There are a couple of unfortunate things in the modern age that accentuate this sort of stuff. One, like mentioned, just taking one small piece of information or incident out of context and running with it. The second is that the world has unfortunately become structured in a way that incentivizes emphasizing brand and image above most other things. Over competence, over honesty, over transparency, over humanity, over commitment, over contribution, etc. I’ve come to learn there are a lot of people who put most of their efforts into promoting, protecting, and enforcing how they are perceived above most everything else. And in a world where people’s attention spans are short and don’t take time to figure out what lies below, this actually can pay dividends, reap rewards for people who lack morality but committed to “success”. “Protecting your peace” for example has often become a way to say and do whatever you feel while ignoring how your actions may affect others. But, like you said, what’s made visible (often combined with the what garners significant emotional response) is what people often consider most. And for the opportunistic “narcissist”, this can just be an incentive to manage and manipulate what’s most visible rather than address any issues and work towards mutually beneficial progress. In fact, it’s often what happens in real life.
There are a couple of unfortunate things in the modern age that accentuate this sort of stuff. One, like mentioned, just taking one small piece of information or incident out of context and running with it. The second is that the world has unfortunately become structured in a way that incentivizes emphasizing brand and image above most other things. Over competence, over honesty, over transparency, over humanity, over commitment, over contribution, etc. I’ve come to learn there are a lot of people who put most of their efforts into promoting, protecting, and enforcing how they are perceived above most everything else. And in a world where people’s attention spans are short and don’t take time to figure out what lies below, this actually can pay dividends, reap rewards for people who lack morality but committed to “success”. “Protecting your peace” for example has often become a way to say and do whatever you feel while ignoring how your actions may affect others. But, like you said, what’s made visible (often combined with the what garners significant emotional response) is what people often consider most. And for the opportunistic “narcissist”, this can just be an incentive to manage and manipulate what’s most visible rather than address any issues and work towards mutually beneficial progress. In fact, it’s often what happens in real life.