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Hypnotic Mass Hysteria, AKA ‘Stop the Steal’
The MAGA Nation takes a psychotic break
Much has been and will be written about the 2020 elections. Events unfolding in the autumn of 2020 proved to be both perplexing and unnerving. Despite the political intrigue, bizarre psychological manifestations gripping the MAGA public have proven to be as interesting as any political aberrations. In a fictional piece I recently published called “Delusional Humanism,” I explored the subject of Hypnotic Mass Hysteria and the psychological underpinnings causing large groups of people to break with reality. I thought I would extend this thinking from fiction to reality.
The first term, ‘hypnotic,’ refers to circumstances in which an individual becomes subconsciously receptive to ideas from another individual. Mass refers, of course, to a large number of affected people, and hysteria characterizes an uncontrolled outburst of irrational behavior.
During the runup to the 2016 election, even the shallowest reading of public materials on the then-candidate Donald Trump revealed three defining traits. Firstly, he appeared to fit the profile of a highly narcissistic sociopath — a person whose first concern would always be himself. Donald Trump always acts in the best interest of Donald Trump. This fact is not to say others don’t sometimes benefit from his…
