The Nihilistic Troll might pretend to be acting in the service of some cause or leader, but don't be fooled. The cause and their supposedly strong convictions are simply a way to justify and provide cover for their abusive behavior.
Interpretation
This quote warns against those who hide behind causes to justify their harmful actions.
Robert Greene's quote highlights the danger of individuals who disguise their toxic behavior under the auspices of a larger cause or ideology. While they may appear committed to a conviction, their true motives lie in manipulating and abusing others. This commentary serves as a reminder to remain vigilant and discern the true intentions behind people's actions, emphasizing that not all who claim to fight for a cause do so in good faith.
In practice
In a discussion about political activism and morality.
In a society where the roles everyone plays are obvious, the refusal to conform to any standard will excite interest. Be both masculine and feminine, impudent and charming, subtle and outrageous. Let other people worry about being socially acceptable; those types are a dime a dozen, and you are after a power greater than they can imagine.
When you are trying to impress people with words, the more you say, the more common you appear, and the less in control. Even if you are saying something banal, it will seem original if you make it vague, open-ended, and sphinxlike.
The moment people feel they know what to expect from you, your spell on them is broken. More: You have ceded them power.
The future belongs to those who learn more skills and combine them in creative ways.
Only create associations with positive affinities. Make this a rule of life and you will benefit more than from all the therapy in the world.
Remember that the essence of authority is that people willingly follow your lead.
The interpretation of our reality through patterns not our own, serves only to make us ever more unknown, ever less free, ever more solitary.
Government: If you refuse to pay unjust taxes, your property will be confiscated. If you attempt to defend your property, you will be arrested. If you resist arrest, you will be clubbed. If you defend yourself against clubbing, you will be shot dead. These procedures are known as the Rule of Law.
Somewhere between apathy and anarchy lies the thinking human being.
Intentions, good or bad, are not enough. There's luck or fate or something else that takes over.
To narrate is to give oneself: it seems obvious that literature, as an effort to communicate fully, will continue to be blocked so long as misery and illiteracy exist, and so long as the possessors of power continue to carry on with impunity their policy of collective imbecilization through the mass media.
You say to me 'Show me your God.' I answer you, 'Everything you see in your heart that might sadden God, remove.'
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