"Without contraries is no progression" -William Blake
Why is the cruelty of others and oneself encouraged? Why is cancel culture normalized with no conscious self-reflection but conscious hate?
It is a very common phenomenon that a number of people insist through a malicious means that their personal experience and opinions are fact and law without the empathetic awareness that there is a myriad of human experiences that are not linear nor black and white. Not every one has had the same experience out of life or objective situations. For example, there is the dress meme. Where one may see the blue dress, another may see the gold. Some may spew "If you see it as blue, you are blind!" lacking the respect that some may perceive things differently. There is also a clear differentiation between opinions and beliefs. While one may believe in god, another may follow Buddha's teachings. People of the demographic mentioned may demand that others believe in god, cause they have seen proof of god in their own life. While someone who practices hinduism may have seen proof of Vishnu. What they have personally experienced is more real to them.
In the demographic of someone who cultivates this narcissistic trait, and in cancel culture, one may demand that others agree with them and mold their opinions to match their own. They may force their reality upon others, dismissing another person's right to live authentically. This behavior eliminates the right to free thought, and freedom of choice. They may say something along the lines of "If you do believe this ___ unfriend me." This is an unconscious behavior acted out of entitlement. Although it may be conscious if said person is malevolent enough.
The cancelization of AI art is the dissolution of the right to capital freedom. The cancelization of Hogwarts legacy is the restriction of freedom of choice.
The accentuation of being a minority encourages division and discrimination by prejudice no matter if it is in favor of opposition. Liberals encourage mob mentality, indoctrination and bullying of any classes they deem lesser than, wrong, more privileged- anything that does not match their mirror image- or their ideal image of what a person should look like. Flaws or mistakes are death sentences that cannot be learned from in select leftist ideology. For example if I work in a jail and someone who committed domestic violence said something so simple as "I like apples" if I were to agree with that, I would be accused of being a "Criminal Sympathizer" simply for working there and agreeing that apples are a likeable commodity. One may determine that I think domestic violence is okay because I agree with one harmless statement from a harmful person. Select leftists operate on preconceptions, assumptions and black and white thinking.
They do not allow opposing thought. If you are right wing, you are the enemy. They will speak of you in negative connotations. You will be treated as lesser then, ignorant and dangerous. If you are a centrist, you are a right wing sympathizer. You must justify that you are on the right side: the left side.
Liberals, similarly to select hardcore right wings, cultivate beliefs that fall within fascism. Without opposition, you have no individual thought- you have no individual choice, you have a set rules to follow. You have authoritarianism. You have militarism. You have a forcible suppression of opposition. You have fascism.
Similarly, the demand of no opposition is narcissism.
The points made fall into the following traits within the Narcissistic DSM:
"Expecting to be recognized as superior with a need to control others."
"Believing that they are "better" and should only associate with other people who excel."
and "Cultivating a sense of entitlement, such as an expectation of better treatment, a catering too, and compliant behavior."
Disclaimer: The Narcissistic behavior spoken of in this article does not pertain to the actual diagnosis of Narcissistic Personality Disorder. What is mentioned is an all too common but malign and wide spread phenomenon of isolated behaviors that can be identified with narcissism. Through a number of incidents, this behavior can occasionally be categorized WITHIN traits of the disorder itself. This similar excerpt from the DSM will be used as a template to explain the malevolent behavior of a demographic. Cultivating 5+ of these traits could hint towards an overall diagnosis of this disorder.
According to the DSM, those who suffer from Narcissistic Personality Disorder live with these traits.
Having an overly-ambitious and narcissistic sense of self-importance, expecting to be recognized as superior with a need to control others.
Preoccupation with fantasies of fame or power.
Believing that they are "better" and should only associate with other people who excel.
Requiring excessive admiration and a stroking of the ego.
Cultivating a sense of entitlement, such as an expectation of better treatment, a catering too, and compliant behavior.
Takes advantage of others to their own benefit.
An absence of empathy and an unwillingness to care about the needs, desires and boundaries of others.
An envy of others or a delusion that others are envious of them.
Arrogant or entitled behaviors and attitudes that draw attention to themselves.
Lets throw in some other traits and terminology of narcissism with sources.
A Smear Campaign in the Narcissists playbook is an effort to devalue and discredit a persons reputation publicly so as to ruin them.
Flying monkeys act as enablers of the Narcissist to help them do their dirty work.
Narcissistic supply is a pathological need for attention through any means whether that be attained through cruelty or compliments.
Denial Is a compulsive phenomenon where the narcissist pretends or refuses to believe that traumatic events or circumstances do not matter, exist or happen, even when presented with evidence to the contrary.
Gaslighting A form of psychological abuse in which narcissists undermine other people’s mental state by leading them to question their reality. Narcissists use lies and false information to erode their victims’ belief in their own judgment.
There exists a phrase. "Virtue signaling" it is defined as:
"the public expression of opinions or sentiments intended to demonstrate one's good character or social conscience or the moral correctness of one's position on a particular issue."
One of my biggest pet peeves as a bisexual mixed asian-pacific islander (Because nowadays my minorities are my merit) is white people damning themselves to appease to POC. Cis men damning themselves and harboring guilt simply for being themselves, a self they cannot change. A select number feel the need to speak up on issues that do not pertain to them or effect them (racial injustice, trans issues, etc) as a means to say "Hey i'm an ally." this behavior quite often if not always leaks into speaking on the behalf of POC and LGBTQ and speaking over POC and LGBTQ. No one being who they are, in their natural essence and being born in their skin and born into their sexuality should be made to feel the need to apologize for beliefs they do not have, simply because people they do not associate with of the same color or sexuality may believe it. Blaming an entire race for actions they personally did not commit is gaslighting- as it leads those people to question their reality. Maybe just by existing, they are racist due to the acts of their ancestors? No matter how hard they try, they will always be racist? No matter what they do, cis men will always be oppressive? Those are the thought processes manipulators instill within White or Cis people simply for existing as themselves.
The points on the need and pressure for excessive and performative virtue signaling and the intentional identity and reality dissolution of others fall into the following traits within the Narcissistic DSM:
"Requiring excessive admiration and a stroking of the ego."
and Gaslighting A form of psychological abuse in which narcissists undermine other people’s mental state by leading them to question their reality. Narcissists use lies and false information to erode their victims’ belief in their own judgment.
This is a message to those who have been kind, thoughtful, and respectful to me: You did not colonize me. You specifically did not oppress me. You did not deny my sexuality or demean my gender. You have done nothing you need to apologize for. You don't need to hate yourself or damn yourself to holy hell, because I know so many of you do.
In all my years of existence I have been stereotyped and experienced more racism from POC than white people by far. Personal beef with one or a few people of the white race does not account for the whole race. Personal distaste for one or a few people of a certain minority for reasons to do with drama or so on, does not account for the whole minority.
On to digging more into the roots of Cancel culture.
The cancelization of AI is the dismissal of the future
The feeding into the trend of each and every new cancelization is the unsatisfaction with the present.
Nothing is accepted, and it is the discomfort of being themselves in an imperfect world surrounded by imperfect people. It is the striving for perfection through the demeaning of others. It is the discomfort of being white, or for others the mis-placed anger of past experiences with racists that fuel a hatred towards that particular race. It is the doomed and hopeless reach for control. To be a narcissist is to find fault in everyone but yourself on the outside, but on the inside the need to control the actions and beliefs of others is rooted in a disdain for the self and it’s secret faults and beliefs. (That are often projected upon others.)
“How dare you like the music of this person! I would never support the art of this person. If you support this person we can’t be friends. You should be making a public apology.”
A line eerily similar to a line I would hear relentlessly from my ex abuser who vehemently had Narcissistic personality disorder.
“How dare you disobey me? If you don’t do what I tell you, you will face consequences.”
Those same people that demean you for supporting a certain person will criticize and expose you through a social media status. And the same narcissist that demands you obey them will abuse you and smear campaign you to everyone if you don’t do what they tell you too.
Bullying is akin to abuse.
Publicly chastizing someone is verbal abuse. It is manipulation. It is bullying.
And worst of all, it is normalized and encouraged. It is the mob mentality and cliquish behavior of those with a superiority complex and a delusion of perfection.
Cancel culture is abuse. In the most popularized and disturbing form.
Narcissists are notorious for always blaming others for something they themselves are guilty of. They say “You're crazy!” After provoking someone to act out as a result of being abused.
Virtue signalers will attack a person’s character, race, looks, and family for having an opinion they simply disagree with. They will attack someone’s right to freedom of speech for having an opinion that differs from their own. They will take away their right to freedom of action if they don’t agree with that act.
A narcissist cares only to hear their own voice.
They will cut off, unfriend and block anyone that has differing beliefs from them because
they say “You cant oppress the oppressor” single-handedly being oppressive yet claiming they can’t because they are the ones being oppressed. A classic case of victim complex.
If everyone was to agree with each other there would be no growing because without setbacks there cant be growth in the first place. Without pleasure, there cant be pain. The world as we know it is able to exist through individualism and contrast.
The act of Cancelling gives an upper hand to the person doing the cancelling. They now wield the power to ruin someone. As a victim of someone with NPD and as a victim of domestic violence, I have considered cancelling my abuser himself. I think in serious and dangerous circumstances, "cancelling" is an understandable option. But cancelling for a harmless difference in opinion or political viewpoint is something else. It is akin to a Smear Campaign, which is the effort to destroy someone's reputation to gain something in return. In this case, to virtue signal. Harassment of any kind escalates when the bully rounds up a following of people to harass, demean and stalk a victims social media. Which is then abuse by proxy. This is not exclusive to the canceller and the cancelled, but expands into a wider demographic of malicious internet bullies. Degrading, cruel and unnecessary YouTube comments made to start conflict and controversy fall under the umbrella of toxic and abusive internet harassers. Those that assist in harassment or degradation of any kind are akin to the flying monkeys. Through hurting others a bully may gain supply which is a need for attention attained through any means, but in this particular instance they gain attention from hurting others and engaging in conflict.
The points made fall into the following traits within Narcissistic terminology:
A Smear Campaign in the Narcissists playbook is an effort to devalue and discredit a persons reputation publicly so as to ruin them.
Flying monkeys act as enablers of the Narcissist to help them do their dirty work.
Narcissistic supply is a pathological need for attention through any means whether that be attained through cruelty or compliments.
The cancelization of Dhamer is the erasure of history. It is akin to the banning of books. The gatekeeping of education. It is preaching "refuse to know what really happened in this world, refuse to know what could happen in this world, and refuse to be aware of the outskirts of society and all the nooks and crannies of evil that exist within the human existence. Be ignorant of the real world."
Without knowledge, without knowing what happened in the past: history is bound to repeat itself. Without acknowledgement of past wrongs, we cannot reflect on the differences or disorders within a select number of individuals. It is important to acknowledge that some humans are completely void of empathy and it is also important to recognize that there are dangerous people that are out to harm us in this world, because we cannot exist within a safe bubble exempt from the horrors of the world- dependent on our screens and safe inside. That is how ignorance and no life experience or knowledge is cultivated. Without the bad there cannot be good, without those that lack empathy, we could not be conscious of the lengths of our own empathy. It is the sad truth that there are victims of violent things in this world. That is an inevitable reality that needs to be acknowledged. Otherwise we are left with the erasure of history.
The points made fall into the following traits within Narcissistic terminology:
Denial Is a compulsive phenomenon where the narcissist pretends or refuses to believe that traumatic events or circumstances do not matter, exist or happen, even when presented with evidence to the contrary.
In conclusion, conscious awareness of one's own behavior can solve projection and hypocrisy. No one should believe they have the right to control other people nor the right to demean or abuse them for being who they are. Abuse, bullying, harassment and unconscious narcissism can take many forms, but toxic behavior can be eliminated with self awareness and therapy. This article is not against being selfish or prioritizing yourself, it is rather encouraging the importance of cognizance and kindness, self development and education. If something is taken personally, that is something to reflect upon. With questions such as: Why does this trigger me? Why does this anger me? How can I work on myself? How can I not lash out upon others? How can I improve?
All just some food for thought.
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