tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2222630007427380394.post5382515856466142029..comments2023-12-20T04:18:41.617-06:00Comments on The Hunting of the Snark: The Esteemable David BrooksSusan of Texashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00076915322771385454noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2222630007427380394.post-86448634739697864372010-07-18T15:17:16.617-05:002010-07-18T15:17:16.617-05:00Let us enter, you and I, into the moral universe o...<i>Let us enter, you and I, into the moral universe of the modern narcissist.</i><br /><br />You're soaking in it!Substance McGravitashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04118764163822188800noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2222630007427380394.post-17217513910297996392010-07-17T20:22:25.415-05:002010-07-17T20:22:25.415-05:00I should have emphasized that when you take Brooks...<i>I should have emphasized that when you take Brooks' view--children should not be taught self-esteem or think of themselves as valuable--that's how you end up with your Mel Gibsons.</i><br /><br />Yeah, that sums it up nicely. But that's also why there are updates, and future posts, and comment threads...<br /><br />You're right, Brooks is going much further than just show biz. I'm just thinking of the actors/actresses I've known, worked with, or (cough) dated... Some are lovely people, others can be great in particular settings but tread with caution, and there's a certain stereotype that's laughably accurate. Even if they go into something else, like social work, legal work or teaching, the same patterns remain – less so if they have kids. But the work (at least a certain style) can require a sometimes precarious mix of ego and insecurity. <br /><br />There's a <i>Big Bang Theory</i> episode where Penny meets Leonard's mother in the lobby, and it comes out that Penny is a waitress and aspiring actress:<br /><br /><i>Dr. Beverly Hofstadter: There have been studies suggesting that many who into the performing arts suffer from an external locus of identity. <br /><br />Penny: Yeah, I don't know what that means.<br /><br />Beverly: It means you value yourselves only as other value you. Which is often the result of un-met childhood emotional needs.<br /><br />Penny: (weakly) I had a wonderful childhood. <br /><br />Beverly: Tell me about it. </i><br /><br />Penny is in tears by the time they get upstairs.Batocchiohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02193752396025012825noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2222630007427380394.post-58687923634055113292010-07-17T12:48:26.299-05:002010-07-17T12:48:26.299-05:00I should have emphasized that when you take Brooks...I should have emphasized that when you take Brooks' view--children should not be taught self-esteem or think of themselves as valuable--<i>that's</i> how you end up with your Mel Gibsons.Susan of Texashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00076915322771385454noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2222630007427380394.post-33255963548318301852010-07-17T11:33:27.586-05:002010-07-17T11:33:27.586-05:00It is Brooks's job (if not mission) to discred...It is Brooks's job (if not mission) to discredit the left by whatever method his toady brain can devise, and to whitewash or promote the right, via the same method.<br /><br />His column a few years ago, in which he interviewed Bush and reported back, was a model of courtier flattery, evasion, special pleading, half-truths, and hagiography. <br /><br />This--Mel Gibson is a monster because liberals praise their children--is just Brooks walking the beat and doing the job.Mr. Wonderfulnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2222630007427380394.post-22109629250144579132010-07-17T07:19:30.770-05:002010-07-17T07:19:30.770-05:00I thought about that, Batocchio, but decided to go...I thought about that, Batocchio, but decided to go ahead because I don't think he's just talking about a minor moral weakness. Gibson's a sick puppy, not just some vain Hollywoood star.Susan of Texashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00076915322771385454noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2222630007427380394.post-34892056797987382152010-07-16T23:44:04.264-05:002010-07-16T23:44:04.264-05:00Well, this is a novel way for Brooks to shill his ...Well, this is a novel way for Brooks to shill his usual "know your place, peons" shtick.<br /><br />There's "narcissist" in the vernacular versus a clinical diagnosis, but as always, Brooks just wants his launching point. (However, there's also the acting profession's connection with both types. Good grief, the stories...) And per anonymous' comment, money can reveal the beast even more than booze.Batocchiohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02193752396025012825noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2222630007427380394.post-12876668888407319002010-07-16T16:21:15.462-05:002010-07-16T16:21:15.462-05:00The dignity of other people is beyond Brooks' ...The dignity of other people is beyond Brooks' powers of conception. Not surprising, really, since whatever little he had he sold a long, long time ago. There's something about his resolute toadyism that must embarrass the hell, so to speak, out of Satan himself and make him feel he got the worst of the bargain.Kiahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07652157502257079776noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2222630007427380394.post-80810763904810114122010-07-16T16:17:53.555-05:002010-07-16T16:17:53.555-05:00I wonder why brooks choose "narcissistic"...I wonder why brooks choose "narcissistic" instead of say "bipolar" or schizophrenia, or some other diagnosis-du jour? He obviously can't tell one mental illness/condition from another.<br /><br />Perhaps because he heard it used against Bush II so much? He obviously didn't understand the term then, either.Kathyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03176801494652946278noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2222630007427380394.post-16239580933371813302010-07-16T15:29:09.227-05:002010-07-16T15:29:09.227-05:00Miller says that people who develop outside emotio...Miller says that people who develop outside emotional attachments will not co-opt the views of the parent as much. As long as somebody cares about you (or there is something you care about very much that helps you develp a sense of self), people can recover.Susan of Texashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00076915322771385454noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2222630007427380394.post-41798779902599922922010-07-16T15:19:27.492-05:002010-07-16T15:19:27.492-05:00Hey!
Plenty of people raised by abusive jerks get...Hey!<br /><br />Plenty of people raised by abusive jerks get out from under & say "I will <b>never</b> be like that".<br /><br />Most of them are on the WTA tour, but there are a few others.Downpuppyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10312490198813632190noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2222630007427380394.post-47309700513611273902010-07-16T15:09:24.718-05:002010-07-16T15:09:24.718-05:00I listened to an NPR piece today that was jumping ...I listened to an NPR piece today that was jumping off from the Gibson thing and though it was actually pretty good I have to say I'm astonished by the number of people who called in, or who discussed Gibson's problems, as though he couldn't possibly believe what he's been recorded as saying. He says abusive, drunken, cruel, sick things to his girlfriend but that's just the sorrow/narcissism/alcohol talking. He says anti semitic things, and anti gay things, but that's just the...talking.<br /><br />You know what? People who are assholes when they are drinking or abusing drugs are assholes the rest of the time, just with slightly better filters. There's lots of evidence that Gibson believes absolutely that he is entitled to hurt other people who don't do what he wants, that he hates and fears Jews, that he hates and fears gay people. Way more evidence on the public record than that these are anomalies, like those caused when an otherwise moral and upright citizen is diagnosed with a brain tumor pressing on one part of the brain and disinhibiting him.<br /><br />But shorter shorter Brooks, as usual, fails to grasp the obvious. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree. People who are raised by abusive jerks become abusive jerks. No narcissism or self esteem issues involved.<br /><br />aimaiAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2222630007427380394.post-28452500109102476782010-07-16T14:04:19.293-05:002010-07-16T14:04:19.293-05:00I'd have left it at "Bozos with no traini...I'd have left it at "Bozos with no training shouldn't psychoanalyze strangers & draw sweeping conclusions"<br /><br />Or maybe just "Psychology? Humbug"<br /><br />I try to say "Humbug" at least twice a day. It does a body good.Downpuppyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10312490198813632190noreply@blogger.com