« End of Occupation » No 994
Fueled by Pathological Self-pity, Trump and Netanyahu Plot Insurrections Against Democracy
By Chemi Shalev
The most ludicrous and concurrently repulsive trait shared by Israeli Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and U.S. President Donald Trump is self-pity. Two well-to-do white men who reached the top easily, whose personal power is unparalleled and whose domination of their respective countries is as close to absolute as democracy can tolerate, are whining crybabies with a deeply ingrained sense of eternal victimhood. If it weren’t so ominous, it would certainly be hilarious.
Self-pity, as the meager psychological research devoted to the syndrome suggests, doesn’t exist in a vacuum. It is associated with neurotic personalities and is often a manifestation of pathological narcissism. People who absolve themselves of responsibility for their own actions tend to direct their anger at external forces supposedly persecuting them or wishing them harm. British actor and writer Stephen Fry described self-pity as “the most destructive vice you can have.” Paraphrasing Oscar Wilde, Fry says of self-pity: “It destroys everything around it, except itself.” (more…)