Narcissism builds a NarciCity that grows Narcissists by Joel - TopicsExpress

Narcissism builds a NarciCity that grows Narcissists by Joel Cayford A book by David Thomas, (Narcissism: Behind the Mask), describes the narcissistic character traits of individuals who he describes as power-hungry. Not everybody who gets elected to govern a city has the ideals of Aristotle. It is not unknown for the men and women who are elected to positions of power to be power-hungry. According to Mr Thomas the personality traits of a power-hungry narcissist are: An obvious self-focus in interpersonal exchanges Problems in sustaining satisfying relationships A lack of psychological awareness Difficulty with empathy Problems distinguishing the self from others Hypersensitivity to any insults or imagined insults Vulnerability to shame rather than guilt Haughty body language Flattery towards people who admire and affirm them Detesting those who do not admire them Using other people without considering the cost of doing so Pretending to be more important than they really are Bragging (subtly but persistently) and exaggerating their achievements Claiming to be an expert at many things Inability to view the world from the perspective of other people Denial of remorse and gratitude These are the traits of a narcissistic individual. But unless that person has the power of - say - Adolph Hitler, Joseph Stalin, Margaret Thatcher (famous politicians with narcissistic personalities) - then it is unlikely they will influence a city or world history - beyond their own families. But is it that simple? Dr Leon Seltzer rather cynically oberves,Narcissist politicians dont serve the people; they serve themselves, in an article he uses to explore why narcissism is so rampant in politics. These quotes from psychologist Dr Seltzer give a flavour of what it is that motivates the narcissist: ....what typically drives them is a lust for power, prestige, status, and authority. These (lets call them) objects of admiration not only gratify their need for self-aggrandizement by feeding their oversized ego. They also provide them with compelling evidence to confirm their sense of superiority to others—probably their most coveted need of all.... Theres little question that politicians—wield vastly more power and control than the average citizen. Even before winning office, these individuals may have been inclined toward such entitled thinking. But theres little question that once elected their newly elevated status promotes further exaggeration of this tendency—which, ultimately, must be seen as anti-social. As politician the whole city has become one huge narcissistic supply for them. That is, the ego gratifications available simply from residing in #CityCouncil are truly extraordinary: such an unusually prestigious role cant but pump up their self-esteem to levels that further confirm their bloated sense of self. Whereas before they put themselves on a pedestal, now the whole city obligingly seems to follow suit. Moreover, once ensconced in office they may well feel accountable to no one but themselves—free to play their competitive power games with impunity (and frankly, the public be damned). What is a NarciCity? Lets take the narcissistic organisational characteristics identified by Grant and McGhee: denial, rationalisation, self-aggrandisement, attributional egoism, entitlement, and anxiety, and consider how #Auckland City fares as a case study, just looking at sewage. Trait Denial #NarciCity Nobody gets sick from combined sewer discharges into the Viaduct. The #WaitemataHarbour is a beautiful shade of blue. People (maori) eat snapper from it. #EthicalCity Human excrement contains microbial contaminants that cause ill health. It is top priority to collect, transport and treat human excrement away from areas of human habitation or play. continue reading at joelcayford.blogspot/2014/12/narcissism-builds-narcicity-that-grows.html