"Narcissists gravitate towards professions where they can control people and elicit adulation. They are more likely to work in politics, finance or medicine than in shoemaking. They are aware of what they are doing to others - but they do not care.”
Sam Vaknin, Malignant Self Love
“It is not their sins per se that characterize malignant narcissists, rather it is the subtlety and persistence and consistency of their sins. This is because the central defect of malignant narcissists is not the sin but the refusal to acknowledge it. Rather than blissfully lacking a sense of morality, like the psychopath, malignant narcissists are continually engaged in sweeping the evidence of their evil under the rug of their own consciousness. It is out of their failure to put themselves on trial that their evil arises.
"The narcissist looks down on everyone and exploits people all of his life. For many narcissists life is all about money and power."
Linda Martinez-Lewi, Narcissist’s Outrageous Self Entitlement
Evil is not committed by people who feel uncertain about their righteousness, who question their own motives, who worry about betraying themselves. The evil in this world is committed by the Pharisees of our own day, the self-righteous who think they are without sin because they are unwilling to suffer the discomfort of self-examination.
The evil hate the light—the light of goodness that shows them up, the light of scrutiny that exposes them, the light of truth that penetrates their deception.”
M. Scott Peck, People of the Lie
“There's a reason narcissists don't learn from mistakes and that's because they never get past the first step which is admitting that they made one. It's always an assistant's fault, an adviser's fault, a lawyer's fault. Ask them to account for a mistake any other way and they'll say, 'what mistake?”
Jeffrey Kluger, The Narcissist Next Door
"Lack of accountability is a common problem with narcissists. It’s hard to understand. What is so difficult about owning up to mistakes when we’re wrong? We all make mistakes and hopefully grow and learn from each one.
But, being accountable is difficult for a fragile self-esteem. For the narcissist, who has not developed a solid sense of self, and is emotionally stuck at a six-year old level, confrontation does not work well. In fact, when confronted, it is typical to see a six-year old temper tantrum that we call narcissistic rage."
Karyl McBride, Narcissists Are Not Accountable, August 2013
Tomorrow will be a stock option expiration.
US market will be closed on Good Friday.
Stocks slumped today, as the defiance of economic reality for the sake of policy unity falters.
It is hard to sustain markets in the direction opposite to the dominant trend. But that never seems to stop them from trying.
Gold set a new all time high today, and went out near that high.
Silver also enjoyed a remarkable rebound from the calculated tariff drubbing.
The Dollar slipped back down to the lower rung of the 99 handle.
VIX ticked up a bit, but there was hardly a sense of panic in the air.
I am mindful of how I might want to position my portfolio into the long weekend.
So much of this is dependent on the seemingly random vagaries of the Donald.
I don't think logic is much of an aid in this, not with this current crew of supplicant enablers with which he has surrounded himself.
And hope is a thin sauce to cover this coming banquet of consequences.
Have a pleasant evening.
