byronius
byronius's Journal99 Luftballoons.
You and I in a little toy shop
Buy a bag of balloons with the money we´ve got
Set them free at the break of dawn
Till one by one they were gone
Back at base, sparks in the software
Flash the message?? somethings out there??
Floating in the summer sky
Ninety nine red balloons go by
Ninety nine red balloons
Floating in the summer sky
Panic bells, its red alert
There´s something here from somewhere else
The war machine springs to life
Opens up one eager eye
And focusing it on the sky
The ninety nine red balloons go by
Ninety nine decisions treat
Ninety nine ministers meet
To worry, worry, super scurry
Call the troops out in a hurry
This is what we've waited for
This is it boys, this is war
The President is on the line
As ninety nine red balloons go by
Ninety nine knights of the air
Ride super high-tech jet fighters
Everyone's a super hero
Everyone's a Captain Kirk
With orders to identify
To clarify and classify
Scrambling the summer sky
Ninety nine red balloons go by
As ninety nine red balloons go by
Ninety nine dreams I have had
In every one a red balloon
It's all over and I'm standing pretty
In this dust that was a city
If could find a souvenir
Just the prove the world was here
And here is a red balloon
I think of you and let it go
Coping with chaos in the White House.
My psychotherapist aunt sent me this link. I've read a few of these diagnoses of NPD, all similar; this gives good advice on coping with the symptoms.
Medium
A few days ago, I wrote a post for my Facebook friends about my personal experience with narcissistic personality disorder and how I view the president elect as a result. Unexpectedly, the post traveled widely, and it became clear that many people are struggling with how to understand and deal with this kind of behavior in a position of power. Although several writers, including a few professionals, have publicly offered their thoughts on a diagnosis, I am not a professional and this is not a diagnosis. My post is not intended to persuade anyone or provide a comprehensive description of NPD. I am speaking purely from decades of dealing with NPD and sharing strategies that were helpful for me in coping and predicting behavior. The text below is adapted from my original Facebook post.
I want to talk a little about narcissistic personality disorder. Ive unfortunately had a great deal of experience with it, and Im feeling badly for those of you who are trying to grapple with it for the first time because of our president-elect, who almost certainly suffers from it or a similar disorder. If I am correct, it has some very particular implications for the office. Here are a few things to keep in mind:
1) Its not curable and its barely treatable. He is who he is. There is no getting better, or learning, or adapting. Hes not going to rise to the occasion for more than maybe a couple hours. So just put that out of your mind.
2) He will say whatever feels most comfortable or good to him at any given time. He will lie a lot, and say totally different things to different people. Stop being surprised by this. While its important to pretend good faith and remind him of promises, as Bernie Sanders and others are doing, thats for his supporters, so *they* can see the inconsistency as it comes. He wont care. So if youre trying to reconcile or analyze his words, dont. Its 100% not worth your time. Only pay attention to and address his actions.
3) You can influence him by making him feel good. There are already people like Bannon who appear ready to use him for their own ends. The GOP is excited to try. Watch them, not him. President Obama, in his wisdom, may be treating him well in hopes of influencing him and averting the worst. If he gets enough accolades for better behavior, he might continue to try it. But dont count on it.
4) Entitlement is a key aspect of the disorder. As we are already seeing, he will likely not observe traditional boundaries of the office. He has already stated that rules dont apply to him. This particular attribute has huge implications for the presidency and it will be important for everyone who can to hold him to the same standards as previous presidents.
5) We should expect that he only cares about himself and those he views as extensions of himself, like his children. (People with NPD often cant understand others as fully human or distinct.) He desires accumulation of wealth and power because it fills a hole. (Melania is probably an acquired item, not an extension.) He will have no qualms *at all* about stealing everything he can from the country, and hell be happy to help others do so, if they make him feel good. He wont view it as stealing but rather as something hes entitled to do. This is likely the only thing he will intentionally accomplish.
6) Its 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. Its 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.
7) People with NPD often recruit helpers, referred to in the literature as enablers when they allow or cover for bad behavior and flying monkeys when they perpetrate bad behavior on behalf of the narcissist. Although its easiest to prey on malicious people, good and vulnerable people can be unwittingly recruited. It will be important to support good people around him if and when they attempt to stay clear or break away.
8) People with NPD often foster competition for sport in people they control. Expect lots of chaos, firings and recriminations. He will probably behave worst toward those closest to him, but that doesnt mean (obviously) that his actions wont have consequences for the rest of us. He will punish enemies. He may start out, as he has with the NYT, with a confusing combination of punishing/rewarding, which is a classic abuse tactic for control. If you see your media cooperating or facilitating this behavior for rewards, call them on it.
9) Gaslighting where someone tries to convince you that the reality youve experienced isnt true is real and torturous. 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 cant and shouldnt ignore the president, but dont circulate his tweets or laugh at him you are enabling him and getting his word out. (Ive done this, of course, we all have just try to be aware.) 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. We are all called to be leaders now, in the absence of leadership.
For anyone who hasn't seen it, the new Netflix series Sense8 is brilliant.
Best writing, best ensemble cast, great story. My daughter talked me into it, and I'm glad she did.
Beautiful. Deep heart. Brave. Wise.
Love it. Gets better and better.
Let The Sun Shine In.
Please, tell me I'm paranoid.
Since the hack I've observed long-term posters who faded away many years ago return to engage in what I consider well-crafted and well-thought-out disruption that is always presented under the guise of requesting more evidence or pointing out minutiae that generally leads the discussion astray.
I think it's possible that the hack of the entire user database with emails and passwords was used to resurrect personalities using defunct/abandoned/spoofed email addresses, and that these hijacked personalities are being used to damage the dialogue in extremely cunning ways.
Most of them do not have stars, although this may be coincidental.
I say this publicly because I'm certain other members have noticed. As intelligent and scripted as the penetration would have to be to escape detection, there are certain signs that what I'm saying might be true.
I say it because I love Democratic Underground, and because I believe the hack was not in any way a joke, but a serious act of directed revenge on a well-respected resource as an act of war.
If I'm right, it's just beginning. They may also evolve to personal sabotage of individual lives; this is historically an effective investment for emerging anti-democratic regimes, and the internet provides a new arena for this purpose.
And if I'm right, I'd like everyone to be aware, and study the tactics and methods employed. Not every troll misspells or fails to grasp the basic liberal sensibilities; this new crew is a better breed, smarter and more circumspect.
Given the intense weight of destiny upon these days, I don't believe it would hurt to consider my point. I don't wish to engage in witch-hunting, I just have noticed and wish to remark on a recent phenomenon.
Ancient (1208) Icelandic hymn in a German train station.
So beautiful and haunting.
Árstíðir - Heyr himna smiður
Think for a moment how hard this is for all the good cops and civil servants.
The solidly American FBI agents, the professional CIA operatives, the good-hearted local police officer swimming in a sea of asshole ideology. There are a lot of good people out there doing their jobs right, and for the right reasons.
They've got it worse than anyone. And we need them to stay in and fight. They're getting it from both sides, just because -- human. Now they're going to be behind enemy lines for a long time, without hope of reprieve.
Send them some good thoughts and energy. In the end, they may be the difference between life and death of the human species.
The tale of Evan Mecham -- a close Trump analogy.
Evan Mecham
A Mormon used-car dealer with a bad toupee won the governorship of Arizona in 1986 because of a split Democratic ticket. His first act in office was to rescind the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday in Arizona; his second act was to refer to black children as 'pickaninnies' on statewide television. The ensuing boycott of the state cost Arizona its economic future.
He embezzled state funds to bolster the lagging fortunes of his used car dealership after 'technically' ceding control of the business to his sons, and used the state police and other law enforcement agencies as his personal enforcement crew to attack political enemies.
One of his most significant acts was the draconian increase in drug possession penalties -- frat boys started going to state prison for a mandatory three years of hard labor after being caught with traces of marijuana residue on a pipe. Vehicles and houses were seized by the state. Possession of cocaine over a certain quantity meant a life sentence. This led almost all tech companies (Intel, IBM) with manufacturing facilities in Arizona to leave the state, heaping even more harsh devastation on an already-damaged state economy.
He was the only governor of Arizona to be impeached. He was also issued several felony indictments; he and his brother Willard faced 22 years in prison for their actions, although they were later acquitted by a jury.
Some quotes from Wikipedia:
Besides the uproar caused by the MLK Day cancellation, Mecham committed other political faux pas. Claims of prejudice were made against Mecham after he defended the use of the word "pickaninny" to describe black children, claimed that high divorce rates were caused by working women, claimed America is a Christian nation to a Jewish audience, and said a group of visiting Japanese businessmen got "round eyes" after being told of the number of golf courses in Arizona. In response to claims that he was a racist, Mecham said, "I've got black friends. I employ black people. I don't employ them because they are black; I employ them because they are the best people who applied for the cotton-picking job."
Mecham made an issue of his relationship with the press. Claiming that many of his problems were caused by media enemies he had made during previous runs for political office, the governor stated, "The Phoenix newspaper monopoly has had my political destruction as its goal for many years." The governor also claimed, "Every daily newspaper in the state endorsed a different candidate besides me. It's taking them a little time to get used to the idea that I was the people's choice." In response to his perceived mistreatment by the press, Mecham attempted to ban a journalist from his press conferences. John Kolbe, a political columnist for the Phoenix Gazette and brother of Congressman Jim Kolbe, was declared a "non-person" after a February 25, 1987, column critical of Mecham's performance at the National Governors Association.
Another incident occurred during a televised event in which a reporter questioned the governor's integrity, prompting Mecham to reply, "Don't you ever ask me for a true statement again." An aide later asserted that the press "largely misunderstood" Mecham's retort. "Of course, the governor should not have said that, especially with the TV cameras rolling," he wrote.
Throughout his administration, Mecham expressed concern about possible eavesdropping on his private communications. A senior member of Mecham's staff broke his leg after falling through a false ceiling he had been crawling over, looking for covert listening devices. A private investigator was hired to sweep the governor's offices looking for bugs. The Governor was quoted as saying, "Whenever I'm in my house or my office, I always have a radio on. It keeps the lasers out." After this was reported, a political cartoon by Pulitzer Prize winning cartoonist Steve Benson appeared in the Arizona Republic depicting the governor leaving his house outfitted for laser tag. When asked about this by reporters, Attorney General Bob Corbin replied in amusement, "We don't have any ray gun pointed at him."
I remember all of this like it was yesterday. And here we are again, on a national scale.
jelly belly quelly
well here we are in the Narrative
good guys bad guys shades of gray
twists and turns and stomach drops
secrets plots and money drops
stealy cheaty boredy bad
no one knows what makes it sour
irradiated by the hour
check and balance crack and fall
it means us all so why?
they stay in pictures flat and gray
bathe in fear as if it feeds
judge the giver chop the tree
and turn the world to mud
but narratives are human things
drawn up to talk to future beings
anthropocentric nonsense memes
that do not sway the microkings
just begun their feast.
Sorryeverybody.com is still up. And it still gets to me every time I see it.
I own the book. Beautiful thing.
sorryeverybody
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Member since: Wed Feb 23, 2005, 03:32 PMNumber of posts: 7,545