Believe the Facade of a Narcissist-No More

Mirror, mirror on the wall ~ don't let me fall for a narcissist's words for fear I'll find myself tangled in the web of silk threads cunningly spun to lure me in. You might take those words to heart... A narcissist is needy and compared to the sun, for they think everything revolves around them. George Eliot wrote, "He was like the Cock who thought the sun had risen to hear him crow."* It's a marvelous metaphor to depict a self-centered individual who masterfully mistreats others. Malicious manipulation bleeds from their veins as they sit on a throne of their own making, taking aim on gullible ones who think they are sincere. It's a game they play, finding fault and placing blame on anyone who calls them out and then they pout when they don't receive enough grandiose attention. Machiavellian by nature, a chameleon by choice, as a means to their end of being seen as a kind soul. With dodgy deception, they portray themselves as the victim, while readying a new web. Like a spider, they conceal their intentions in shadows, camouflaged like a serpent, coiled in wait to strike. Comparing a narcissist to a serpent is not farfetched. It's etched in their mind that they have the right to be bold and bite any hand that exposes them. But it's a tale that must be told before they are too bold. They've not been ordained as divine or deity, although obsessed with being idolized, they might be. It's important to present themselves in good light, being witty but sly is their plan to take command and will not hesitate to infringe on anyone's boundaries. But woe to those who'd dare cross their threshold for they have the need to maintain complete control. They're starved for attention so, don't feed their ego. Ignoring them will ignite their anger and set it ablaze. Dousing their gaslight by depleting their source of fuel will draw their ire and set off their fuse. Then, they will cry out, "I'm the victim of abuse!" That's the excuse offered from their coffer of tools... the sharpened weaponry of pen and tongue they use. You have a choice to stop being played like fools. Break the passive silence that you've been keeping, and in a voice clear and strong, point a finger and say, "Narcissistic conduct is terribly wrong!" Lock them in a cage where their vanity can't take flight, out of sight of the innocent, not yet caught in their web. "Will you walk into my parlor?" said the spider to the fly.** Let your answer thunderously roar and look them in the eye. "NO! I can resist you because I know you are a narcissist. You claim to be kind, but I know what's really on your mind and it's designed to hoodwink others to believe it's not a plot. You swore that you're nice, twice, thrice... but you're not." To get their way, they persistently pretend innocence, laying a guilt trip on those who refuse to buy into it. Don't be suckered in by them, and before it's too late, remain mute no longer and you will escape the entrapment of their woven web of deceit. Defeat the narcissists, and when they claim you are a hater, smile and tell them they've worn out that old accusation, and you'd be glad to challenge them in a public debate. * George Eliot ** 'The Spider and the Fly' by Mary Howitt