The widespread protests and violence by leftists on all social levels including campus students in response to the election of Donald Trump as President of the United States is an example of people suffering from Post-Election Stress Disorder (PESD), the latest symptom of the anti-authoritarian transformation of American society.
Aside from engaging in social demonstrations, the syndrome consists in people huddling together in “support groups” bemoaning their fate and commiserating with each other.
For these protestors,Trump’s persona contains all of the characteristics of authoritarian figures that are reviled and feared by leftists.
What these protesters actually fear, however, is taking charge of their own lives and advancing themselves. They fear the opportunities that that they have to benefit from living freely in America.
A symptom of their underlying need for less personal and social freedom is that these protesters are oblivious – clueless – of the terrifying emotional forces within them that are underlying their protestations.
Many have a serious work disturbance. Contemptuous of others who know and work for what they want, they demand the exact opposite of freedom: greater security. There is a poorly disguised desire to be cared for by society because they are emotionally too crippled and irresponsible to care for themselves. A sign of their work disturbance is that the thought of working for what they want rarely occurs to them because they are too caught up in protesting.
Full of disdain for the police who risk their lives protecting them and others, and inflamed by the media to act out in socially destructive demonstrations, they often break the law and choose to side with criminals. Justifying their actions, through the morality of political correctness as a “moral right,” they accuse the hated authority figures of racism and worse. They would rather put their energy into protesting social causes and be mindlessly influenced by leftist ideologues than focus on what they can do to improve their lives – a sign of severe ocular armor.
Charles Konia, M.D. 