Perhaps he’s as mad as a hatter

If Arendt is right and we are susceptible to radical evil because we cannot conceive of it, then the work of opposition must begin with learning to call it what it is. So here is a definition for our time: Radical evil is the manipulation of others’ perception of reality in order to increasingly concentrate power and wealth in the hands of the few. It is a strategy to sow chaos in order to take advantage of the fear that chaos brings. It is the twisting of facts to frighten citizens into believing that their safety requires them to turn against others. And it is the collapsing of what is good and moral into what is rich and powerful, and ruthlessly using that wealth and that power to accrue more wealth and power.

 

That is why our efforts have to be aimed not at diagnosing Trump, but at stopping Trumpism. To call it madness is to try and bring it into the realm of the familiar and to miss the real threat that Trump embodies: He thrives in turmoil, he has an uncanny ability to bend the world to his reality, he is charismatic and ruthless, hypnotic and terrifying, and we, in this country, have rarely seen his like before. To fight Trumpism, we must actively expose and combat the overpowering reality he is trying to create—and we must abandon the comforting delusion that Trump is delusional.

 

Stop Saying Donald Trump Is Mentally Ill
Slate

 


Perhaps he’s as mad as a hatter;
Perhaps he’s just mean… what’s it matter?
(Though collusion’s suspected)
the man was elected
by our sisters and brothers… what’s sadder?

Lily Beth Baker, 5/19/17

 

“What if there’s no there there?”

Much of the dialogue around him, the journalism and analysis, even the statements of his own surrogates, amounts to a desperate attempt to construct a Theory of Trump, to explain what he does and says through some story about his long-term goals and beliefs.

 

We badly want to understand Trump, to grasp him. It might give us some sense of control, or at least an ability to predict what he will do next.

 

But what if there’s nothing to understand? What if there’s no there there? What if our attempts to explain Trump have failed not because we haven’t hit on the right one, but because we are, theory-of-mind-wise, overinterpreting the text?

 

In short, what if Trump is exactly as he appears: a hopeless narcissist with the attention span of a fruit fly, unable to maintain consistent beliefs or commitments from moment to moment, acting on base instinct, entirely situationally, to bolster his terrifyingly fragile ego.

 

We’re not really prepared to deal with that.

 

We overanalyze Trump. He is what he appears to be.
David Roberts, Vox

 

We’ve seen results when one’s predictable
behavior stems from hardened arsonism,
but patterns yields to inexplicable
with diagnosed malignant narcissism.

Mary Boren, 5/13/17

 

Don’t tell me he’s mentally ill


“Mr. Trump causes severe distress rather than experiencing it and has been richly rewarded, rather than punished, for his grandiosity, self-absorption and lack of empathy. It is a stigmatizing insult to the mentally ill (who are mostly well behaved and well meaning) to be lumped with Mr. Trump (who is neither).” – Allen Frances

 


Don’t tell me he’s mentally ill,
that humanoid up on the hill
It’s an insult to those
who suffer the throes
of diseases that siphon all will.

© Susan E. Eckenrode, 2017