Their lack of shame gives them power. When dictators come to power one of their first acts is to make the other people around them direct accomplices in horrible acts. When Saddam Hussein purged the government he had other officials participate in the firing squad. It isn’t just cruelty, it’s a strategy, it takes the others around you over the edge and binds them to you. Them raising the stakes higher and higher with more and more shameless acts is a strategy to get their members to do whatever they want and to do more bold and brazen acts that can get them more power.
By doing this the only shame becomes nuance and self reflection. Feeling guilty, becomes being a buzzkill. It becomes socially reinforcing. You can’t be bad because if you’re bad all your loved ones are bad and they’ll judge you for ruining their fun or hate you we not being sufficiently committed to the cause
Their lack of shame gives them power. When dictators come to power one of their first acts is to make the other people around them direct accomplices in horrible acts. When Saddam Hussein purged the government he had other officials participate in the firing squad. It isn’t just cruelty, it’s a strategy, it takes the others around you over the edge and binds them to you. Them raising the stakes higher and higher with more and more shameless acts is a strategy to get their members to do whatever they want and to do more bold and brazen acts that can get them more power.
By doing this the only shame becomes nuance and self reflection. Feeling guilty, becomes being a buzzkill. It becomes socially reinforcing. You can’t be bad because if you’re bad all your loved ones are bad and they’ll judge you for ruining their fun or hate you we not being sufficiently committed to the cause
Exactly, the point is to isolate their supporters and strengthen their cult.