disagreement, criticism, a perceived lack of admiration, or simply being made fun of. What ensues is a switch to the all-bad state, with the narcissist viewing the world as a hostile, aggressive and vindictive place, resulting in feelings of inadequacy and worthlessness. Resorting to what’s termed as narcissistic rage, they engage in aggression, a need to destroy the now devalued Other, or to dismantle the worthless self, in order to restore the grandiose self and omnipotent other.

Narcissists demonstrate clear issues with facts and objectivity. This starts to shed light as to why many have gravitated to an ideology that is firmly grounded in a twisted manifestation of postmodernism, thus being skeptical of all meta narratives, such as science. How many times have you heard the phrase “my truth” when conversing with members of these groups? A narcissist revels in the manipulation of facts, thus ensuring their reality prevails. This is achieved via the use of vague or ambiguous language (word salad), selective amnesia, emotional control, passive aggressive conduct, a re-imagining of the truth and a reinterpretation of an Other’s motives. The goal is to assert their perception of reality, one that is created in their own vision.

For the narcissist’s target, this behaviour results in confusion, self-doubt and disorientation. Many techniques are used to create a parallel universe, however, initially bait and switch is often utilised to obtain new narcissistic supply. Using this approach, the narcissist is initially incredibly charming in order to lure the victim. Historical and event revision is another tactic that is commonly imposed, re-creating a version of events that meets their needs while leaving the target bewildered and questioning their own sanity. Combined, these can be categorised under the phenomenon of gaslighting and is one of the primary hallmarks of narcissism. However, not all narcissists are the same. There are as many as 5 different types, but for our purposes, we will highlight 3.

These three broad types of narcissists have varying names, dependent on who you read, however, I will use; overt (grandiose/exhibitionistic), covert (vulnerable/shy/closet) and malignant (devaluing) narcissist. Each have many similarities, but all require narcissistic supply, a propensity to look at things in black and terms terms, such as all-good or all-bad and every type will be sensitive towards a narcissistic injury to some degree. What distinguishes each one in particular is how they respond to and defend themselves during a perceived narcissistic injury.

The overt narcissist is usually what most people expect when this topic is discussed in the media. This type has an exaggerated self-image, a feeling of superiority over others, a need to be admired and a sense of entitlement. They will appear extroverted, viewed as overbearing and arrogant, while exhibiting an exaggerated sense of self. Likely overts will be competitive and exploitative, but with an innate need to be praised and admired (narcissistic supply). A key highlight of many narcissists, particularly overts, is a distinct lack of empathy.

A sub type of overt narcissism is antagonistic narcissism. These are people who tend to focus on rivalry and competition. They possess a propensity to take advantage of others and are inclined to exhibit disagreeability, characterised by arguing. Out of all the variants related to narcissism, antagonistics are less likely to forgive or trust people more than any other type.

In contrast to the previous type, covert narcissists show introversion, low self-esteem, insecurity, or are low in confidence and display a strong need to defend themselves. Covert narcissists will often use avoidance and have a penchant for playing the victim. A personality type thought to be the main driver of covert narcissism is neuroticism. One way to describe a covert is that they feel they deserve love, adulation and acclaim from the world. However, there is a mismatch between what they believe and how the world reacts to them. Chiefly, this is exemplified by them finding it incredibly difficult to receive criticism, often taking this personally, interpreting any form of critique more harshly than intended. A feature of this type is that they have a habit of living vicariously through the lives of others to obtain narcissistic supply, primarily but not limited to family members.

The final type is the malignant narcissist, otherwise known as the devaluing narcissist. Regarded as the most severe form of narcissism, this has significant impacts not only on their targets but also on the person living with it. A malignant narcissist will exhibit many of the overlapping common traits found in the other types, however, they possess high levels of vindictiveness, sadism and will obtain a certain amount of enjoyment from the pain of others. Additionally, they will be aggressive and dominating whilst interacting with others. Furthermore, malignants will display paranoia or increased levels of worry regarding potential threats. It is documented that this type share traits with those of anti-social personality disorder, meaning they are more likely out of all the other types to encounter legal troubles.

Group or collective narcissism fosters the belief that their group or organisation is superior to others. Furthermore, it is coupled with the shared assumption that their group’s preeminence is unjustly ignored or overlooked by outsiders. Many types of collectives share this mindset, including;

• religious group
• academic groups
• political parties
• activist groups
• social clubs
• sports teams
• fan followings
• cultural groups
• charity organisations

For the interest of this article, I will focus on activist groups and expand on how the Critical Social Justice ideology and narcissism link together. As with individual narcissism, activist groups, such as Trans Activists, are split into 3 narcissistic groups. Arguably, the most obvious one to examine is the victim group, which is strongly linked to the individual overt narcissist category. As a collective, they resort to excessive self idealisation, using their valued assortment of identity markers (sex, sexuality, race) as a way to award themselves with protective victim privilege. They project themselves as eternally vulnerable and oppressed while imbuing essential innocence. As a result of scoring highly on the victimhood scorecard, privilege and superior status are perpetually guaranteed.

Owing to their seemingly elevated status accrued from “lived experience,” demands and arguments are assumed to go unchallenged, thus granting immunity from all forms of criticism or disagreement. This revered position is secured not by any tangible accomplishments. On the contrary, it is entirely linked to their identity-based vulnerability status. Ensuring a competitive edge and perceived moral advantage over all other groups, in particular; white, heterosexual, able bodied males.

By virtue of this group’s elevated moral self-idealisation; total obedience, affirmation and mirroring ensure constant narcissistic supply. All other groups are expected to show tolerance, inclusion and diversity. Despite this, these values are not required for this exulted victim group, particularly in relation to diversity of thought. Standards such as merit, objectivity, and facts are despised, as this may usher in an external standard that could conceivably bypass, threaten and even challenge the narcissistic group’s claim to moral immunity.

The individual overt narcissist and the collective victim group respond to scrutiny, debate and discord in exactly the same way. Employing vicious aggression towards the non-affirming, objectionable perpetrators. Preferred common strategies are de-platforming, cancelling, doxing, public humiliation, defaming and online pile-ons. Vocabulary such as; hateful, phobic (use appropriate prefix), bigoted, racist, alt right, far right and Nazi are used (il)liberally in repeated, deliberate attacks in response to any perceived slight. In true narcissistic fashion, these ploys are completely denied by both the group itself and by their allies. One of the hallmarks of this group is crybullying. This is defined by vicious aggression, followed by playing victim, once fire has been returned.

As with individual narcissism, the aforementioned defensive split serves to develop tribal lines, in which the out-group is devalued and dammed, following perceived group narcissistic injury. What commonly follows is a period of grievance signalling and outrage, at which the vicitm group insists on a confession, an explanation and an apology from the evil oppressor group. Obviously, this is used as further fuel to demonise, distort, falsify and gaslight the out-group. This perverse cycle only subsides once the victim group has derived enough sadistic pleasure from this event, which could result in a, sacking, public humiliation, resignation, public apology and even suicide.

There is no doubt that the ‘woke’ revolution would not have gotten off the ground without this next collective. This second bunch has also embraced Critical Social Justice ideology, known more handily as ‘woke’ dogma, which they have helped sweep throughout the anglosphere. It’s a group that primarily consists of the oppressor class, that being white, heterosexual and are often but not exclusively women. It is a cohort chiefly found within the professional and management class, which is driven by emotions such as guilt and the selfish need to be on the right side of history, regardless of any collateral damage this may incur. They can be described as the woke saviour group and are the collective embodiment of covert narcissists.

The idealisation and devotion towards the activists, who are purveyed as morally pure, serves two primary functions. In stark contrast to the victim group, the saviour group is recognised as the epitome of original sin. Unfortunately, unlike religion, according to the woke gospel, there is no redemption to be found through repentance, only a life-long subservient deference to the victim group. With this in mind, the quest to provide narcissistic supply to the victim group at every conceivable moment helps to alleviate any pernicious guilt. This is executed by parasitically reveling in the victories accomplished by the victim group, in effect acquiring ‘second hand’ narcissistic supply, while feeling virtuous and superior.

This symbiotic relationship between these two groups is vital for this ideology to continue. Predominantly, because the saviour group comprises of, university administrators, lecturers, teachers, parents, policy makers, MP’s, health professionals, HR departments, business leaders, media, entertainment, plus many others from the so called professional and managerial class. Organisations such as Trans Activists claim to fight against the establishment. However, they are the establishment, with the primary mechanisms of many nations largely captured. Examples of this can be observed by the number of policies adopted especially for these groups, often to the detriment of the vast majority of the population, particularly women.

The grievance industry is big business, with no end in sight. An ever changing array of rules, formal or otherwise, continues unabated, regulating thoughts, speech and actions. All the while, self censorship has sharply increased as the general public, bewildered and disorientated, stagger aimlessly, desperate not to tread on a ‘woke’ landmine. Ultimately, this perceived misstep could lead to job dismissal, humiliation, or character assassination. This authoritarian control is perpetuated by the evil twins of an overtly narcissistic victim group and an extremely ambitious covertly narcissistic saviour group, who unite to maintain a tight grip over the moral direction of a nation.

Our final focus will be a group that, in many ways, is quite distinct from the ugly sisters of the victim and saviour groups. This new group is more akin to the devaluing narcissist and is named the militant group. Unlike the lash out and cry tactics of the victim group or the self-righteous arrogance of the saviour group, this third bunch aims to destroy the Oppressor class. An example of this is through the ‘work’ of (anti)racist grifter Robin DiAngelo, in her book White Fragility, she states; “[A] positive white identity is an impossible goal. White identity is inherently racist; white people do not exist outside the system of white supremacy… Rather, I strive to be ‘less white’”. These sentiments were echoed by Green Party MP Marama Davidson, stating on the 25th March, “I am a prevention violence minister. I know who causes violence in the world. It is white cis men. That is white cis men who cause violence in the world”.

Green Party Co-Leader, Marama Davidson

In true narcissistic fashion, Trans Activists in New Zealand are claiming that they are under the threat of genocide, but from what I can see there has been no reported killing of someone who is transgender in this country. That is not to say murder doesn’t occur among this group. In 2021, 375 trans people were murdered, primarily in South America (70%), but alas not in New Zealand. In Cambodia, between 1.5-2 million were killed between 1975-1979 by the Khmer Rouge. During the Second World War, approximately 6 million Jewish people were murdered by the Nazi’s and in Rwanda, over a 100-day period, approximately 600,000, mainly Tutsi people were massacred by rival Hutu factions. As tragic as any death is, Trans people are not in the midst or are threatened by genocide and by claiming this, it places the movement further into a narcissistic spotlight.

It is important to note that these hyperbolic claims are then condoned or are allowed to go unchallenged by the media and government, offering a certain amount of legitimacy for groups such as the Trans Activists to behave in a violent manner. This was evident prior to the event on 25th March, when the media fanned the flames of fury, claiming Kellie Jay Keen-Minshull was associated with far-right groups, which incidentally has never been proved. Meanwhile, the Police on the day stood back, as women were attacked, including Keen Minshull, with one lady sustaining a fractured skull.

People leading this Trans Activists charge, such as Shaneel Lal are symbols of this most severe level of narcissism, engaging in constant trolling, gaslighting and intimidation towards anybody who may mildly signal any form of discord regarding their ideology. This type of malignancy, both individually and as a group, develops when corrective features that are found in the benign form of narcissism do not exist. With regards to Shaneel Lal, New Zealand’s ruling cultural elite have chosen to celebrate this figure. Lal is currently an opinion writer for the New Zealand Herald, whilst being chosen as Young New Zealander of the Year, which was awarded shortly after the civil unrest at Auckland. Here are some inspiring words from the 2023 Young New Zealander of the year.

It’s fair to say this has been a much longer piece than previously anticipated, but it felt important to robustly link the ‘woke’ ideology with both individual and collective narcissism. I’m sure when people look back on March the 25th and ponder over the cast of characters involved, many of which may well have thoughts as to who fits in which group. Shaneel Lal, Prime Minister Chris Hipkins, Auckland Police Force, Eliana Rubashkyn and the man who viciously punched a 70 year old women repeatedly in the face have all played their part in this narcissistic drama. Critical Social Justice ideology may not have directly produced narcissists, but it has created a perfect home for those who seek to destroy society under the pretense of kindness.

Collective narcissism and identity politics: No empathy required.

I’m not writing this to gain favour with a certain political tribe, or to provoke people, although I’m sure there will be a range of reactions to this. I’m chiefly trying to make sense of all this craziness that continues in the west particularly on college campuses. This thought initially permeated into my brain while watching a video of the Evergreen College collective breakdown and the witch-hunt of Bret Weinstein (Professor of Evolutionary Biology) in 2017. For those of you who haven’t heard about this, I’ve shared a video below to give an example of the type of antics that are occurring regularly on college campuses around the ‘anglosphere’. This episode is much like the psychotic Yale university ‘Halloween costume’ incident. I still find it difficult to understand such behaviour, as well as acknowledging that it’s disturbingly interesting. It also boggles my mind why education facilities and government entities continue to listen to such idiocy. But they do and therein lies a major problem.

I’ve written numerous articles about social justice activism, but I continuously struggle to the grasp the mentality surrounding these collegiate outbursts. Recently, it occurred to me partly due to watching these social justice car crashes, along with reading about narcissism from people like Jean Twenge and Keith Campbell, plus my own experiences with narcissism that there was something more to this lurking in the depths. While watching this video on Evergreen, I invite you to play a game called, spot the infantile, self absorbed, entitled, narcissist. Alright, so I’m possibly starting this article with a slight bias. Ooops!

Joking aside, it would be sensible at this juncture to define what a narcissist is, with a view to making sense of what collective narcissism means further into the article. Many people would possibly conclude that to explain what a narcissist is, all that would be required is a picture of Donald Trump. Alas, it’s slightly more complicated than that. Firstly, I want to nail down the definition of narcissism. Slapping a tag on someone who may be displaying a lack of self doubt or overconfidence isn’t really the best way to proceed. Narcissism is only present in approximately 1% of people and characterised among other traits with a lack of empathy. On top of this, there is a permanent desire for constant appreciation, a belief of being special and a solid conviction that they are more deserving than others.

It’s worth noting, that not all narcissists are bombastic fools like Donald Trump. Narcissists come in two general flavours; covert and overt. They share many traits such as; conceit, self-indulgence and a complete disregard for others, ‘overts’ are linked to an extroverted personality type and ‘coverts’ to introverts. Overt narcissism is marked by arrogance, a preoccupation with fantasies of success particularly in; attractiveness, power, brilliance and wealth. They expect preferential treatment and have an insatiable need for admiration. If this fails to materialise, it will be viewed as a narcissistic injury, which regularly leads to an excessive action, usually in the form of rage and almost certain revenge. To overt narcissists, other people exist purely to be exploited, therefore, unsurprisingly they display a poor perception regarding their own functioning, primarily in self concept, relationships, social adaptations, ethics, standards and morals.

Covert narcissists also have overblown fantasies, but these are not realised and are unable to be achieved. They have unfulfilled expectations and a vulnerability to stress is also a primary characteristic. Covert narcissists are hypervigilant to humiliation and rejection, while searching for power and glory. Often they live life vicariously through their children, viewing family members as a way of attaining their own rights, desires and values. Covert’s are generally devoid of any respect for authority, while being prone to boredom and depression. These types can fit in with society better than overt narcissists, but will often have a distinct lack of interest for work, known as “narcissistic deficiency”. In a nutshell, ‘coverts’ have an unconscious feeling of grandeur, but these thoughts and emotions are not reciprocated by the outside world.

Narcissism like many things is considered to be on a spectrum, a certain amount is thought to be healthy and required to function in daily life. At the extreme end of this is Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD). Well known narcissists are; Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin, Ted Bundy and Elvis Pressley, plus modern day narcissists are notably; Simon Cowell, Kanye West, Madonna, Mariah Carey and Donald Trump. So what has this got to do with identity politics and social justice activism? The link is collective narcissism, this was a theory proposed by Theodore Adorno to explain how the Nazis gained and maintained support from the 1930’s to the end of World War II. No, I’m not implying that identarians resemble Nazis, but give them time (joke, sort of).

In a wonderfully ironic article posted in ‘The Conversation’, there are some fantastic examples regarding collective narcissism, rightly mentioning that the group in question fails to accept criticism and feel they deserve special treatment. The piece continues, suggesting collective narcissists are selective regarding their prejudices, while rejecting or attacking groups who do not share their grandiose image. Surmising that they use spin and conspiracy theories to attack competing groups. Noting that these ‘special’ groups also detect insult where nobody can see it (more narcissistic injury).

The ironic part is that the author only links collective narcissism with right wing endeavours, such as Brexit and Trump and displays no awareness that narcissists exist quite prominently within his own political tribe. Sure there’s plenty of collective narcissism on the right, just look at the US evangelical conservatives for suitable examples. However, social justice groups ticked just about every box in this article and yet there was no pause for reflection regarding their own team. This is despite that the piece mentions scoring high on the narcissist scale predicts an increase in prejudice, regardless of people’s age, gender or education.

The crux of this is that the ‘old left’, as I would call it, have been correct on many occasions; writers from Marx to Sartre catalogued the problems with wealth and capital. They predicted the psychological damage, the profound effects on health and the dismantling of society, as we collectively immerse ourselves in mass vacuity and banality. The truth is, the left are losing ground in just about every facet of society and in most geographical locations. The despairing reality is the left, what remains of it, is a shadow of its former self. It is unashamedly unrelated to the working class and hopelessly detached from global injustices. The new identarian left has fallen in love with its own reflection and has subsequently lost interest in the state of the planet, continual wars, free speech, democracy and even poverty.

The left of old created healthcare for all, pensions, economic safety nets, education and housing. These things were universal ventures, so people could have the basics in life, to live, prosper, participate and contribute in society. This now seems long ago, the new/identarian left are instead fixated on race, sexuality and gender. All the while as people on the streets of the world are starving, identarians get apoplectic with rage over the correct use of pronouns. It’s no wonder that people across the western world have rejected these ideas and now often resort to voting against their own best interests.

Democracies are failing and society is fragmenting, so these drastic, sometimes ill advised actions are a basic response to fear, in an effort to protect themselves. The needs of the many are being continually rejected in favour of supplying the demands of the ‘woke’ few, who are generally well off, educated and privileged. Surely valuing, fairness, truth, justice, democracy, morality and decency takes precedence over what is good for the self. Lets be honest what’s more important a starving child or validating your identity?

If this identarian group doesn’t acquire what they feel is rightfully theirs (narcissistic supply) then as previously documented they will instinctively lash out. Narcissistic supply for identarians equates to people colluding with them (also known as allies) for causes such as cultural appropriation or deciding whatever they would like to be called that week. This isn’t the collective, universal vision of the left I once knew, this is pure self indulgent, infantile behaviour. These people should be challenged, rejected from the left and given no credence. They bear no resemblance to the great people who came before them, the likes of; Karl Marx, Rosa Luxemburg, Mikhail Bakunin, Bertrand Russell and Peter Kropotkin. Frankly, none of the identarian left would be fit to carry their books.

So lets explore why narcissists are attracted to identity politics and social justice activism in particular. It has been postulated that this arena allows young radicals to indulge their narcissistic urges, enjoying power, support and praise, regardless of their conduct. Their theories and beliefs are absent of any responsibility, the only concern is for themselves and their group, as they embark on a journey of hedonistic self-gratification. This insulation from reality rejects any acknowledgement of personal agency and plays out as an overgrown group of kids who have created the rules to feed their self-obsessed, infantile fantasy land. In a cult like fervour they are bound together as a collective, propelled by teenage infused hatred, aimed at all who refuse to agree with their every utterance.

All opposing narratives aimed at SJW’s are met with, anger, dismissal, derision and a desire to dismantle the perpetrators lives. Western colleges are littered with tales of destroyed reputations and careers, any hint of non-conformity is swiftly punished through a series of reprisals. The use of an opaque, malleable language, ensures that any individual caught in this web of lies is unable to escape these allegations of racism, sexism and the deadly accusation of being transphobic. Cultural appropriation, privilege theory, critical theory, intersectional feminism, micro-aggressions and the use of safe-spaces are all tools used to obfuscate the purpose of identity politics from the masses, while simultaneously justifying their beliefs. These are classic techniques used by narcissists, with the end result appearing rather like 1984, you are left questioning your own name or indeed how many fingers are held up.

Control can certainly be found in the lexicon of the narcissist and the one region these reins are held tightest is regarding the questioning of identity. Identity is used as a way of gaining respect. I regard myself as this, we are oppressed, therefore, you have no right to question or even discuss this with me. This purposeful stifling of dialogue is evident no more than in the arena of the trans debate. Many trans people state they have a right to be recognised for who they are (which they have), but proclaim obstacles are being put in their way and this is interpreted as questioning their right to exist. The phrase is often proclaimed as “you are invalidating my existence”. But this flamboyant fallacy alludes to a whole segment of society being wiped out. Alas genocide it is not, the real purpose of these grandiose declarations is to halt any debate, emphatically announcing that trans lives are clearly not up for discussion.

A term that is ubiquitous with narcissism, is ‘gaslighting‘. Simply put, it is a process of making an individual question their perceptions and version of events, in order for the narcissist to exert power over them. An example of this would be turning an ordinary event, such as someone questioning their beliefs and then comparing it to an abusive relationship. This conversion of a mundane moment in time to a massive overreaction from the alleged ‘abused’, manifests in actions such as doxing or the popular activity of calling out on twitter and can be categorised as a further ‘narcissistic injury’. This response from the alleged ‘abused’ in this current cultural climate can lead to a job loss, a removal from college or even a custodial sentence.

Which leads us to an obvious narcissistic trait as seen within Social Justice land, which is how nauseatingly public it all is. Live tweet Tinder dates are posted for all to see, this is coupled with a superficial casualness, in a vain attempt to display detachment. Relationships are increasingly talked about in a blasé manner, with advice webpages discussing issues such as, “not falling in love with someone you had casual sex with”. This behaviour is clearly a narcissistic trait, using avoidance particularly of emotions in an effort to maintain control. This inability to form authentic relationships, screams of fragility of the self. It is punctuated by further overreactions regarding any perceived transgressions by an individual. This is topped off with a distinct lack empathy for any other human being, typifying malignant narcissism.

The narcissistic group is held together by a need for external validation. This collective can be driven by a narcissistic individual, a core of narcissists or less prevalent due to the relative scarcity of narcissists (1 in a 100) a whole group. In the individual scenario, a single person idealises where the group belongs, in contrast this ideological process can also take place at a group level. It is surmised that the more actively involved a group member is, the higher the opinion this individual will have of the group. An increased affinity towards their tribe is related to personal investment and a feeling of positive contributions connected to their success.

Personal narcissists will invariably see the group as a defining extension of themselves and will defend it as a form of protection against outsiders and also to strengthen their social standing within the group. A further potential adhesive is the charismatic leader creating the follower/leader dynamic. All members of the main group are narcissistic, but within this a charismatic leader emerges. It’s not uncommon for it to be a ‘grievance studies’ professor either, such as Suzanna Danuta Walters who wrote in the Washington Post, “why can’t we hate men“. This group consists of two types of narcissist; the ‘mirror hungry’ narcissist, seeking a constant flow of admiration from the followers and the ‘ideal narcissist’ who obtains comfort from the confidence, charisma and security provided by the leader. This is essentially a symbiotic relationship, but it can be toxic.

Intergroup aggression is a hallmark of group narcissism. They are more sensitive to perceived criticism externally, often resulting in the out group being attacked with disproportionate force. Again, these are overblown responses, but they are a reaction to a narcissistic injury. Below is a good example of what epitomises group narcissism. We have a charismatic leader, with her followers, who feels suitably emboldened to yell at a Yale Professor, over an extremely minor event. This collective tantrum was ‘initiated’ by Mr & Mrs Christakis (both professors) for suggesting that if students had a problem with a Halloween costume, then maybe they could discuss it with the wearer, rather than expecting the university to adjudicate. Below is a shortened video of the fallout in response to these benign ‘grown up’ emails. Take note that Yale is supposedly one of top universities in the world.

You may ask with some validity why I have concentrated most of this piece on linking narcissism with Social Justice Warriors and identity politics. There is no doubt that the right wing of politics and capitalism itself is awash with narcissists, history proves this; Hitler, Mussolini and John D Rockefeller to name a few. More recently we could easily use the dynamic duo of Benjamin Netanyahu and Donald Trump. Of course many CEO’s would have a range of narcissistic traits, some of these people who fit this criteria are; Bill Gates, the late Steve Jobs and Jeff Bezos. But they are all relatively obvious, arrogant, overt narcissists. However, on the other side of political fence, there are scores of narcissists who go unchecked or are readily dismissed as “silly children” who will eventually mature. Unfortunately, they are growing up and changing the rules as they go, while destroying lives all to obtain their narcissistic supply.

The mainstream media doesn’t write about narcissism and the identarian left, because identity politics is the mainstream. There are no critiques of how identarians arrogantly perceive themselves as the gatekeepers of acceptable speech, thoughts, actions and morality on campus. But even more worryingly, this ideology is now spewing out into the real world. This, at a time when the left has a damn good counter argument to neoliberalism. One that focuses on the human costs of massive economic inequality which includes; sub-standard education, increased crime rates, poorer health outcomes, an elevated prevalence of armed conflict and an acceleration of climate change. Frustratingly this strong, coherent message has undoubtedly been diluted by the cult-like, intrusive, puritanical behaviour of the ‘identarian left’, led and populated by a strong narcissistic element. Without doubt the ‘real left’ will not reconnect with the people, until we reject and eject the ‘identarian left’.