Black Narcissus is the title of a movie that was released in 1947, the year in which I was born. The title of the movie comes from the name of a perfume favored by one of the lead characters. But the title has also recently developed some irony, beyond the irony that the narcissus flower is usually white. Here’s why…
There is a new buzzword among those who fancy themselves the literati of the nutcase religious right. That’s a small (albeit vocal) group, since misspelled protest signs and a lack of knowledge about or interest in the world at large seems to be a badge of honor for these unpatriotic “Real Americans.” The word is NARCISSIST. I’ve heard and seen it used many times recently, particularly to describe our nation’s president.
The word itself comes from the myth of Narcissus, a good looking young man who was punished by the gods for his immense ego and for his indifference to others. He fell in love with his own image reflected in a pool of water, and drowned when he tried to touch it. The Greek and Roman versions of the myth differ somewhat, but the notion of falling in love with one’s own image (and the resulting demise) has persisted in the language, and has evolved so that it has now insinuated itself into the realpolitik of our times. In a right-wing culture not only bereft of any vestige of intellectualism but for the most part downright hostile to it, I find the use of references to classical mythology to be at the very least, amusing. I’m also amazed that some of these fools can spell Narcissist. These are the same folks who think that the president is a Muslim, born in Kenya, who wants to take away their guns and kill their grandparents. I wish that I was kidding, but I’m not. These are our neighbors, our co-workers, and even some of our political “leaders.”
The word has shown up again in the past few days. It was used by Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert to describe LeBron James and his decision to leave his longtime team (and his home state) and “take (his) talents to South Beach.” Now let’s think for a minute…what do Barack Obama and LeBron James have in common? No…not that they are both TALL. No…not that they are both really good at what they do. I think that the fact they are are both black may have something to do with it. “Narcissist” seems to be just one of several new ways to describe and ultimately demean successful black men, without having to fall back on the tried and true hate speech of the not-all-that-distant past. As an adjective, Narcissistic is the new “Uppity.” As a noun, Narcissist has become just another “N-word.”
This phenomenon troubles me for several reasons. First, until recently the term “Narcissist” had some real value. It was a useful term when used to describe an all-too-common phenomenon. We all know folks whose self-love leads to their downfall. Narcissism in the business world is one of the major causes often cited for some of our recent economic problems. Read “The Smartest Guys in the Room” and find out what happens when Narcissism becomes epidemic in the boardroom and in the executive suites of a corporation like Enron. In the behavioral sciences, we have the Narcissistic Personality Disorder. I won’t go into details here, except to say that one of the most significant features of this disorder is the expectation by the patient to be treated as a superior being without (according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual IV) “Commensurate Achievements.” Now…in what universe does that description apply to our president or to the best player in the NBA? It’s racism masquerading as patriotism and sounding like scholarship. And it’s nonsense, but it makes these anti-American “patriots” sound smart, at least to each other.
Once again, this metastatic ignorance destroys a useful, descriptive term. It’s happened before. The terms “idiot” and “moron” and “cretin” used to be applied to specific levels of intelligence as determined by standardized intelligence tests. But first children and then ignorant adults began to use these terms as pejoratives, and the terms themselves were demonized as a result. And so it is now with the word Narcissist in its various forms.
If you grow up poor, without a father, and go on to graduate from Harvard Law School and become President of the United States you DESERVE to admire yourself, no matter what color you are. Not that I’ve seen much of that self-love with President Obama. We used to tell our children that the ultimate accomplishment, the thing for which you could be most proud, was to become president, but I guess that only applies to white folks. If you’re black and proud of your legitimate accomplishments, that is a cause for scorn in “Peckerwood America.” And those who revel in their own ignorance and fawn over each other for their vitriolic prejudice..they are the real Narcissists. And if there is any justice in the world, then just like Narcissus, their love of their own reflection will plant the seeds of their own destruction.
Yep. Enough said.