According to Wikipedia,
"Filthy Rich" is an American web documentary television miniseries about convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The miniseries is based on the 2016 book of the same name by James Patterson, and co-written by John Connolly and Tim Malloy. Filthy Rich was released on May 27, 2020. The four-part documentary features interviews with several survivors including Virginia Giuffre and Maria Farmer, along with former staff members and former police chief Michael Reiter, a key individual from the first criminal case against Epstein.
Filthy Rich tells a stories of the survivors of Jeffrey Epstein, and how he used his wealth and power to commit these crimes.
"Filthy Rich" is an American web documentary television miniseries about convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The miniseries is based on the 2016 book of the same name by James Patterson, and co-written by John Connolly and Tim Malloy. Filthy Rich was released on May 27, 2020. The four-part documentary features interviews with several survivors including Virginia Giuffre and Maria Farmer, along with former staff members and former police chief Michael Reiter, a key individual from the first criminal case against Epstein.
Filthy Rich tells a stories of the survivors of Jeffrey Epstein, and how he used his wealth and power to commit these crimes.
In this review, I talk about the impact of narcissism and the trauma from abuse at play in this case, and as usual, I follow the article with reading sources and some videos on the subject.
Since this criminal case is still unfolding with the arrest of Jeffrey Epstein's alleged Madame, Ghislaine Maxwell, I will be adding to the story as new information emerges.
Jeffrey Epstein: Filthy Rich is a documentary in four parts, and it is well worth seeing.
For one, it is a shocking documentary, so shocking, in fact, that a couple of nations around the world are paying attention to it because it portrays the dark underbelly of under-age sex crimes in the USA and abroad and how many prominent leaders in various governments allegedly took advantage of under-age girls.
Many of the incidences happened before The Child Victims Act, and have followed a trend of investigations into the lives of high profile sex offenders, starting with Harvey Weinstein and Bill Cosby. With The Child Victims Act and help from the "Me Too" movement, the statute of limitations lengthened so that children-of-the-sex-trade could sue their offenders not just when they were 18, and still a teenager, but much later. The nation started taking the sexual abuse of minors more seriously too after the outcry.
It also shows that incarcerating sex abuse offenders helps victims to heal (in the way of keeping safe from predators and in the way of keeping safe from the retaliation from predators too, who, as a rule, want to hurt victims for "telling" -- safety is a major part of healing), and keeps the society safe from the ballooning of sexual predator-ships, more victims, and more wealthy men thinking they can side-step laws. It also keeps the nation from normalizing the sexual abuse of minors.
Because of the media attention, and the public displays of officials sympathizing with the victims, this has a powerful effect on other victims who want to come forward and get some protection, even from men who seem incredibly frightening because they seem so "all powerful" and "all admirable" to so many others around them.
Being a victim in a crowd of powerful men who pat each other on the back in a love-fest way is a lonely life for that victim. Many victims report that they also feel shamed about being afraid, for being angry at the perpetrators, for being traumatized by what these perpetrators do to them, and for not admiring these men when public opinion says that they should be admiring them for the money they throw around at charities, political parties, liberal causes, education, elaborate pool parties, and vacations for politicians and presidents. The truth of who these men are can make you feel deeply depressed too, because if internationally esteemed men can molest an underage girl and get away with it without being detected, who else can? And it is especially lonely when men like this say things like "Those victims are all liars! I never recall ... I can't fathom ... I never saw her in my life! ... I will have my press secretary handle this ... I would never! ... I could never! ... I believe in liberal causes and don't condone the sexual abuse of minors ... I assumed the kid with braces on her teeth, no make-up and in a unicorn sweatshirt was an adult ... " and so on.
My own real life experience with abusers is that most of them give to charity and pretend that they are die hard liberals. I think their fake liberalism is there to hide the fact that they are brutal, cruel, dictatorial, black-mailing, do not care how they effect others, do not particularly care about the truth either, and are not particularly upstanding or care about the causes they espouse. They are hypocrites through and through, espousing Women's Rights but being cruel to women, against sexual abuse of minors and sign some negligible bills for victims. They don't stop abuse, or call on men who engage in sex with minors. They especially don't when those men are powerful or wealthy.
In terms of the perpetrators themselves, they abuse power; they are concerned only with power, and in keeping their image clean to gain more power (thus victim-shaming and throwing a tiny bone now and then to liberal causes which are contrary to how they act), in order that they may keep revolving around and around in powerful circles and getting a pass on suspect agendas. The pats on the back from other elites tell them they are winning this game (abusers love flattery as it keeps them going with their lies and abominable behavior with comfort and ease).
In terms of the perpetrators themselves, they abuse power; they are concerned only with power, and in keeping their image clean to gain more power (thus victim-shaming and throwing a tiny bone now and then to liberal causes which are contrary to how they act), in order that they may keep revolving around and around in powerful circles and getting a pass on suspect agendas. The pats on the back from other elites tell them they are winning this game (abusers love flattery as it keeps them going with their lies and abominable behavior with comfort and ease).
Which is to say if you are an underground investigator, keep flattering these creeps over and over to get to the dirt on them, something that requires a lot of in-authenticity on your part, but it may be necessary to fight fire with fire for the good of the nation and to keep its population from being victims. Flattery is exactly the thing that takes them off guard.
Dr. Todd Grande in this video, titled "Jeffrey Epstein Analysis | Was He Murdered? | Mental Health & Personality", states that Jeffrey Epstein displays all of the criteria for Narcissistic Personality Disorder. Dr. Grande does not go further than that except to say that Epstein could be classified as having Ephebophilia in addition to Narcissistic Personality Disorder.
Because of his sexual exploitation of young women, most of whom were teenagers, and some only 14 at the time that the assaults took place, Epstein easily has traits of the Malignant Narcissist as well.
But Epstein also gave a lot of money away to charities and he had an almost-commune of co-conspirators, so he could also have a few traits of Communal Narcissism.
What is disturbing about his empire of coercive sex with underage girls, is how normalized it was for his co-conspirators, workers, girlfriend, and even his many visitors. His visitors included former president Bill Clinton (who has been known for his affair and sex scandal with 22 year old Monica Lewinsky when he was 49 years old, and was seen on Jeffrey Epstein's island with some of Epstein's victims), president Donald Trump (who took trips with Epstein a number of times and bragged that Epstein liked beautiful women too, albeit young ones), Prince Andrew who has largely fallen in terms of public opinion for his interview with the BBC concerning one of Epstein's victims, and many other very high profile men.
So many of these men have denied they had ties to Epstein or were in with Epstein's crowd where workers and victims saw them (they are even in photos). We are used to a culture of lying, cover-ups, false narratives ("I NEVER met this person in my entire life!"), and blame-shifting culpability on to victims in this culture. We are used to ignoring victims and cries for justice, and either ignoring or condoning narcissism and narcissistic tactics.
Epstein had pin hole spy cameras throughout each room in his residences as well as the grounds which tied into recording equipment in another "secret room", and once bragged he had a lot of dirt on a lot of powerful men. One of the reasons for gathering so much dirt is to use it as blackmail to assure his safety ("get me out of prison or I will spill the beans"). However, this does not always equate to these types of men keeping him safe (it is speculated that Epstein was murdered in prison, a prison he was being kept in before his trial).
This was something I found in Wikidepia about the cameras:
Epstein installed concealed cameras in numerous places on his properties to allegedly record sexual activity with underage girls by prominent people for criminal purposes, such as blackmail.[81] Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein's close companion, told a friend that Epstein's private island in the Virgin Islands was completely wired for video and the friend believed that Maxwell and Epstein were videotaping everyone on the island as an insurance policy.[82] When police raided his Palm Beach residence in 2006 two hidden pinhole cameras were discovered in his home.[83] It was also reported that Epstein's mansion in New York was wired extensively with a video surveillance system.[84]
Maria Farmer, an artist who worked for Epstein in 1996, noted that Epstein showed her a media room in the New York mansion where there were individuals monitoring the pinhole cameras throughout the house. The media room was accessed through a hidden door. She stated that in the media room "there were men sitting here. And I looked on the cameras, and I saw toilet, toilet, bed, bed, toilet, bed." She added that "It was very obvious that they were, like, monitoring private moments."[85]
Epstein allegedly "lent" girls to powerful people to ingratiate himself with them and also to gain possible blackmail information.[86] According to the Department of Justice, he kept compact discs locked in his safe in his New York mansion with handwritten labels that included the description: "young [name] + [name]".[87] Epstein partially confirmed that he had blackmail material when he told a New York Times reporter in 2018, off the record, that he had dirt on powerful people, including information about their sexual proclivities and recreational drug use.[88]
According to this NBC News article, "New Jeffrey Epstein accuser: He raped me when I was 15 (Jennifer Araoz says she was recruited outside her New York City high school to provide sexual massages to the wealthy financier)" (by Sarah Fitzpatrick, Savannah Guthrie and Rich Schapiro), Jeffrey Epstein's victim, Jennifer Araoz, was raped by Epstein at age 15, and according to Araoz's mother had severe anxiety after the incident:
"I was really scared," the mother said. "She was so anxious but I couldn't figure out why. The anxiety got so bad that she couldn't function and I urged her to go to a doctor."
It furthers the suspicion that Araoz may have PTSD later in the article:
Araoz is now a makeup artist living not far from her childhood home in Queens. She said she's still grappling with the emotional damage of her teenage encounters with Epstein. "He took something from me that can never be repaired, never made whole," Araoz said.
Anyone who has had PTSD knows that this is what it looks like. The anxiety levels go up and in many instances you can't function because anxiety interferes with sleep. Lack of sleep and a hyper-alert state is what you experience when you have PTSD, and in many instances you experience headaches, muscle aches and gastrointestinal issues as well. Having your mind and body in "fight or flight" mode all of the time, racked with muscle aches (the anxiety will create tense muscles), headaches (headaches come from both the anxiety and lack of sleep), stomach issues (stomach issues come from stress, which manifest in different ways: panic meaning you will not be eating much, anxiety manifesting as stomach aches or tense sore muscles in the abdominal area, nausea manifesting when the "flight response" is activated) all add up to a mind/body system which will eventually mean dysfunction.
When you have a lot of dysfunctional victims, you also have a dysfunctional society. Not only are the victims acting in a dysfunctional way, but the perpetrators act in a dysfunctional way by committing crimes, using leisure for nefarious ends and narcissistic pastimes, by frittering away their former contributions to good causes by paying to keep out of jail instead. Instead of charity, the money goes to a money-soaking high powered legal team, the criminal justice system, the guards, and so on. It can waste at least two lives (and in some ways it ends up wasting many, many others because perpetrators want many victims, not just one or two).
Psychologists know that roughly 88 percent of teenagers who are sexually assaulted or raped, aged 14 - 17, will experience full blown PTSD as a result of these experiences. They are also more likely to be raped than adult women. And it is more likely the trauma will live with them for a long time (sometimes a life time because of the age they were when they experienced the trauma).
When perpetrators rape children and teenagers, they are not concerned with how it it is effecting their victims short term or long term. Even if you told a perpetrator that abuse can cause PTSD in victims, and that sexual abuse has a high rate of PTSD for its victims, it would probably not matter to them. They also might view it as an insult (which I explain later in this post).
In fact, some of them get sadistic pleasure that their victims may be traumatized for life (kind of like livestock branding, a scar on the body and psyche that may never go away - and especially if the teenagers are virgins which many of them were). The perpetrator can get narcissistic supply from them in terms of having brandished a virgin and had enough influence on her that the effects last for years, decades, or a life time. He is someone who she will never forget, and he will live in her mind, especially in terms of fear. People who behave this way are obviously sick, but this is what happens with a lot of narcissists who don't feel validated or credited enough for their liking: they think they will make a bigger impact by going to the dark side.
The problem becomes: when is the amount of trauma in their victims enough for their perpetrators? The answer is: it is never quite enough for any perpetrator unless they can procure, what they deem, a better source of narcissistic supply while discarding (deeming worthless) their victim, and forgetting about their former victim enough to release them. If they don't have a new supply source, or even very many supply sources, they tend to escalate abuse to such an extent that victims feel there is no place to turn.
The only way for many victims to heal is to get "un-traumatized enough" to protect themselves from further abuse: talking to someone they trust (often hard to find in situations like this, especially the girls taken to the private island), leaving, disappearing from view, calling police, calling a therapist, getting orders of protection, and so on.
That's why the gaslighting maneuver and love bombing (with flattery) is so popular among narcissists. Without it, they cannot convince victims that abuse is "good for them and should be considered as reasonable." In this case, he would have to convince his victims that sex between a man in his 60s and an adolescent who is 15 is so normal that they need to stick around to be rewarded, be willing to serve and to prove they are "good and saintly" girls, i.e. docile and agreeable at all times to command, and to "learn a lesson." Narcissists are all about the arrogance of teaching lessons, and teaching how to do sex was Epstein's self proclaimed "call of duty", allegedly with Maxwell's prompting. Those lessons are usually given to people younger than themselves, and they make those lessons sound benevolent on the surface, but they are almost always traumatizing to their victims and do a great deal of harm.
All of it is the hallmark of the kind of lack of empathy we see in Narcissistic Personality Disorder (and particularly Malignant Narcissism). What is more, because of the sadism (desire to hurt or increase the trauma), the victim predictably reacts by becoming more traumatized, which include mental, emotional and physical symptoms.
When victims of narcissists scream, "Stop! You are hurting me!" narcissists do not stop. Lack of empathy coupled with an insistence of having their desires met is why. When they are malignant narcissists, the sadism will mean they want to increase the pain and abuse, never to lessen it. Malignant narcissists are very vindictive, and sometimes "Stop! You are hurting me!" means that they take it as a criticism of them, their style of dealing with you, their style of teaching you, and their style of controlling you (which they try to teach you is this wonderful superior style compared to how others treat you). What do narcissists do when they feel criticized? They go into a rage and if they have dark triad traits (Antisocial Personality Disorder mixed with Narcissistic Personality Disorder), they often want to punish you more and more and make you pay for criticizing them and for not seeing them as the grandiose, omnipotent, powerful and in the right (authoritarian) kind of people they see themselves as being. So "Stop! You are hurting me!" can, to them, mean you are criticizing them.
So the victimization, abuse and sadism increase. And often the number of victims increase too, depending on their age and the status of their health.
The high majority of rapists and sex offenders have more than one victim, and most have many, many victims.
Not all malignant narcissists are sex offenders, but most malignant narcissists go about in the world as if they are above societal rules, regulations and norms, and feel they have a right to because they feel they are "naturally" endowed with superiority, rights and entitlements that the rest of us do not have. They are "rebellious" but expect their victims to be docile (never to rebel, never "to tell", never to go against what the narcissist wants).
When they get "sweetheart deals" as Epstein did when convicted and sentenced in Florida, these kinds of perpetrators would be even more inclined to believe they are "special", "deserve special treatment", and that they can get away with behavior that the rest of us would be held accountable for.
Predictably, Epstein chose the most vulnerable teenagers to victimize too: children from broken homes, children from poverty, children with low self esteem, and children with alcoholic or substance addicted parents.
I'm not sure what happened to these victims afterward, but many victims of childhood sexual abuse are often picked by other abusers. Abusers like traumatized victims because they count on the vulnerability (seen as "weakness" by them) to use for more perpetration of abuse and control.
This is how a nation becomes narcissistic, oligarchic, uncaring and corrupt too.
On a national level, narcissism starts creeping in when wealthy leaders try to brainwash and pay for the brainwashing of the public: that the people's pain or poverty or lack of protections is their own fault. Blame-shifting is a narcissistic trait. It has also become a national trait and an incredibly common event in political speeches. Almost every sentence uttered these days from people who have the most power in the country has the blame-shifting maneuver in it, and is embedded in new policies, pronouncements, commands, excuses and defenses.
Some people experience constant blame-shifting as confusion and cognitive dissonance.
People who know better or have lived through situations that were abusive, unlawful, or where they were disenfranchised in some manner, find it annoying or downright provoking.
However, for this period of time, narcissism is winning out in terms of the number of cases (the survey often comes from victims being treated for abuse because narcissists do not generally seek treatment for their behavior). It is also winning out in terms of a culture "in love with narcissism" (the money, the power, the girls, even if they are under-aged, the hedonism, the un-accountability, the every-man-for-himself mentality, and the move away from "a polite society" and "investigative journalism").
When we look at people like Jeffrey Epstein and all of the powerful and rich friends he could talk into breaking the law, that is a perfect case of how narcissism is worshiped, over-looked, coddled and hopelessly accepted in the nation.
In Dr. Todd Grande's video (which I also feature below along with some of the other "characters" involved in this scandal, I transcribed some of his words for the sake of those readers who like to absorb the word without the visual distractions, style of speech (if you are outside the USA), and wondering what word may have been uttered. Here is some of the transcript (when there is "..." it means I left out some information in favor of brevity, and some time signatures are in for the sake of finding them on the video, i.e. (18:30)).
Dr. Todd Grande's words:
... So essentially, Epstein was a con-man who used his ability to manipulate and exploit victims in a number of ways. Epstein had offended against at least 36 different females during his criminal career; the vast majority were underage ...
My note here: some victims who have come forward have said the number of victims was actually over sixty.
... This is a profile of an extremely dangerous offender, someone who has superficial charm, shallow affect, lack of empathy, but is not necessarily impulsive or irresponsible outside the criminal acts ...
... like many primary psychopaths, he didn't start with offending until he was in a situation where the risk was reduced. So for the most part, he waited until he had money and power that could protect him.
Primary psychopaths make a calculation (risk versus reward) unlike secondary psychopaths.
Now, looking at Narcissistic Personality Disorder, there is evidence supporting all nine symptoms, but two really stand out here: fantasies of power and success and wealth. Not only did he have those fantasies, but he was able to realize many of them ... And manipulation: he manipulated just about everyone he came in contact with: victims, co-conspirators, employers, lawyers, and that prosecutor who gave him an incredibly favorable plea deal.
So what we really see here is a grandiose narcissist with communal qualities. Epstein donated millions of dollars to charity. (7:54) ...
... Now with the Antisocial Personality Disorder, like many psychopaths, his behavior seemed to align with enough of the criteria for the disorder, for example breaking the law, lying, and a lack of remorse, but not enough to represent a classic case, and there is a mystery of conduct disorder, symptoms present before the age of 15 that's required for Antisocial Personality Disorder. I'm not aware of any evidence that he meets that criteria.
Now, Epstein was arrogant in a way that made it seem like he really enjoyed getting away with crimes while letting other people know that he was getting away with them. He wanted others to know he had true power, that he didn't have to hide from people or to be afraid of people. Now, of course, he did hide certain activities, but in other ways we see he was actually obvious, like keeping explicit photos on the walls of his Palm Beach mansion and bragging about how he had dirt on powerful people, suggesting that he could never be punished.
Some criminals get away with crimes because they can convince people that they are nice, polite, and not the type of person who would commit a crime. Epstein did this initially: he did pretend to be a good and helpful person, but that wore off quickly. (9:22) That's that superficial charm, that shallow affect ... he was really about dominating people. He wanted to control witnesses and victims, and to a large extent, he successfully did that. He made people around him dependent on his resources like when he would pay to send his victims to school.
Some people became conflicted about Epstein. They certainly didn't want to be victimized, but they also wanted what he could provide. He "made" a difficult choice. He offered something of value, in a sense, to keep his victims quiet. Many of his employees were afraid to accuse him because he could make them suffer, so again, he leveraged power over people in many different ways for a long time.
The Epstein case highlights the dangers of allowing narcissists to gain power.
His crimes were a full expression of his fantasies. This is what happens when a narcissist has no limits.
What is a narcissist capable of when they have hundreds of millions of dollars? Epstein's case really answers that question.
He perpetrated horrible crimes against scores of victims and would have offended more if he was not arrested ... (18:30)
... In the case of Epstein, he illustrates one of those circumstances that can lead to a conspiracy that is maintained over a long period of time. One person with enough power who has access to enough people who can be co-conspirators, can perpetrate a large scale criminal enterprise with immunity, again, at least for a period of time. Just like he knew how to target those that were vulnerable, he knew how to effectively recruit and obtain co-conspirators.
This is about one powerful person taking control of other people. And yes, many of those other people committed serious crimes perhaps, but they probably wouldn't have done that without Epstein. He really brought it together. He understood how the personalities worked together, how to keep people quiet, how to keep people productive. He really orchestrated this enterprise that could keep him safe.
Virginia Roberts Giuffre - from Wikipedia (reported that she was trafficked by Epstein and Maxwell to Prince Andrew of Great Britain, hedge fund manager Glenn Dubin, attorney Alan Dershowitz, politician Bill Richardson, the late MIT scientist Marvin Minsky, lawyer George J. Mitchell, and MC2 modeling agent Jean-Luc Brunel.
video: Krystal and Saagar: Epstein Docs UNSEALED, Bill Clinton, Prince Andrew, Dershowitz NAMED - for The Hill
Ghislaine Maxwell was ‘a sophisticated predator,’ a prosecutor says. (As closing arguments started, a prosecutor, Alison Moe, said she would give eight reasons the jurors should find Ms. Maxwell guilty of sex-trafficking and conspiracy charges.) - by Colin Moynihan and Rebecca Davis O’Brien for The New York Times
excerpt:
Ms. Maxwell identified and selected the victim: girls from troubled households, Ms. Moe said. Then she and Mr. Epstein gained access to the victim, inviting the girls over to their luxurious homes, without their parents or other adults. “They were isolating these girls for a reason,” Ms. Moe said.
Ms. Maxwell and Mr. Epstein “made these girls feel special,” Ms. Moe said. They offered to pay for one victim’s voice lessons and paid for another’s trip to Thailand. “They were building trust for what was going to come next,” the prosecutor said
Then, Ms. Moe said, “Maxwell helped Epstein normalize sexual encounters” — through foot massages, sexualized contact, topless lounging by the pool. “It escalated with sexualized massages,” she said.
A video by Dr. Ramani Durvasula on Ghislaine Maxwell's case (Jeffrey Epstein's enabler and co-conspirator) - You Tube video entitled "The fallout from Ghislaine Maxwell: A case study about narcissism"
Epstein’s Black Book REVEALED: Chris Rock, Richard Branson, OTHERS Associated With Criminal - The Hill (2023)
Here’s what we learned – and didn’t learn – from the Jeffrey Epstein unsealed documents - by Samantha Delouya and Lauren del Valle for CNN (2024)
Dozens more Jeffrey Epstein documents are now public. Here’s what we know so far - by David B. Caruso for AP News (2024)
In fact, some of them get sadistic pleasure that their victims may be traumatized for life (kind of like livestock branding, a scar on the body and psyche that may never go away - and especially if the teenagers are virgins which many of them were). The perpetrator can get narcissistic supply from them in terms of having brandished a virgin and had enough influence on her that the effects last for years, decades, or a life time. He is someone who she will never forget, and he will live in her mind, especially in terms of fear. People who behave this way are obviously sick, but this is what happens with a lot of narcissists who don't feel validated or credited enough for their liking: they think they will make a bigger impact by going to the dark side.
The problem becomes: when is the amount of trauma in their victims enough for their perpetrators? The answer is: it is never quite enough for any perpetrator unless they can procure, what they deem, a better source of narcissistic supply while discarding (deeming worthless) their victim, and forgetting about their former victim enough to release them. If they don't have a new supply source, or even very many supply sources, they tend to escalate abuse to such an extent that victims feel there is no place to turn.
The only way for many victims to heal is to get "un-traumatized enough" to protect themselves from further abuse: talking to someone they trust (often hard to find in situations like this, especially the girls taken to the private island), leaving, disappearing from view, calling police, calling a therapist, getting orders of protection, and so on.
That's why the gaslighting maneuver and love bombing (with flattery) is so popular among narcissists. Without it, they cannot convince victims that abuse is "good for them and should be considered as reasonable." In this case, he would have to convince his victims that sex between a man in his 60s and an adolescent who is 15 is so normal that they need to stick around to be rewarded, be willing to serve and to prove they are "good and saintly" girls, i.e. docile and agreeable at all times to command, and to "learn a lesson." Narcissists are all about the arrogance of teaching lessons, and teaching how to do sex was Epstein's self proclaimed "call of duty", allegedly with Maxwell's prompting. Those lessons are usually given to people younger than themselves, and they make those lessons sound benevolent on the surface, but they are almost always traumatizing to their victims and do a great deal of harm.
All of it is the hallmark of the kind of lack of empathy we see in Narcissistic Personality Disorder (and particularly Malignant Narcissism). What is more, because of the sadism (desire to hurt or increase the trauma), the victim predictably reacts by becoming more traumatized, which include mental, emotional and physical symptoms.
When victims of narcissists scream, "Stop! You are hurting me!" narcissists do not stop. Lack of empathy coupled with an insistence of having their desires met is why. When they are malignant narcissists, the sadism will mean they want to increase the pain and abuse, never to lessen it. Malignant narcissists are very vindictive, and sometimes "Stop! You are hurting me!" means that they take it as a criticism of them, their style of dealing with you, their style of teaching you, and their style of controlling you (which they try to teach you is this wonderful superior style compared to how others treat you). What do narcissists do when they feel criticized? They go into a rage and if they have dark triad traits (Antisocial Personality Disorder mixed with Narcissistic Personality Disorder), they often want to punish you more and more and make you pay for criticizing them and for not seeing them as the grandiose, omnipotent, powerful and in the right (authoritarian) kind of people they see themselves as being. So "Stop! You are hurting me!" can, to them, mean you are criticizing them.
So the victimization, abuse and sadism increase. And often the number of victims increase too, depending on their age and the status of their health.
The high majority of rapists and sex offenders have more than one victim, and most have many, many victims.
Not all malignant narcissists are sex offenders, but most malignant narcissists go about in the world as if they are above societal rules, regulations and norms, and feel they have a right to because they feel they are "naturally" endowed with superiority, rights and entitlements that the rest of us do not have. They are "rebellious" but expect their victims to be docile (never to rebel, never "to tell", never to go against what the narcissist wants).
When they get "sweetheart deals" as Epstein did when convicted and sentenced in Florida, these kinds of perpetrators would be even more inclined to believe they are "special", "deserve special treatment", and that they can get away with behavior that the rest of us would be held accountable for.
Predictably, Epstein chose the most vulnerable teenagers to victimize too: children from broken homes, children from poverty, children with low self esteem, and children with alcoholic or substance addicted parents.
I'm not sure what happened to these victims afterward, but many victims of childhood sexual abuse are often picked by other abusers. Abusers like traumatized victims because they count on the vulnerability (seen as "weakness" by them) to use for more perpetration of abuse and control.
This is how a nation becomes narcissistic, oligarchic, uncaring and corrupt too.
On a national level, narcissism starts creeping in when wealthy leaders try to brainwash and pay for the brainwashing of the public: that the people's pain or poverty or lack of protections is their own fault. Blame-shifting is a narcissistic trait. It has also become a national trait and an incredibly common event in political speeches. Almost every sentence uttered these days from people who have the most power in the country has the blame-shifting maneuver in it, and is embedded in new policies, pronouncements, commands, excuses and defenses.
Some people experience constant blame-shifting as confusion and cognitive dissonance.
People who know better or have lived through situations that were abusive, unlawful, or where they were disenfranchised in some manner, find it annoying or downright provoking.
However, for this period of time, narcissism is winning out in terms of the number of cases (the survey often comes from victims being treated for abuse because narcissists do not generally seek treatment for their behavior). It is also winning out in terms of a culture "in love with narcissism" (the money, the power, the girls, even if they are under-aged, the hedonism, the un-accountability, the every-man-for-himself mentality, and the move away from "a polite society" and "investigative journalism").
When we look at people like Jeffrey Epstein and all of the powerful and rich friends he could talk into breaking the law, that is a perfect case of how narcissism is worshiped, over-looked, coddled and hopelessly accepted in the nation.
In Dr. Todd Grande's video (which I also feature below along with some of the other "characters" involved in this scandal, I transcribed some of his words for the sake of those readers who like to absorb the word without the visual distractions, style of speech (if you are outside the USA), and wondering what word may have been uttered. Here is some of the transcript (when there is "..." it means I left out some information in favor of brevity, and some time signatures are in for the sake of finding them on the video, i.e. (18:30)).
Dr. Todd Grande's words:
... So essentially, Epstein was a con-man who used his ability to manipulate and exploit victims in a number of ways. Epstein had offended against at least 36 different females during his criminal career; the vast majority were underage ...
My note here: some victims who have come forward have said the number of victims was actually over sixty.
... This is a profile of an extremely dangerous offender, someone who has superficial charm, shallow affect, lack of empathy, but is not necessarily impulsive or irresponsible outside the criminal acts ...
... like many primary psychopaths, he didn't start with offending until he was in a situation where the risk was reduced. So for the most part, he waited until he had money and power that could protect him.
Primary psychopaths make a calculation (risk versus reward) unlike secondary psychopaths.
Now, looking at Narcissistic Personality Disorder, there is evidence supporting all nine symptoms, but two really stand out here: fantasies of power and success and wealth. Not only did he have those fantasies, but he was able to realize many of them ... And manipulation: he manipulated just about everyone he came in contact with: victims, co-conspirators, employers, lawyers, and that prosecutor who gave him an incredibly favorable plea deal.
So what we really see here is a grandiose narcissist with communal qualities. Epstein donated millions of dollars to charity. (7:54) ...
... Now with the Antisocial Personality Disorder, like many psychopaths, his behavior seemed to align with enough of the criteria for the disorder, for example breaking the law, lying, and a lack of remorse, but not enough to represent a classic case, and there is a mystery of conduct disorder, symptoms present before the age of 15 that's required for Antisocial Personality Disorder. I'm not aware of any evidence that he meets that criteria.
Now, Epstein was arrogant in a way that made it seem like he really enjoyed getting away with crimes while letting other people know that he was getting away with them. He wanted others to know he had true power, that he didn't have to hide from people or to be afraid of people. Now, of course, he did hide certain activities, but in other ways we see he was actually obvious, like keeping explicit photos on the walls of his Palm Beach mansion and bragging about how he had dirt on powerful people, suggesting that he could never be punished.
Some criminals get away with crimes because they can convince people that they are nice, polite, and not the type of person who would commit a crime. Epstein did this initially: he did pretend to be a good and helpful person, but that wore off quickly. (9:22) That's that superficial charm, that shallow affect ... he was really about dominating people. He wanted to control witnesses and victims, and to a large extent, he successfully did that. He made people around him dependent on his resources like when he would pay to send his victims to school.
Some people became conflicted about Epstein. They certainly didn't want to be victimized, but they also wanted what he could provide. He "made" a difficult choice. He offered something of value, in a sense, to keep his victims quiet. Many of his employees were afraid to accuse him because he could make them suffer, so again, he leveraged power over people in many different ways for a long time.
The Epstein case highlights the dangers of allowing narcissists to gain power.
His crimes were a full expression of his fantasies. This is what happens when a narcissist has no limits.
What is a narcissist capable of when they have hundreds of millions of dollars? Epstein's case really answers that question.
He perpetrated horrible crimes against scores of victims and would have offended more if he was not arrested ... (18:30)
... In the case of Epstein, he illustrates one of those circumstances that can lead to a conspiracy that is maintained over a long period of time. One person with enough power who has access to enough people who can be co-conspirators, can perpetrate a large scale criminal enterprise with immunity, again, at least for a period of time. Just like he knew how to target those that were vulnerable, he knew how to effectively recruit and obtain co-conspirators.
This is about one powerful person taking control of other people. And yes, many of those other people committed serious crimes perhaps, but they probably wouldn't have done that without Epstein. He really brought it together. He understood how the personalities worked together, how to keep people quiet, how to keep people productive. He really orchestrated this enterprise that could keep him safe.
Following are some of the victims (whose stories are well worth reading and show how vulnerable girls from broken or impoverished homes can easily become victims of abuse and crime) followed by some other interesting facts around the case. I end with some videos by Todd Grande:
Victims Refuse Silence is Virginia Roberts Giuffre's website.
Teala Davies - Photo shows Jeffrey Epstein with alleged teen victim: "She did not yet realize he had a predatory plan for her" from CBS News
Maria Farmer - from Wikipedia
excerpt from Jeffrey Epstein's Wikipedia page about what happened to Maria:
The affidavit says that in the summer of the following year, they hired her to work on an art project in billionaire businessman Leslie Wexner's Ohio mansion, where she was then sexually assaulted by both Maxwell and Epstein.[63][64] Farmer reported the incident to the New York Police Department and the FBI.[44] Her affidavit also stated that during the same summer, Epstein flew her then 15-year-old sister, Annie, to his New Mexico property where he and Maxwell molested her on a massage table.[65][66]
Farmer was interviewed for CBS This Morning in November 2019 where she detailed the 1996 assault and alleged that Maxwell had repeatedly threatened both her career and her life after the assault.[67]
Jennifer Araoz - from the article by NBC News: "He Raped Me When I Was 15".
Katlyn Doe, Lisa Doe and Priscilla Doe (anonymous victims) - by Brendan Pierson for Reuters. Also this Rolling Stone article covers these three victims: Three More Women Detail Epstein Abuse Allegations in New Lawsuits (Convicted sex offender accused of forcibly using a sex toy on victim, pressuring another into marrying a non-U.S. citizen) ... also this article from NBC News on these three victims: Jeffrey Epstein preyed on women during jail sentence, forced victim to marry woman, lawsuits allege (Three lawsuits allege a complex web of companies employing "disciples" who saw to it that Epstein's sexual desires were met)
Teresa Helm - from article: Oakwood woman sues Jeffrey Epstein’s estate; accuses him of sexual assault from the Dayton Daily News by Wayne Baker
Sarah Ransome - from the article by CBS This Morning: "Jeffrey Epstein accuser Sarah Ransome says she wants to face his alleged co-conspirators in court". Another article by The Miami Herald.
Katlyn Doe, Lisa Doe and Priscilla Doe (anonymous victims) - by Brendan Pierson for Reuters. Also this Rolling Stone article covers these three victims: Three More Women Detail Epstein Abuse Allegations in New Lawsuits (Convicted sex offender accused of forcibly using a sex toy on victim, pressuring another into marrying a non-U.S. citizen) ... also this article from NBC News on these three victims: Jeffrey Epstein preyed on women during jail sentence, forced victim to marry woman, lawsuits allege (Three lawsuits allege a complex web of companies employing "disciples" who saw to it that Epstein's sexual desires were met)
Teresa Helm - from article: Oakwood woman sues Jeffrey Epstein’s estate; accuses him of sexual assault from the Dayton Daily News by Wayne Baker
Note: not all victims came forward to reveal their identity. Some pressed charges with the name "Jane Doe". The Virgin Islands pressed charges too. And another Jane Doe pressed charges against both Epstein and Trump. These and other Jane Doe lawsuits are on Jeffrey Epstein's Wikipedia page.
Jeffrey Epstein - Wikipedia
Unpacking Donald Trump's Ties to Jeffrey Epstein, as Shown in Netflix's Filthy Rich (Here's how the president was connected to the late sex offender) - by Gabrielle Bruney for Esquire Magazine
Bill Clinton and Jeffrey Epstein: How are They Connected? - by Michael Gold for the New York Times
New Jeffrey Epstein doc should finally lead to a reckoning with Bill Clinton - by Maureen Callahan for The New York Post
Netflix Exposes Bill Clinton’s Creepy Jeffrey Epstein Ties—Including a Trip to ‘Pedophile Island’ - by Marlow Stern for The Daily Beast
New Jeffrey Epstein doc should finally lead to a reckoning with Bill Clinton - by Maureen Callahan for The New York Post
Netflix Exposes Bill Clinton’s Creepy Jeffrey Epstein Ties—Including a Trip to ‘Pedophile Island’ - by Marlow Stern for The Daily Beast
Photos Emerge of Bill Clinton Aboard Jeffrey Epstein’s ‘Lolita Express’ - by Adam K. Raymond for The Cut
Here’s the Story Behind That Bizarre Painting of Bill Clinton in a Blue Dress Seen at Jeffrey Epstein’s Home - by Ben Davis of Art.net
Jeffrey Epstein once joked Bill Clinton ‘owes me some favours’ as Ghislaine Maxwell arrest piles pressure on him to talk - by Tom Michael for the U.S. Sun
How Exactly Is Alleged Sex Trafficker Jeffrey Epstein Connected To President Trump? - by Madison Feller for Elle
Prince Andrew IS on Epstein’s secret tapes of rich and powerful, says lawyer for accuser Virginia RobertsPrince Andrew is facing more concerns over the allegations placed against himA lawyer claims the Prince may have been caught on video with Jeffrey EpsteinDavid Boies, who represents Virginia Roberts, is confident the tapes did existThough the lawyer admits the videos may have been destroyed or are hidden - by Daniel Bates for The Daily Mail
Donald Trump and Jeffrey Epstein partied together. Then an oceanfront Palm Beach mansion came between them. - by Beth Reinhard, Rosalind S. Helderman and Marc Fisher for the Washington Post
Prosecutors formally request to talk with Prince Andrew in Epstein investigationPrince Andrew's lawyers responded Monday saying that they offered his help as a witness on at least three occasions this year - by Tom Winter and Yuliya Talmazan for NBC News
videos on the case:
New Accuser Speaks At News Conference Detailing Relationship With Jeffrey Epstein | TIME - Time Magazine (You Tube)
Jeffrey Epstein: New victim alleging she was sexually abused when she was a teenager - The Telegraph (You Tube)
videos on the case:
New Accuser Speaks At News Conference Detailing Relationship With Jeffrey Epstein | TIME - Time Magazine (You Tube)
Jeffrey Epstein: New victim alleging she was sexually abused when she was a teenager - The Telegraph (You Tube)
What really happened on Jeffrey Epstein's private island? | 60 Minutes Australia - 60 Minutes Australia (You Tube)
What really happened on Jeffrey Epstein's private planes | 60 Minutes Australia - 60 minutes Australia (You Yube)
How teen runaway Virginia Roberts became one of Jeffrey Epstein's victims - Miami Herald (You Tube)
Years later, Epstein's victims discuss the lasting impact of sexual abuse - Miami Herald (You Tube)
Former Teen Model Describes Jeffrey Epstein’s Sex Abuse | TODAY - Today Show (You Tube)
SHOCKING! The Epstein/JonBenét CONNECTION! - Ghislaine Maxwell Has Some EXPLAINING To Do - World Alternative Media (You Tube) - a speculative video about one connection between the Benets and Ghislaine Maxwell
Note: more updates after the post was written after the videos.
Former Teen Model Describes Jeffrey Epstein’s Sex Abuse | TODAY - Today Show (You Tube)
SHOCKING! The Epstein/JonBenét CONNECTION! - Ghislaine Maxwell Has Some EXPLAINING To Do - World Alternative Media (You Tube) - a speculative video about one connection between the Benets and Ghislaine Maxwell
Note: more updates after the post was written after the videos.
"Jeffrey Epstein Analysis | Was He Murdered? | Mental Health & Personality"
by Dr. Todd Grande:
In the video above, Dr. Grande makes the case for why Jeffrey Epstein probably committed suicide even though there are very "fishy circumstances" such as cameras not being on in his cell or around his cell, the broken bone in his neck being typical of a blow to the neck but not a hanging, the fact that his narcissism would be at work to get him another "sweetheart deal", with charges dropped, the fact that he might rely on "his close powerful friends" in a blackmail deal, or a plea deal, and so on.
He was used to shifting culpability off of himself. He was used to getting away with breaking the law. He was used to enjoying the privilege of sentences which had "no bite". He does not have the profile of someone who would take his own life so early in the game with no trial, and no convictions, and who had dirt on so many people (adding up to a possible plea deal), except for the prior conviction in Florida many years before.
However, when narcissists do feel there is no way out, they do take their own lives sometimes. But to me, it does not convince in the least because of the reasons I stated above.
One of the reasons Dr. Grande makes the case for suicide (and it is the only case), is that the door to the suite of cells, which contained Epstein's cell, had a camera, and it was on all night. Grande does not consider that someone (a guard, another prisoner, someone in disguise) who entered that suite of cells could have been paid off to kill Epstein. Also someone could have been brought into an "empty cell" and to "lie in wait" to kill Epstein. And the plan could have even been set days before Epstein's incarceration there.
In the world of powerful leaders who rule governments of all types, even overseas, they want to keep their image from taking a hit in the media and with the people they serve so that they don't lose power and credibility, so killing Epstein might be at the top of their list.
I bet it was for one of them.
Some other videos about "the players" in this scandal follow:
"Ghislaine Maxwell Case Analysis | Mental Health & Personality"
by Dr. Todd Grande:
This last video is by Dr. Todd Grande too. He discusses Prince Andrew's interview with the B.B.C. One of Jeffrey Epstein's victims, Virginia Roberts Giuffre, claims she was trafficked to Prince Andrew three different times. One of the most important counter-arguments to Prince Andrew's interview is this issue (using Dr. Grande's words):
Epstein was a friend he stayed with many times in many places all over the world, but said he didn't know Epstein well.
Hrrrmmmpphh.
"Prince Andrew BBC Interview Analysis"
by Dr. Todd Grande:
EPILOGUE
(new information emerging about the case)
video: Ghislaine Maxwell exchanged emails with Epstein as late as 2015, unsealed court documents show - for CBS This Morning
Some of the comments are interesting to read underneath the video:
- "I did not have sexual relations with that island. -Bill Clinton.
Bill, we just asked if you were there. And we asked because we knew you were there."
Bill, we just asked if you were there. And we asked because we knew you were there."
- "Sorry to burst everyone's bubble, but Clinton and Prince Andrew will never set foot in a court of law, much less a prison cell. Punishment is only for those who can't afford to bribe judges and prosecutors."
- "Bill Clinton: 'I never had sexual relations with those women'
Also Bill Clinton: I never actually lied because they weren't women at the time."
Also Bill Clinton: I never actually lied because they weren't women at the time."
- "'Virgin Islands' takes on a whole new meaning....."
- "'The United States is a nation of laws, badly written and randomly enforced.'-Frank Zappa."
- "'I wish her well' means 'she's probably about to get suicided for exposing the Elites'" (referring to Trump's comments about wishing Ghislaine Maxwell well after she was arrested)
2021: Epstein’s Final Days: Celebrity Reminiscing and a Running Toilet (Newly released records show the disgraced financier living a mundane existence in jail before his suicide, while also spinning deceptions until the very end.) - by Benjamin Weiser, Matthew Goldstein, Danielle Ivory and Steve Eder for The New York Times
Ghislaine Maxwell Is Found Guilty of Aiding in Epstein’s Sex Abuse - by Benjamin Weiser, Rebecca Davis O’Brien and Colin Moynihan for The New York Times
Ghislaine Maxwell Is Guilty. What Happens Next Is Critical. - by Deborah Tuerkheimer for The New York Times (Ms. Tuerkheimer is a professor of law at Northwestern University and the author of “Credible: Why We Doubt Accusers and Protect Abusers.”)
excerpt:
Ms. Maxwell’s conviction demonstrates that prosecutors can, in extreme cases, hold those who enable abusers criminally liable.
But we should not be blind to the myriad ways of enabling that do not rise to the level of a crime. They are the ordinary acts of ordinary people that, however intentioned, combine to protect abusers — particularly men with status, wealth and privilege...
... One reason prosecutions like Ms. Maxwell’s are so unusual and so difficult is that the law forbids only the most extreme enabling behaviors. Although criminal statutes vary, absent a specific legal duty to act, people are generally not held responsible for omissions that cause harm. But when a person’s purposeful assistance is integral to another’s abuse, the outcome may be different, as it was for Ms. Maxwell. Under such narrow circumstances, criminal prosecution can play a part in dismantling a culture that protects abusers.
By the accusers’ accounts, Ms. Maxwell didn’t just passively enable Mr. Epstein’s abuse; she facilitated it. This depiction was the essence of the government’s case ...
2021: Epstein’s Final Days: Celebrity Reminiscing and a Running Toilet (Newly released records show the disgraced financier living a mundane existence in jail before his suicide, while also spinning deceptions until the very end.) - by Benjamin Weiser, Matthew Goldstein, Danielle Ivory and Steve Eder for The New York Times
Ghislaine Maxwell Is Found Guilty of Aiding in Epstein’s Sex Abuse - by Benjamin Weiser, Rebecca Davis O’Brien and Colin Moynihan for The New York Times
Ghislaine Maxwell Is Guilty. What Happens Next Is Critical. - by Deborah Tuerkheimer for The New York Times (Ms. Tuerkheimer is a professor of law at Northwestern University and the author of “Credible: Why We Doubt Accusers and Protect Abusers.”)
excerpt:
Ms. Maxwell’s conviction demonstrates that prosecutors can, in extreme cases, hold those who enable abusers criminally liable.
But we should not be blind to the myriad ways of enabling that do not rise to the level of a crime. They are the ordinary acts of ordinary people that, however intentioned, combine to protect abusers — particularly men with status, wealth and privilege...
... One reason prosecutions like Ms. Maxwell’s are so unusual and so difficult is that the law forbids only the most extreme enabling behaviors. Although criminal statutes vary, absent a specific legal duty to act, people are generally not held responsible for omissions that cause harm. But when a person’s purposeful assistance is integral to another’s abuse, the outcome may be different, as it was for Ms. Maxwell. Under such narrow circumstances, criminal prosecution can play a part in dismantling a culture that protects abusers.
By the accusers’ accounts, Ms. Maxwell didn’t just passively enable Mr. Epstein’s abuse; she facilitated it. This depiction was the essence of the government’s case ...
excerpt:
Ms. Maxwell identified and selected the victim: girls from troubled households, Ms. Moe said. Then she and Mr. Epstein gained access to the victim, inviting the girls over to their luxurious homes, without their parents or other adults. “They were isolating these girls for a reason,” Ms. Moe said.
Ms. Maxwell and Mr. Epstein “made these girls feel special,” Ms. Moe said. They offered to pay for one victim’s voice lessons and paid for another’s trip to Thailand. “They were building trust for what was going to come next,” the prosecutor said
Then, Ms. Moe said, “Maxwell helped Epstein normalize sexual encounters” — through foot massages, sexualized contact, topless lounging by the pool. “It escalated with sexualized massages,” she said.
A video by Dr. Ramani Durvasula on Ghislaine Maxwell's case (Jeffrey Epstein's enabler and co-conspirator) - You Tube video entitled "The fallout from Ghislaine Maxwell: A case study about narcissism"
Epstein’s Black Book REVEALED: Chris Rock, Richard Branson, OTHERS Associated With Criminal - The Hill (2023)
Here’s what we learned – and didn’t learn – from the Jeffrey Epstein unsealed documents - by Samantha Delouya and Lauren del Valle for CNN (2024)
Dozens more Jeffrey Epstein documents are now public. Here’s what we know so far - by David B. Caruso for AP News (2024)
The Epstein List: Full list of names revealed in unsealed court records so far (Prince Andrew, David Copperfield and Bill Clinton are among the names included in court documents) - by Alex Ross and Io Dodds for Independent, UK (2024)
Hi, it's Karen. I'm the one who commented on forced apologies. I'm starting to think or realize that narcissists try to force everything. Force apologies, force you to act a certain way, force you to do sex acts when you are underage. A lot of it is about forcing you to do things you don't want to do. Or maybe most of it is. When I think of it, my mother never got me the clothes I wanted or even made the kind of birthday cake I wanted. It was always what she wanted.
ReplyDeleteMaybe this is what causes trauma. Forcing people against their will, their wishes, their best interests and their morals. I would even day that narcissists force us to live with their version of events. Their versions equate to half truths and lies to make them look better. Just a thought.
Hi Karen. Interesting thought! I think you are right!
DeleteThere is much, much more coercion in abuse than other types of relationships. Healthy relationships have the least amount of coercion, the least amount of blame-shifting and the least amount of lying and false narratives too. What is more, someone isn't trying to normalize abuse or decides to be brutal when they aren't seen by the victim as a grandiose king or god.
Good to see the narcissistic aspects. Narcissism is ruining our country.
ReplyDelete