These people, like the unschooling people, the flat earth people, lunatic conspiracy theorists, blatantly amoral and sociopathic influencers, grifters, scammers, etc., are malignant narcissists. They think they’re smarter than everyone else, better than everyone else, and that rules don’t apply to them. They. Are. Special. We all have a little narcissism, or you wouldn’t care about yourself at all. But these people are mentally ill, and a danger to everyone around them, especially their children.

Malignant Narcissism (Narcissistic Personality Disorder) is a psychological defense mechanism against a very deep, and very strong inferiority complex developed due to neglect (a form of abuse) in childhood. Hence the creation of a false strong, confident, and superior persona (in their minds.) Everything is done to promote that persona, and to avoid embarrassment or humiliation at any cost. Those will drive them into a sometimes psychotic rage. They crave the attention they were starved of as children, and have never gotten over the trauma and damage of that. They do whatever it takes to get the attention they crave, one way or the other.

The children of these people are nothing but extensions of themselves, in the narcissist’s mind. Sentient phantom limbs, and are judged by how they reflect on the parent, themselves. The children’s desires and well being are not concerns, and the narcissist goes through the motions they have learned from observation that are considered acceptable, and respectable, in general culture, in the treatment of their children. It’s an act, they are incapable of empathy, truly incapable of caring about anything more than themselves, and these children grow up damaged.

As the son of one of these people, I know what I’m talking about. These children should be taken away from the parents.