Projection or reflection?
I had often wondered why it was that sociopathic narcissists, people whom by definition care about nobody but themselves, still seem to make an exception for other sociopathic narcissists like themselves. Meaning that if you put one of them on a team, they'll backstab everyone else in a bid for power. Yet if you put two of them on a team they'll end up forming their own two-person mini-team within the group in order to backstab everyone else even harder.
I wondered why this was, especially considering that another sociopathic narcissist is going to be their biggest threat. After all, they're going to operate in the same way and will know what to expect in return. There can be no ambush, no unseen betrayal, etc. So why do they do it? What do they see in each other that I was missing?
Then it hit me: It's all about what they see. Because when a sociopathic narcissist sees another sociopathic narcissist, they don't see a monster, nor a threat, nor even a rival. What they see is themselves, and what is the one person that a sociopathic narcissist actually cares about? That's right - themselves.
So what is really happening, then, is that they are projecting their own self-worship, self-love and self-aggrandizement onto the other one and thus tricking their own brains into allying with them. Since the other part of the pair is doing the same thing in return, this alliance is surprisingly genuine in practice, if not motivation.
What can snap them out of this self-induced glamour? Danger, of course. Let the consequences of their actions show up and either one will happily throw the other to the wolves of justice in order to save themselves, just as soon as the would sacrifice anyone else to save their own butts.
I wondered why this was, especially considering that another sociopathic narcissist is going to be their biggest threat. After all, they're going to operate in the same way and will know what to expect in return. There can be no ambush, no unseen betrayal, etc. So why do they do it? What do they see in each other that I was missing?
Then it hit me: It's all about what they see. Because when a sociopathic narcissist sees another sociopathic narcissist, they don't see a monster, nor a threat, nor even a rival. What they see is themselves, and what is the one person that a sociopathic narcissist actually cares about? That's right - themselves.
So what is really happening, then, is that they are projecting their own self-worship, self-love and self-aggrandizement onto the other one and thus tricking their own brains into allying with them. Since the other part of the pair is doing the same thing in return, this alliance is surprisingly genuine in practice, if not motivation.
What can snap them out of this self-induced glamour? Danger, of course. Let the consequences of their actions show up and either one will happily throw the other to the wolves of justice in order to save themselves, just as soon as the would sacrifice anyone else to save their own butts.