Sinfully Delicious Online Magazine

Reprinted with Permission of the Author

Erohraz Obsidian – EGO-STROKERS

Satanism is a religion which champions a healthy and strong ego. Through the ego an individual manipulates reality and makes his will manifest. Is it not surprising that so many Satanists are creators in some sense or another. Creation, after all, is the highest form of ego expression, when the sorcerer takes his essence and transforms it into something tangible or communicable. A healthy ego radiates confidence, sufficiency and undeniable self-worth. Those who possess such attributes are most likely to see their life’s desires fulfilled.

On the opposite side of the spectrum lie those who suffer from weak egos. Their flaws and insecurities are often betrayed by their behavior, which is typically infectious. These people are the Ego Strokers. Once identified, such types should be dealt with as circumstance dictates, perhaps even avoided or ignored entirely. Listed below are nine of the most common types, with descriptions of each.

1. The Braggart – This type of person may be an actual achiever or an insignificant nothing, but in either case he must feed his starving ego through overbearing, vocalized, and flagrant self-praise. For the braggart, it is never enough to let his achievement speak for itself, he must constantly remind you of how superior he is, whether you wish to hear it or not. This behavior is both a compulsion which he cannot control, and at the same time a method of reinforcement. While he is consistently telling you of his worth, he is desperately trying to validate acknowledgement in himself through vain and hopeless repitition.

2. The Incorrigible Know-it-all – More accurately knowing very little, this type is the worst kind of dabbler. The Know-it-all will pick up on small bits of information, enough to just graze the surface of a subject, and then immediately proclaim himself an expert. Worse yet, this type usually jumps head-first into a debate with others who clearly understand more than he does. The Know-it-all is incorrigible, because he will not heed to reason nor bend to compromise, and certainly he will never humble himself to the role of misinformed novice. Instead, he stands firm on his unstable ground and insists on asserting his “facts,” regardless of how inept he may reveal himself to be. His ego is so weak that he cannot help but cling to his fantasy — that his truth, despite how laudable, is absolute.

3. The Humorless Sod – This type is quite easy to spot. He never or rarely laughs, and certainly never at himself. His insecurity is worn on his sleeve, and his presence descends upon a room like a thick smoke, exstinguishing others’ joy as it spreads. This type of person is often compulsive to the extreme, constantly monitoring his fears (in his mind) and weighing them against his imagined perceptions of other people, who he knows can surely see his anxiety and self-loathing laid bare. The Humorless Sod fits perfectly with Dr. LaVey’s observation that He who takes himself too seriously leaves no room for others to do so.

4. The Argument Seeker – This type requires external validation from others, will seek it out, and will not stop until he has acquired such. Argument alone does not assuage this seeker. He needs to know he is right by coercing you to agree with him. He will keep you trapped in an argument indefinitely, until he can force you to concede. The argument seeker is very similar to the Know-it-all, but his chosen battles set him apart. While the Know-it-all wishes to be seen as an expert or authority, the Argument Seeker merely wishes to win agreement, and most typically his verbal wars are based on petty or trite matters. Useless trivia, abstractions, gossip and similar subjects of debate are this seeker’s proving grounds. It doesn’t matter what he is arguing, it only matters that you see things his way, thereby lending necessary justification to his impoverished ego.

5. The Bully – Your average schoolyard brute, the Bully is always a person with some (usually limited) power or prowess, which he uses to inflict suffering or humiliation on a weaker person. The Bully’s target is not chosen out of a need for survival, or for revenge, but for an illogical or arbitrary reason. The punishment doled out by the Bully is misdirected, and is actually a reflection of his own wretched self-loathing. The 11th Satanic Rule of the Earth (When in open territory, bother no one) is unknown to the Bully. Not only will he go out of his way to bother someone, but he will invariably pick out the weakest (and therefore “safest”) target to pursue. This tendency stems from the Bully’s buried fear that others can see his fragile ego. By exerting his dominance over the weak, he believes he can somehow exhalt his weak ego above his own self-determined and lowly evalutaion.

6. The Psychic Vampire – As per the good Doktor’s description in The Satanic Bible. This form of Ego Stroker is incapable of fair exchange, attempting to extort passion, emotion, love, whilst paying off in cheap goods. Their vampiric egos will literally drain your energy and slow your life to a staggering, lethargic crawl.

7. The Lost Soul – Of all types listed, the Lost Soul is the most trendy and also the most chaotic. He is a person without an identity of his own, an “identity hopper” whose form and appearance change as quickly as the masses’ whims. He is your average Hot-Topic, GAP, or Old Navy posterboy, so long as the brand is “in.” Additionally, the Lost Soul may be compulsive about shifting his look. He may dye his hair a different color every few weeks, or bounce from one genre to another. Today he is a goth, tomorrow a ghetto rat. He is unable and fearful to carve his own identity, so he chooses to be a slave to trendy fashion and sub-culture expressions.

8. The Mimic – Like the Lost Soul, the Mimic’s flaw lies in his identity. Unlike the Lost Soul, the Mimic’s needs are not sated by mere fashion patterns and directed consumerism. The Mimic has a desperate wish to create, but cannot. He lacks a muse, is uninspired, lazy or talentless, or is simply unable to express his ego like other creators. To fill his void, he copies from others. The lowest form of the Mimic is the plagiarist, who steals outright another’s work and decieves others into believing his thievery is actually his own expression. Other Mimics will simply copy a style or emulate a creator to the best of their abilities, but will never surpass the skill of a mere copycat. The laziest type of Mimic simply parrots phrases or actions, and is basically more of a conduit than a person, transmitting someone else’s life vicariously through himself, whether that someone is real or a fictional character. This type’s fear and desire revolve wholly around his need to assimilate another’s identity.

9. The Follower – The ultimate lamb, and perhaps the worst type of all (although it may combine aspects of any other type), the Follower is the exemplification of the devoid ego. There are many variations of the Follower, from the Pious churchgoer who rigidly tailors his lifestyle to a preordained plan, to the gangland thug who serves as an errand boy for his drug-dealing boss. The one trait every Follower shares is the inability or refusal to question. He forever requires external authority and often thrives on it, preferring obedience over decision-making. The Follower’s ego is nearly non-existent, pushed so far from acknowledgement that it becomes insignificant. The Follower’s identity, self-worth, and ability to express are dictated solely by his authority, be it a “higher power,” dead icon, or fleshly master. The Follower is almost always a Follower for life, his weak ego being an integral part of his nature, and his lack of questioning providing him no options for change.

Ego Strokers are everwhere, especially online. They are looking to draw you in, to snag your self-sufficiency with their needy little tendrils and grind your progress to a halt.

Remember kids,

If you see an Ego Stroker and you’re not sure what to do, just act like a white boy in Compton: RUN LIKE HELL!