Why It’s Important to Realize That GOP Con Artists Are Not Cowards
Historian Thomas Zimmer covered this subject very well on Twitter.
Mainstream media and Democratic politicians often refer to Right Wing politicians who follow along with Trump and fail to object to the damage Trump causes, as cowards. That’s a mistake that can cause us to respond to them in ways that don’t work at all.
Here is the threadreader app of Zimmer’s Twitter thread on the subject.
If we respond to Right Wing propagandists and con artists as if they are simply cowards, that won’t work. Most humans are cowards. A much lower percentage of humans are con artists. Con artists are not generally cowards. They take risks to fulfill their own desires for power, money or other egotistical goals. They don’t take risks for the public good. They lack ethics — not courage. This is important to know, in dealing with them.
Dealing effectively with con artists, sociopaths etc., is a complex subject. Most con artists are not sociopaths, but sociopaths are particularly difficult to deal with successfully, so there are many books on them alone.
Here are some of these books, for those who are interested:
Konnikova’s The Confidence Game
Babiak and Hare’s Snakes in Suits
Simon’s In Sheep’s Clothing: Understanding and Dealing with Manipulative People
Stout’s The Sociopath Next Door
The Sociopath at the Breakfast Table: Recognizing and Dealing With Antisocial and Manipulative People by the McGregors
Bancroft’s Why Does He Do That?: Inside the Minds of Angry and Controlling Men
Klaas’s Corruptible: Who Gets Power and How It Changes Us
Political Ponerology: The Science of Evil, Psychopathy, and the Origins of Totalitarianism by Andrew M. Lobaczewski and Michael Rectenwald
