Justice is a system that is designed to hold accountable wrong behavior to ensure peace in society. There has been a lot of criticism of the Justice System lately and some of it is warranted while others of it is very subjective in nature. For over a year and a half I have been thinking about climbing Mount Everest for justice. This isn't against the Justice System but as an avenue of opening a wider discussion on how we may improve the Justice System to ensure greater accountability of "bad apples" and solidifying a concept called "universal justice".
I have been a recipient of coordinated bigotry, bullying and what appears to be the covering of another crime(s). There are multiple incidents where I had to hold the line against a group of people tied together through a history of "rule the school" mentality years after school ended. Each person will likely have their own perspective and it would make the situation very confusing for law enforcement officers who had to choose between morality and pleasing their social networks.
We also find there is likely mental health issues involved through the deep psychological traumas buried in childhood and now manifests in the way the perpetrators handle conflict, disagreement and boundary enforcement. Normal people say what they need to say and agree to disagree. Dysfunctional people encourage others to join them in punishing the "outsiders", will manipulate information, and put in false complaints.
As this coordinated group "spun" their beliefs to their group of "flying monkeys". A flying monkey is a person who becomes an extension of the perpetrators psychological projections. They may not understand the issues, are likely provided false information and are part of triangulation. Triangulation is a method narcissists use to pit different people against each other even though they have no conflict. It is used as a method of bullying, silencing, and gain advantage over others.
I have a lot of different types of experiences in my life and I have no problem going against the grain if I feel that I'm right (This isn't about going against the grain this is about ensuring such behaviors don't continue to damage the public in the future). Our society runs better when we focus on the truth and together we make efforts to stick as close to it as possible. Sweeping important issues under the carpet doesn't work for society anymore.
The truth can sometimes be ugly and it is often not what we were expecting. There is what happened and their is subjective truth in terms of a "spun" story. There is also truth in the behaviors and actions beyond the subjective truth (i.e. and distortions) that interpret natural events in our lives. Much of our future discussion on this event will be about the socially constructed subjective truth vs the more object fact oriented truth.
When dealing with issues like narcissism it is hard for outsiders, and people not educated on the topic, to see and spot the underlining self seeking actions of others (Especially if their close group has been socialized to accept such behavior as "normal"). The lens and filter they use is very much distorted and when matched with an extrovert personality it can influence choice, behavior and outcomes that would not have been possible without the narcissists influence.
We often think of narcissism as an anti-social personality where people can't get along with others. That isn't necessarily true in all cases. Social skill is a learned trait and some learn to master that art to fulfill their needs (i.e. the con man). According to a study of 595 participants dark personalities often displayed in narcissistic personalities use their socio-emotional intelligence (SEI) to manipulate others for personal gain (Nagler, et. al. 2014).
To deflect criticism and project psychological trauma the narcissist often goes on the attack. They lie, manipulate, influence, bully and sometimes engage in crimes because they have a difficult time understand the ramifications of their behavior. This is why we have laws and this is why there are certain personalities that consistently manipulate and skirt the law. Law is one mechanism of reduce future risk of repeat by enforcing boundaries; and when needed mental health interventions.
Just because people high on the narcissism perspective think of values in terms of reward and punishment they are not necessarily socially inept. It means that they calculate more then they feel (at least according to their awareness) as a psychological outlook. Some will conduct an environmental scan and test support with passive aggressive behavior and comments designed to "feel out" group adherence. If they have the support they will act with impunity.
Such aggressive behaviors don't just start out of the blue. As a way of viewing the world you will see some of these behaviors manifested at different places and times in their life. Peeping into their personal history you will find an underdeveloped outlook on life and the need for a huge networks of admirers (i.e. narcissistic supply).. Others who fell out of their "graces" might also tell tales of rumor mongering and coordinated efforts.
Most of us have an intuitive sense of right and wrong. Where our rights start and where they end. Narcissists don't understand that concept and focus more on what they can and can't get away with. Higher order concepts such as critical thinking and empathy are underdeveloped. Surrounding themselves with weaker personalities that provide blind support can have disastrous effects on society (i.e. think about how dictators rise).
At this point we come to the understanding that narcissism is based in psychological outlook, choices, and narcissistic supply in their social groups. What we should talk about how mental issues are often hereditary and you can find genetic material and manifestation of mental health health at an increased occurrence when compared to the general population. Without help such individuals will continue to inflate their sense of importance at the expense of others.
We have known about the bio-psychological connection between mental health and genetic inheritance for a long time. While research is still developing it appears that such genetic inheritance may also apply to narcissism perspective as well (Waldman, Rhee, LoParo & Park, 2018). A review of the genetic background would find bi-polar disorder in more than one close relative. That would be interesting to look at more closely.
There is also overlap between bipolar and narcissism traits (David, et. al, 1998). Bi-polar mania and narcissism appear similar when in full display and it would take a psychological evaluation to figure out whats going on. We have to consider that if there is a family history of bi-polar disorder and at the same time they exhibit narcissistic traits then we have to rule out that genetically bi-polar is at increased likeliness.
Let us say for a moment in this situation that the highly manipulative behavior impacted public resources, put the county at risk, was a misuse of government resources, and in turn had serious outcomes on kids as well as heightened the racially charged perceptions of ethnocentric community members. Without misinformation and intentional control oriented manipulative behavior the situation may have resolved itself naturally.
This isn't an accident they stumbled upon. It is part of the framework of a heightened self-validating mental distortion that requires strict adherence to . According to Glasser International, Choice Theory indicates that we make choices because we are trying to fulfill our basic needs (William Glasser International, 2020). The narcissist is not immune to needs but is highly focused on their needs leading to callous, unsympathetic and often destructive behaviors.
At the end of the day, we have choices to make as a people on how we want to handle mental health in society. The "pink elephant" is there...taking the air out of the room.....and we can't just work around it anymore now that it has thrown a temper-tantrum in a small community knocking over everything in its way. It needs to be dealt with so that we can extinguish such behavior to society.
We have a couple of options:
1. Criminality: There are times when this is necessary. If a person doesn't want to deal with their mental health issues (assuming there is one) then the law should step in to force them. There are some people who won't face their issues because they lack understanding or they don't have the ability to care about the consequences of their behavior. The law can be helpful here.
2. Mental Health: A mental health evaluation will tell us if there is a disorder at work, whats its diagnosis (i.e. narcissism, bipolar, other), how to help, and how to minimize repeat behaviors. Morally it is helpful to understand the root of the behavior to help the person live a healthy life, create a nurturing environment for people where sports isn't central to their lives (i.e. having rounded interests) and ensure there is a record of such behavior in case similar behaviors repeat themselves.
3. Do Nothing: We can also do nothing. We need to check why we are not taking action. If it is because of close association with the perpetrator, unconscious discrimination, lack of resources, lack of expertise, etc... then these are avoidant strategies. Sometimes we can avoid and sometimes we can engage. Engagement should be done in an empathetic way with sensitivities to the issues but also to curb such behavior.
4. Other: I always put this in because there are other outcomes not included (there are lots of them I'm sure).
I try and be as moral as I can and its not always easy when people engage in seriously destructive behavior and in turn brag about it with their friends. The callousness and intentional destruction is highly indicative of serious mental health issues that come into play during certain life stressors. It is my hope, and a logical conclusion, that at a minimum you would see a psychological examination of the primary perpetrator (s) in this situation to ensure they are not no longer a threat to people who are different than them, when there is illicit financial gain, or when distorted self image comes into play. Yet...we can't expect people to think the way most reasonable people would think and hold others accountable if we perpetuate in-out group dynamics. Morality doesn't necessarily improve as your station of life improves. People who feel responsibility over society and have principles are often very different than those who focus on their own needs. Its an age old argument.
David Stormberg, Elsa Ronningstam, John Gunderson, and Mauricio Tohen (1998). Brief Communication: Pathological Narcissism in Bipolar Disorder Patients. Journal of Personality Disorders: Vol. 12, No. 2, pp. 179-185.https://doi.org/10.1521/pedi.1998.12.2.179
Waldman, I. D., Rhee, S. H., LoParo, D., & Park, Y. (2018). Genetic and environmental influences on psychopathy and antisocial behavior. In C. J. Patrick (Ed.), Handbook of psychopathy (p. 335–353). The Guilford Press.Nagler, et. al. (2014) Is there a “dark intelligence”? Emotional intelligence is used by dark personalities to emotionally. Personality and Individual Differences, 65. Retrieved https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0191886914000452
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