There is consolidation of extreme forces in
democratic societies across the world favoring authoritarian leaders. Rising
insecurity and disconnect in globalized world and lack of worth in increasingly
transactional nature of society could be factors. What is not given much
attention is the sinister rise of dark empaths and how they systematically
degraded institutions. The reason why there is no caution against dark empaths
is because they are quite comfortable in neoliberal value system hence have
occupied crucial positions and narration controls. They define success hence
the characteristic of dark empaths is positioned as desirable. Dark empaths
moved in into the mainstream in mid-1990s as the neoliberal world went about
globalizing. Consumerism defined every aspect of deal from news to
entertainment to education to even human relations and emotions. If
it has market value then it is useful, everything else can be dumped or strive
to find monetization potential. Unthinking youngsters trapped in the system earnestly
go about working out career in jobs that seeks monetization possibility from anything
anywhere. The neoliberal claws are ready and constantly sharpened to grasp any
possibility of monetization even in bleakest of situation. In this extractive system technology adds to the
efficiency of exploit and effectiveness of control.
Empathy is important and a valued attribute
that defines human being. To be attuned to other’s emotions and care for their feelings
is even exhibited by most toddlers before they even learn to speak. Empathy makes
us social beings and for a considerate and caring society -evidence shows that the
extinct humans Neanderthals also exhibited empathy and cared for their sick. Dark
empaths however use empathy to manipulate for gains, named after
a 2021 study, it is characterized by dark traits combined with empathy. Dark
empaths use cognitive empathy, so they cognitively recognize how something
might make you feel, and use that knowledge to manipulate you. Cognitive
empathy is logically understanding other’s feeling and needs. It is different
from emotional empathy wherein the person feels the worry and pain as if they
are jointly experiencing hence cannot keep detached, there is a genuine remorse.
There is another much deeper empathy referred to as compassionate empathy -a
strong desire to help others and will go out of the way to make other’s feel
better. I have come across compassionate empathy they are rare gem of a people
who really shouldn’t be existing in this cruel world. Long time back as a
witness to an accident on Pusa Road, and here I was emotionally empathizing and
distressed, this girl went out of the way to help the man, she poured water and
used bare hands to carefully wipe his face to reduce pain (it’s a nasty world,
and sincerely hope she is in better surrounding with her world intact, such
people don’t last long). I also have come across nurses with zero empathy who
probably wouldn’t mind pulling the plug. Some 16years back I wrote about psychopaths in media who filmed a dying man, you may visit https://depalan.blogspot.com/2008/06/how-to-put-value-on-human-life.html.
Dark empaths use cognitive empathy to understand
how you are feeling and make it seem that they care but are manipulating for personal
gains. They keep an emotional distance while performing empathy (in a cognitive
way) this help to keep sharp focus on their sinister intent and control. They
carry dark traits
-maladaptive personality
constructs (in mainstream these are commonly referred to as the 'Dark Triad', of
Machiavellianism, psychopathy and narcissism, I recall discussing these few years
back while discussing the book Corruptible -Who Gets Power And How It
Changes Us by Brian Klaas). Dark empaths overlap is more towards narcissism,
a sense of entitlement, grandiosity and self-importance, but unlike narcist
dark empath -as they are aware of empathy, carry self judgement capacity not as
a remorse but to improve. They also carry some attributes of Machiavellian and
psychopaths, the callous superficial charm. Through their cognitive empathy
dark empaths know what others want to see and so can don a mask of kindness and
caring. This is precisely what neoliberal vandalism of last few decades have
nurtured as they exploited people and nature: a competitive space for angst. So,
carefully working the system they positioned as caring and concerned for
people. With the spread of neoliberal there is competition for angst capital by
NGOs (granting that some are doing tremendous work at grassroot level but most
are posturers). These dark empaths work around the power centers and are active
in debates and issues that presents to showcase empathy. They carefully observe
the powerful (who themselves are in varying dark triad, thanks to extractive system
that nurture these) and position to what is appreciated. With charm and guile
they present themselves as benign concerned souls, mostly mediocres they
compensate through manipulating and exaggerating their worth. Empathy being the
lynchpin to work their ruse. So you have stampede of lawyers, journalists,
actors…so on working overtime to showcase their empathy through activism. Carefully
orchestrating to the needs of plum positions, awards and other goodies. Dark empaths
degrade institutions, and are active agents of nepotism and crony capitalism. They
exaggerate crucial issues in their zest for empathy to ridiculous and hence the
backlash that further degrades. Woke is the work of dark empaths. Every issue
from migration to LGBTQ to minorities are spoiled and made meaningless and divisive. Narcissist overlap creates high sense of entitlement and grandiose
that brush genuine concerns of common people or even common sense. An empathetic
person will be concerned and will know the limit beyond which it hurts. But for
dark empaths there are no such concerns, there are no limits. Empathy keeps
flowing as much as opportunities widens, and as the backlash creates divisions and
vitiate the matter they charmingly position as benign empathy driven
arbitrators and representors of morals. Henceforth there are only opportunities,
and their aggressive pursuit among competing dark empaths that the extractive system
keeps nurturing as stories of success. They have contempt for people (justified
since most are herd and unthinking mass that are easily charmed) and instead of
addressing issues or even attempting to retrieve humanity from herd they actively
go about complicating the issue, lacking humility or restraint, using jargons of human rights they take highest
moral ground to taunt common people for their lack. Their self assuredness solidifies with increasing insecurities of common people. Instead of simplifying they
complicate in the egos of issues without any attempt to nuance the complexity. The
mystification is for the ease of manipulation. The arrogant complacency of the
system and condescending attitude results in charlatans providing simplistic version to stupefy populace.
The rise of attention seeking economy have only
empowered dark empaths as they spread wide and across. The woke backlash consolidated
them as defender of higher values that has diminishing takers. Meanwhile common
people across the world pay a heavy price as democratic institutions takes
beating and so the critical issues of climate breakdown and biodiversity loss. Dark empaths for their nefarious gain have significantly contributed to rise of authoritarianism
and diminishing crucial issues and polarization of society. I was reading Han
Kang’s Human Act -strongly recommended book, these few lines are
pertinent “…we’d all performed the miracle of stepping outside the shell of our
own selves, one person’s tender skin coming into grazed contact with another,
felt as though they were rethreading the sinews of that world heart, patching
up the fissures from which blood had flowed, making it beat again. That was
what captured me, what has stayed with me ever since…”. Other is not imagined. Other
is lived. Lived in experiences that binds to profound realization of humanity.
**the pic herein is of common place black
empath in India.
The attention seekers before attention seeking was an economy! The pic is morphed since it is not about any particular person, it is a snapshot
of grandiose of dark empaths. Imagine the utter lack to post this. Essentially mediocre they claw their way up with
nepotistic connection and very high sense of entitlement (matching the castetva
cannibals and positioning to fight hindutva). Few decades back I observed these regrets carefully before being appalled and shutting them out. Most dark empaths are
slick, and they wouldn’t make such mistakes. It is exaggerated self-worth and itch
to exhibit blessedness as fate to teeming population placed in crude society is
what makes this noteworthy unhinge. Same as another unhinged dark empath creep conjuring
‘slum cake’ in an hedonist exhibition of wanton impunity from reality.
