Tag Archives: twisted truths

Aside

Libs and Cons…Part 2

The Republican Party has made no secret of their alignment with the conservative, Southern, Christian evangelical movement. They used to be the party of law & order, the “Party of Lincoln” that signed the Emancipation Proclamation. But then they realized that the “Southern Strategy” to appeal to the racism of Southern voters didn’t work nationwide and that the Democrats had been welcoming African American voters, electing Lyndon Johnson in a landslide in 1964. 

The Republicans, searching for a new strategy and voters, realized that the Evangelical Christian movement may be their best bet. They decided that they could convince a huge block of white voters that they were the Party of “American Values”; not exactly the same as their disastrous Southern Strategy, but still recruiting from much of the same voting block. They cast their lots with the likes of Billy Graham, Jerry Falwell, Pat Robertson (who ran for President in  the 1988 Republican Party) and their various Christian organizations. They would become the “pure” Party, the Party of God, Guns, Apple Pie, and Patriotism. They didn’t need any of those liberal socialists anyway. And they might just be able to pull it off.  They heard what LBJ said, and they knew that was where they could exploit millions of hard working, faithful, Christian men and women to join them. 

“If you can convince the lowest white man he’s better than the best colored(sic) man, he won’t notice you’re picking his pocket. Hell, give him somebody to look down on, and he’ll empty his pockets for you”.  Lyndon Johnson, 1964

As crude as LBJ’s words are, it may be the way to understand the devotion of Donald Trump’s followers, and the loud “mean girl” strategy being used during this election season. 

The Republican Party has been referred to recently as “the party of grievance”, or the “just say no” party:

  • No health care, 
  • No abortions
  • No voting for black folks,
  • No mercy for people crossing into the US from dangerous countries 
  • No Social Security or Medicare for old or disabled people, 
  • No funding (especially)for Medicaid, of course 
  • No funding for public education (but using that money for private charter schools is ok), 
  • No rent assistance, 
  • No debt forgiveness, 
  • No nutrition assistance for children or families, 
  • No books that may have social or political themes, 
  • No allowances for gender differences, 
  • No gay marriage 
  • No restrictions on gun ownership or guns in public places, 
  • No restrictions on the destruction of public lands by private oil companies, 
  • No money to fund the maintenance of bridges or highways that are crumbling, 
  • No restrictions on greenhouse gasses or funding for alternative energy sources, 
  • No restrictions on ownership of media or what is said by such,  
  • No restrictions on the amount of money corporations can use to fund and support candidates that they know will vote on legislation in the best interest of the corporation rather than the best interests of the people of the United States (dark money aka bribes). 

Grievance politics means that the rules of behavior (good manners) that you learned in elementary school as early as kindergarten no longer apply, and anyone can say or do anything they want to do. If you disagree, then you are ridiculed as “woke”, “elitist”, “socialist”, “snowflakes” or other terms they consider insulting. 

Better than some of the invectives thrown around during the Civil Rights era, yes, although I’m not sure why they think the appropriated term “woke” is disparaging…and I embrace that one. I’m proud to be awake, aware of what’s happening around me, aware of what they are attempting to do….”snowflakes” are beautiful in winter, none of them exactly the same as another, just like humans…”socialist”…well, I do appreciate the services provided by the fire department, police department, public hospitals, Veteran’s benefits, Unemployment insurance, FEMA, the GI bill, the National Parks, the FDA, NASA, the CDC, the Post Office, and, of course, the military. Soooo, yep. That one works for me, too. (Plus, I’m on Social Security and Medicare, the truly evil socialist programs the Republicans have been trying to dismantle since they were developed, and have promised to do just that if they are able to gain the Senate and House majorities again) 

The “elitist” one cracks me up.  The Republican Party “ruling class” is made up almost entirely of extremely wealthy “legacy” rich white men with degrees bought and paid for by ELITE wealthy parents who realize that their offspring don’t have a dime of common sense or interest in actual learning. They may have excelled at the expensive private prep schools they attended in the arts of bullying, hazing, drinking, cheating, and womanizing (ahem, Brett Kavanaugh) and know that they will have to provide large “gifts” to the Ivy League institutions they insist their offspring attend in order for said offspring to graduate. Now, who are you calling “elitists”? 

Elitists? I’ve often wondered how they can launch that term at Democrats with a straight face. Then, a couple of weeks ago, I was informed by a former Republican friend that “elitists” actually refers to “the Jews”.  Yep, that same old trope that’s been floating around, sometimes under cover of what Republicans call “political correctness”, sometimes blatant, and sometimes fatal. The trope that says that all Jews are connected by some sort of  international cabal that starts with that most dangerous Jew, George Soros, and makes its way throughout the world by way of his support for organizations that promote democracy, peaceful governments, and “socialist” ideals like feeding the poor and hungry and providing health care to the most needy, especially on continents like Africa and Asia. Of course, his “influence” is aided and abetted by the “elites” of Hollywood, New York, and the Democratic Party.  (I guess that must be when we aren’t all gorging ourselves on the blood and flesh of the children we have molested and kept prisoner under a pizza shop in NYC)(You know I’m joking, right?) 

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October 31, 2022 · 5:57 pm
May 29, 2017 · 2:06 am

Is Trump Pathological?

Hello my friends….this is an article I found that reassures me that “it ain’t me” that is losing the marbles…. cannot say the same for the current White House resident. This is the first in a series of examinations of the President and why he acts the way he does.  This could describe any number of people in DC, but is particularly frightening how many of the characteristics fit Mr. Trump….

6 Subtle Characteristics of The Pathological Liar

By
~ 6 min read

Pathological lying (PL) has been defined by the Psychiatric Times as a “long history (maybe lifelong history) of frequent and repeated lying for which no apparent psychological motive or external benefit can be discerned.” There is no real consensus on what pathological lying is and many people have developed their own definition. Pathological lying is something that has negatively affected many people, even professionals, who are often unaware of the psychiatric instability or personality disorder of the liar.  For example, in one of my previous articles I focused on Judge Patrick Couwenberg, a Superior Court Judge of California, who lied repeatedly while serving the public. The former Judge maintained the lie that he was a Caltech graduate, a wounded war veteran, and a CIA operative in the 1960s. All of these statements were easily identified by his peers as unreliable and inconsistent, but Couwenberg continued to attempt to evade others. He was later removed for “willful and prejudicial misconduct” for lying about attending Caltech. This education was critical to his Judicial position.

 The sad part about this story is not so much that the former Judge lost his job in the end, but that he lacked insight into the fact that his steps could be traced and that many people would ultimately find him out. An appropriate level of consciousness was missing from Couwenberg and is missing in so many other people who are compulsive liars. The very fact that a lie could be found out does not affect the pathological liar. They have an inability to consider the consequences or even fear being found out. It’s as if the pathological liar believes they are smarter than everyone and will never be found out. The very fact that the pathological liars’ work-life, home-life, or reputation could be in jeopardy as a result of the lies, does not phase the liar. Guilt, shame, or regret does not affect the liar. Consequences also do not seem to affect the liar. So then why does the liar engage in such behaviors? 

Multiple research studies have attempted to find an answer to this question to no avail. Trying to understand the mind, behaviors, and intention of the pathological liar is not an exact science. It is very much an inexact science and entails years of study. Humans are complex and trying to understand the reasons for why they do all the things they do takes more than a graduate school degree in psychology and years of work experience. For many mental health professionals and psychiatrists, trying to understand the pathological liar (or sociopath and narcissist who engages in this behavior) will entail a combination of intuition and science. Science alone cannot answer the many questions we have about pathological liars, but experience can offer some clues. We now know that pathological lying is spontaneous and unplanned. Impulsivity is often the culprit. We also know that pathological lying is more likely to occur in certain disorders or among individuals who have certain personality traits. Some diagnoses that might include pathological lying includes but is not limited to:

  1. Personality Disorders:
    1. Antisocial Personality Disorder (better known as sociopathy)
    2. Borderline Personality Disorder
    3. Narcissism or narcissistic personality disorder
  2. Behavioral disorders:
    1. Conduct disorder (often diagnosed in children and teens who have criminal-like behaviors or who demonstrate sociopathic traits such as animal cruelty, fire setting, and oppositional behaviors toward authority)
    2. Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD) and CD (conduct disorder)
    3. Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) often combined with ODD or CD

Certain personality traits where pathological lying may occur include:

  1. Narcissism or self-centered behaviors and thought patterns
  2. Selfishness
  3. Abusive attitude
  4. Obsessive, controlling, and compulsive behaviors
  5. Impulsivity
  6. Aggressiveness
  7. Jealous behavior
  8. Manipulative behaviors
  9. Deceptiveness
  10. Socially awkward, uncomfortable, or isolated
  11. Low self-esteem
  12. Tempermentalness
  13. Anger

It is important to keep in mind that there are pathological liars who quite frankly just cannot help telling so many lies. It is almost like an automatic thing for the liar. Their world is much different from our world. But there are also liars who are gratified by telling lies, are good at it, and do not regret anything they have ever said. These individuals are “skillful” liars who attempt to evade and harm everyone they come across in their lives. In fact, these liars would meet diagnostic criteria for antisocial personality disorder (or sociopathy). They also tell truths in ways that give incorrect perspectives. In other words, they tell the truth in a misleading way to cause people to view things in an incorrect fashion. Such individuals enjoy and get much gratification from keeping you confused and believing their stories. It is the experience of watching a “victim” run through the maze of confusion that gives gratification to most liars.

Based on my clinical experience and general research of the profession, I encourage you to keep 6 things in mind as you deal with the pathological liar:

  1. Know that a pathological liar will study you: The goal of the liar may be hidden, but you can count on the fact that the they don’t want you to know the truth. In order to evade someone, you certainly need to study the person and examine what that person might or might not believe. Liars, often sociopaths, are known to “study” the person they hope to take advantage of. In other words, they look for weaknesses.
  2. Don’t forget that the liar lacks empathy: As hard as it is to believe, it is true. The liar does not have any moral consciousness of how the lying behavior may make you feel. The liar does not think before he lies: “oh, I better not say that or I could hurt that person or mislead them.” The liar does not care anything about your feelings and never will. A question many parents of my former clients have asked their child who lies is: “Why don’t you just tell me the truth? Why is that so hard!?” As difficult as it is to believe, it is not that easy for the liar to divulge the truth. The liar lacks the ability to consider what you might feel in response to their lie (which is empathy).
  3. Normal people feel guilty and are relieved when you change the topic or stop asking questions: This was an interesting point that I learned about as I studied forensic psychology as a graduate student some years ago. While working with juvenile delinquents, I found that the pathological liar shows no emotion when lying which makes them believable. A person who is lying and has normal levels of empathy and concern for others, will often show relief when the topic being discussed is changed. For example, if someone told you that they grew up in a concentration camp and experienced a lot of trauma as a result, you would ask questions about it to further understand. If you changed the topic at the point when you observed stress or anxiety in response to your questions, you would see the person relax because they are aware of the consequences of their lying. Most of us will relax when others cease from asking too many questions about a topic we are lying about. A pathological liar is not fazed. You will rarely if ever see emotion.
  4. All liars do not do the common things you think liars do: Believe it or not, liars do not always touch their nose, shift in their seats or from one foot to the next, or even look sneaky when lying. Some really experienced liars are good at giving you direct eye contact, seeming relaxed or “laid back,” and may appear very sociable. The thing to look for is eye contact that feels piercing. Some sociopaths have learned how to evade people with direct eye contact, sociable smiles, and humor. Trust your instincts and discernment. What do their eyes tell you? What does their behavior or laughter tell you?
  5. The most sneaky liars are manipulative: I once heard someone say “we all manipulate.” While this might be true to a certain degree, the liar tends to manipulate more than anyone else and has learned how to become a “pro” at doing it. There is nothing impressive about the dangerous or evil manipulator. They know everything to say and do, they know what you want and don’t want, and again, they will “study” you. In fact, many pathological liars (and sociopaths) use sexual or emotional arousal to distract you from the truth. Proceed with caution when dealing with someone who seems to be directing their attention to you in such a way as to stimulate your arousal to distract you. That arousal could be psychological (peaking your interest), emotional (causing you to feel connected to them), or sexual.
  6. Pathological liars exhibit strange behaviors: Can you remember how you felt, perhaps as a child or teen, after you were caught lying to a teacher, a parent, or friend? Did you feel guilty, sad, or afraid that the other person would no longer accept you? Some research suggests that pathological liars show no discomfort when caught lying, while other studies suggest that liars may become aggressive and angry when caught. The bottom line is that no pathological liar is the same.
 As you can see, trying to understand the liar is as difficult as trying to understand how the world began. It’s something that requires a lot of study, patience, intuition or discernment, and wisdom. Research continues in trying to understand the mind and behavior of the pathological liar. Psychiatrists and mental health professionals continue to research the liar in order to understand why they do what they do and how we can protect their victims.

I wish you well

About Támara Hill, MS, LPC

Támara Hill, MS, LPC, is a licensed therapist and certified trauma professional, in private practice, who specializes in working with children and adolescents who suffer from mood disorders, trauma, and disruptive behavioral disorders. Hill strives to help clients to realize and actualize their strengths in their home environments and in their relationships within the community. She credits her career passion to a “divine calling” and is internationally recognized for corresponding literary works as well as appearances on radio and other media platforms. She is an author, family consultant, and founder of Anchored in Knowledge.com. Visit her at Anchored-In-Knowledge or Twitter.

 

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