Continued Discussion (Post 2)

[anonymod]

Discussion Post 1
The Pit: Paste Documents to Archive Here
Gloves Off: Largely Unmoderated discussion of controversial topics

Comments

[(Anonymous)]

DA (who happens to be fascinated by con artists and the psychology of people vulnerable to con artists)

The funny thing is, Chris' self-image is what makes him especially vulnerable - he's basically the ideal mark, one who is so certain that he'd never fall for a con that once he has fallen for it he'll subconsciously protect himself from that self-shattering knowledge and deny, deny, deny. Many con artists are able to go back to the same victims multiple times because of this - what better way to convince yourself you COULDN'T have fallen for a scam by doubling down on your "investment?"

Chris might not even need that much nudging from Andy - he's so invested in himself as "manipulation-proof" that he's incentivized to continue to buy in to those manipulations as truth. Avoiding future manipulation from Andy would require him to admit that he isn't manipulation-proof, and in fact has been manipulated many times in the past.

[(Anonymous)]

This makes a lot of sense!
Andy stans must be getting some emotional gratification or reward. Or are at least dodging uncomfortable self assessment. Or both.
Of course Andy chases narcissistic supply and avoids introspection on a much magnified scale.