According to Greek mythology, one bright day Narcissus from whom the term narcissism derived, got thirsty after hunting and a goddess lured him to a pool where he saw his image in the water and fell in love with himself. Absorbed with self-love, he fell into the pool and died. Other versions of the story said he wasted away at the side of the pool.
Narcissists are not difficult to identify. They have an exaggerated sense of importance and achievements, and they can't take criticism. They feel compelled to respond to every critic in epistle form, proclaiming how much support they have, everywhere, for whatever they'd done before every full stop. They crave media attention—the cameras and sound bites are essential to their egos. You wake up and there they are in the country’s face again lost in their custom-made greatness, and easily morphing to the victim role. People who disagree with them are either fools, heartless, and not interested in progress. There's a sense of entitlement, continually searching for admiration, monopolise conversations, expect obedience with their expectations, not necessarily compliance with mutually satisfactory agreements. They're touchy like green wires sparking flashes. Tiptoe, and don't upset their egos that are bigger than the globe or they would react with a rage that’s so fiery hot it melts esteem, but then the strongman facade peels away and it's apparent that grandness was just an illusion.
Narcissists believe they are gods but are constantly searching for halos. They’re capable of amassing a flock, and the only time they're distracted from themselves is when they are looking to see who isn't admiring them. Perhaps, more to the point, they want to know whether people are still fascinated by their performance and greatness. High on their list, is keeping score on enemies—people who disagree with them.
To narcissists, there's no line between fact and fiction, truth and lies. They live in a constant state of denial—denial of their incompetence and in a strange sense, self-hate because they're not who or what they want to be. They compete with a false concept of themselves. It doesn't take many of their initial admirers to begin to question what's really going on and to see through the veil of strongmanism. The need for constant attention is a desire for continuous public reaffirmation of vainglory imagery. Mind you; it's not that they don't achieve anything. They do, and some are capable of laudable feats; be that transforming society, increasing productivity, reducing crime, creating a healthy environment or whatever it takes to build public confidence in institutions critical to the public's welfare.
The problem with narcissists is that they’re sick people who traumatise subordinates, making those who must work with them unhappy. They hear their own swagger, never wanting to hear reason. Work should make one happy—well most of the time—not always feeling stressed out. But narcissists make the work environment toxic and unsafe. They're disrespectful and instill fear, often not realising that they're occupational hazards. And, if even they're aware of their terrible impact on others, they seem to take delight in abusive behaviour, which perhaps, builds their esteem and shows how vulnerable they are to their madness.
The bottom line is, all the grandiose public chest-beating is a mask and self-reaffirmations of assumed indispensability. True, it's not easy to dispense with them. Citizens of the world from East to West, North to South, know that.
The cult-like behaviour by supporters keeps them in leadership positions to do untold harm to institutions and societies. These people are only as strong as the fawning men and women around them. Others may navigate the toxic behaviour of narcissists by letting them feel they're smart–mamaguy–hoping they fall in a pool.
The problem is, they are dangerous, depending on the positions they occupy. They're a threat to democracy, peace and stability; are divisive, thrive on the ignorance of followers, and show no respect for other authorities. As said, it's not easy to remove them, and therein lies more danger. Whose image is in the pool?
