Five Key Traits of Autocratic People
Know how to spot them so you don't vote for them (Scroll to the end to listen)
Yesterday, we covered how Christian Nationalism indoctrinated me to accept authoritarian thinking. I was isolated as a child; I never learned to negotiate, listen, or compromise through play; and I attended Christian Nationalist schools from kindergarten.
According to Tato A Torres Gilormini, Doctor of Clinical Psychology and a Family Therapist, children between the ages of three and six learn critical life skills through play. When children fail to learn how to listen, negotiate, and compromise through play, they become rigid and inflexible as they grow older.
This breeds adults who are autocratic, non-compromising, and non-flexible. Tato has identified five key personality traits of autocratic, non-compromising, non-flexible people. Let’s dive into them.
For more on Tato, readers can find his biography here:
Five Key Personality Traits of Autocratic, Non-Compromising, Non-Flexible People, according to Tato A Torres Gilormini, Doctor of Clinical Psychology and Family Therapist
They are inflexible. They are rigid in their thinking and are resistant to change. They won’t consider new ideas.
In my newsletter “What Does ‘Sin Is the Root Cause of Homelessness’ Mean?”, I quoted a county supervisor from Dane County, Wisconsin. He was the only person who voted against funding a men’s homeless shelter because he insisted that “sin is the root cause of homelessness.” He believed no organization should be funded if it failed to address so-called sin.
This is an example of the kind of inflexible thinking autocratic systems like Christian Nationalism encourage. They believe the only solution to homelessness (or anything bad) is their God, their interpretation of the Bible, and their ideas. They refuse to consider any other alternatives and often tank programs and initiatives that could help people.
They are intolerant. They refuse to tolerate differing opinions and perspectives.
Nothing demonstrates Christian Nationalist intolerance better than my newsletter “Christian Nationalism: Where Sex Never Deserves Privacy.”
From that newsletter:
Men like (Clarence) Thomas are convinced it is their godly duty to police what we do in private and force us all to live by their narrow interpretation of the Bible. Because as we saw yesterday, people like Clarence Thomas believe sexual immorality as defined by their Old Testament God unleashes his judgment on the whole country.
THEY will define what is immoral. THEY will decide who violates their definition. THEY will adjudicate the punishment.
They are impatient. They often show impatience with others, especially when things don’t go their way.
Nothing I’ve written demonstrates their impatience (and thirst for vengeance) more than Project 2025’s call to dismantle the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration over Sharpie-gate.
This whole episode was one gargantuan temper tantrum over being told “you misspoke. We do not project this storm to hit Alabama.” Because NOAA scientists refused to alter their scientific models to appease their toddler-boss, Project 2025 will destroy their entire department.
They have high self-confidence. They have a strong belief in their own abilities and judgment, often to the point of dismissing others’ inputs.
I’ve written several newsletters about what Project 2025 will do to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institutes of Health.
I almost never mention 45 here, but few things showcase this “high self-confidence” more than his call for us to ignore doctors and scientists and inject bleach to cure COVID. (Plus, Leslie Jones is a gift to humanity. I love her.)
They dominate. They tend to assert control and expect others to follow their directives without question.
Few things demonstrate this like the Texas attorney general who threatened to sue doctors for performing medically-necessary abortions in the wake of the lower court’s decision in favor of Kate Cox. “I don’t agree with your court decision, judge. So I’m stepping in and making sure doctors and hospitals follow our Christo-fascist abortion bans without question.”
What has this trajectory meant for democracy? For our government?
One needs only to watch exchanges between many Republicans and anyone with whom they disagree to see how things have broken down.
They are almost always intolerant and inflexible in their public exchanges.
They are impatient and interrupt the other person, insult them, and/or cut them off.
They have a shocking degree of self-confidence given how often they are proven wrong, and they never apologize or admit their errors.
They try to dominate every interaction and become outraged when people question them.
Our municipal governments, our statehouses, and our Congress are filled with autocratic, non-compromising, non-flexible people.
Tomorrow and Thursday, we will drill down into other sub-traits of autocratic, non-compromising, non-flexible people. Tato and I hope that by providing these traits, readers will be able to identify autocratic, non-compromising, non-flexible people BEFORE we elect them to office, BEFORE we put them in positions of leadership, BEFORE we elevate them to positions of power.
Christofascists inflict psychological terrorism on the masses. I see God as a malignant narcissist. So, none of this is a surprise. That's why I left the church. It's about control. They're not about love, compassion, empathy or critical thinking skills. I don't see how they are any different from a malignant narcissist. They run circles around each other, because no one takes fucking responsibility for their own fucking behavior. Children are still being sexually abused by good Christians. Nazis were good Christians too.
Here's a story that always brings me back to reality. Two Holocaust survivors were talking about what they are going to say to God when they meet him at the pearly gates. One said, he had a Holocaust joke for God. Well, they died and he told his joke to God. God said, that wasn't funny. The Holocaust survivor said, I guess you had to be there.
Their impatience and their unwarranted self-confidence ought to turn into Achilles heels for them. Instead we're letting them represent them as strengths.