Should We Call Them Human?
Narcissistic Personality Disorder
A narcissist demonstrates a lack of empathy towards others and this causes him to treat others like objects. He does not see others as human beings, but sees them as objects that have no feelings or needs. His sense of entitlement leads to his exploitation of others and this results in little guilt or remorse.

i got the link from the iccdf discussion board, where it was offered to help explain kip mckean. but though the diagnosis does seem to fit the apparently delusional leader of a destructive religious cult, the description of individuals exhibiting a Narcissistic Personality Disorder reminded me of nobody so much as the current president of the united states, gw bush.

a quick google search [gw bush and narcissism] confirmed my suspicions. from my reading this morning it appears to me that gw is a quintessential example of a patient diagnosed with this illness - a mental illness.

does anyone remember thomas eagleton? or what happened to mcgovern's campaign after the issue of eagleton's mental health [not his mental health at the time, but in the past] was exploited publicly to thwart the chances of the 1972 democratic presidential nominee?

and bush is a practicing narcissist. mm. scary times, i tell ya. reading about the disorder did help me to gain a little more understanding of what i perceive to be gw's blindness toward the suffering of others...it's no wonder. the man can't see beyond the tip of his own fucking nose.

another quote from the article on Narcissistic Personality Disorder:
Lying is an integral part of the narcissist's behavior and all their self-reports are unreliable. His cognition is impaired to the extent that he frequently misinterprets other's speech, actions, and thoughts. He may believe that someone respects or loves him although this is a fantasy which exists only in the mind of the narcissist.
- posted by barbara @ 3/06/2004 06:34:00 AM