Narcissism seems to be the illness du jour of American culture. It is classified under the DSM-V personality disorders as a set of traits characterized by lack of empathy for others, an extreme belief in one’s grandiose self-importance, a sense of entitlement that others must do their bidding, fantasies of unlimited success, power, beauty, ease in exploiting others, arrogance, enviousness, need to be admired, etc. etc.


The question lately in our post-Internet culture is who gets to rule the roost now? Sadly, the quickest ticket to notoriety for those who feel lost and desperate has become the surefire formula of the mass murderer, gone media viral.


This method is disturbingly easy and instantaneous for a disaffected individual, given the ready access to guns, social media, and then the greater media. Many of the recent killers noted in their “manifestos”, with disturbing clockwork-like similarity, feeling that they were denied what they felt was owed to them: the attention of beautiful women, the popularity they felt they deserved, the power they craved.


For various reasons, they had become social pariahs instead. To counteract this, they upload their own selfie shots and movies on social media, their own writings, as they prepare for their final act and expect an afterlife of the fame and recognition they never got in their own lives. They seethe with anger, the “narcissistic rage” characterized by the famous psychoanalyst Heinz Kohut: “the need for revenge…for undoing a hurt by whatever means…” by giving their pain to others and in doing so build up the remnants of their self-worth through violence.

So how do we let these lost souls feel connected to America again, feel that there is a better dream than the dark road to hell they have chosen? Gatsby is being killed over and over again.


Read more at: https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/culture-shrink/201510/american-narcissism-and-mass-shooters

do any of those 'traits' sound familiar,,,

could narcissim be more a culprit for war and terrorism than religion? after all religion teaches about recognizing the world as it relates to someone bigger than us,,,,and narcisissm is only concerned with the world according to us

(whether that be according to us with respect to religion, or us with respect to politics)

Hmm. Well, yes, in a way. I also support taking a look at human behavior from a more objective and generic way, in order to seek more solutions.

The thing is, we need to come up with something actionable from it, in order for it to be useful.

The difficulty about looking at mass shooters as narcissists, isn't that they aren't all narcissistic. I suspect they all are. The trouble is, that there's no known way to address and oppose narcissism. Not to mention, that the very same narcissism, is behind a lot of human behaviors which are lauded, and even worshiped.

actually if you look into the 'typical' school shooting perpetrator he is not usually narcissistic..at least at the high school level

are they trying to send a message
to scream " look at me world" most definitely
and they realize that they will be probably getting shot
or they end up taking their own life afterwards

Not when the terrorism is being committed by Islamic jihadists.

Narcissism...
Pretty much sums up, the mindset of every libtard there ever was.

that's,, narcissism

'look at me world'

Shhh! The libtards are attempting to draw attention away from that truth....theyre letting that squirrel loose again.

well lemme just dust off my psych degree..

Islamic jihadist is the name others give them,, correct?

but does that mean they are not a subgroup of the Islamic population that suffers an extreme narcissism being hidden behind religious texts?

kind of like Christian rapists,, or something like that?

taking a religious text, to suit narcisstic desires

In that Case,you have Narcissus' Big Brother sitting in the WH as we speak?

there is a difference between people electing one to represent them and one taking it upon themselves to have everyone else appease them,,,

Often people who act violently have trouble controlling their feelings. They may have been hurt by others. Some think that making people fear them through violence or threats of violence will solve their problems or earn them respect. This isn't true. Some violence occurs as a response to prolonged hurt, trauma, bullying or victimization. People may use violence to get something, while others may act out of self-protection or desperation.
People who behave violently lose respect. They eventually find themselves isolated or disliked, and they still feel angry and frustrated.
Anger itself is not always a sign that violence is imminent. While anger may be a warning sign of violence, it must be put in context. In fact, by assuming that anger or increased substance abuse will always lead to violence means that many non-violent people who are in need of help become unfairly characterized as violent. What is most important to look at is if there are “new” signs and significant changes in behavior.
The presence of some of the signs or factors listed below should alert us to the possibility that an individual may be at risk of violence. It should be noted, however, that the presence of one or more signs or factors does not necessarily mean that the person will be violent.
Some signs of potential for violence may be historical or static (unchangeable) factors like:
A history of violent or aggressive behavior
Young age at first violent incident
Having been a victim of bullying
History of discipline problems or frequent conflicts with authority
Early childhood abuse or neglect
Having witnessed violence at home
Family or parent condones use of violence
A history of cruelty to animals
Having a major mental illness
Being callous or lacking empathy for others
History of vandalism or property damage
Other signs of potential violence may be present over time and may escalate or contribute to the risk of violence given a certain event or activity. These might include:
Serious drug or alcohol use
Gang membership or strong desire to be in a gang
Access to or fascination with weapons, especially guns
Trouble controlling feelings like anger
Withdrawal from friends and usual activities
Regularly feeling rejected or alone
Feeling constantly disrespected
Some signs of potential violence may be new or active signs. They might look like:

Increased loss of temper
Frequent physical fighting
Increased use of alcohol or drugs
Increased risk-taking behavior
Declining school performance
Acute episode of major mental illness
Planning how to commit acts of violence
Announcing threats or plans for hurting others
Obtaining or carrying a weapon


APA website

also very good explanations for violence in general,,,

I agree

its not really about that either

the author of the cited article has her masters ,,,

Edited for off-topic and vulgarity.

soufie
Site Moderator

Interesting reading. So difficult to stop these people, as what you state above

*It should be noted, however, that the presence of one or more signs or factors does not necessarily mean that the person will be violent.*

ooooh,

someone got in trouble,,,

The denial is incredible!!

'It is NOT an Islamic Terrorist Attack & act of war.
No.. It is a homegrown mass shooting by misunderstood people.
And workplace violence, commited by Bonnie & Clyde whatabee's.
So let's ban guns & stop being racists/ bigots & stop talking about things are not on my liberal agenda.
Because patriotism is evil.
And 14 dead, non black Christian and Jews mean nothing.
Neither did the Paris attacks.
It is just not part of my globalist agenda. '
* Yes.. Extreme facetiousness & sarcasm *

Did I leave anything out.?

msharmony, you are begging the question, as well as yelling, "Squirrel!"

not at all,, with respect dodo

the assertion was that narcissism isn't the main culprit if the killers are 'Islamic jihadists'


my response is that the title is something the world gives them, they don't label themselves that way


and if, for instance, Christian conservatives who label themselves as such while they go out and intimidate/harass others,, shouldn't be labeled as harassment based upon religion

neither should extremist violence be based upon religion just because the world chooses to emphasize the correlation and define it as the causation,,