No one goes to war unprepared. Without weapons, tools, and a thought-out battle plan, there’s no possible way to win. When a narcissist goes to war, they have many tools ready at their disposal. These can be manipulative tactics, lies they plan on telling, or sometimes even people. Whatever it is, they always come prepared.
One of their main tools of choice are the followers who they force to do their dirty work for them. These “flying monkeys” are a toxic narcissist’s greatest weapon.
The Recruits
When a narcissist wants to hurt someone, they won’t want to do all that work by themselves. To do so would be far too time-consuming and tedious. So, they will find people to work for them. They essentially recruit people who they can easily manipulate into hurting their victim.
These recruits are often referred to as flying monkeys. Other ways that you could describe them are accomplices, enablers, or entourage.
Together, a narcissist and their flying monkeys can wreak havoc on the life of their chosen victim.
Out to Destroy the Victim
The most widely used tactic that a narcissist will instruct their flying monkeys to employ is a smear campaign. These accomplices will go around spreading hurtful rumors about their victim in an attempt to destroy their personal standing. They will convince everyone to despise this person.
All this gossip is done with the intention of isolating the victim. A narcissist knows that the person they’re after is at their most vulnerable when they’re alone. Without friends or support, they will have a much easier time manipulating their them. However, by having their flying monkeys be the ones spreading gossip, the narcissist avoids any blame falling on them if things go wrong.
The Two Types of Flying Monkeys
These followers can be divided into two categories. The first, and often the easiest to control, are the naïve. These are people who are simply clueless about the narcissist’s toxic ways. Likewise, they’re completely in awe of the narcissist’s charm and will believe everything that they say.
The second category of flying monkeys is the toxic kind. As the name suggests, these are people who do have bad intentions. Although they may not be as calculating and malicious as the narcissist is, they still revel in hurting their victim. As well as that, they enjoy spreading rumors. Furthermore, they often crave the rise in status and the attention that comes along with being around the narcissist.
How to Survive
If you’re unfortunate enough to be in the situation where a group like this is out to get you, it’s important to know how to survive. The first step that you can take to do this is to keep your integrity. Although your reaction may be to lash out, the narcissist will find a way to turn that against you. As well as that, it will convince people that what they’ve said about you is true.
However, whenever possible, cutting them out of your life entirely is the most effective way to protect yourself. If you can, go zero contact with the narcissist and their flying monkeys. Don’t communicate with them and avoid being around them as much as possible. Staying out of their war is the only way that you can win.
Despite how highly narcissists think of themselves, they still need other people to do a lot of their work for them. That’s where flying monkeys come in. These loyal followers will do whatever their leader tells them to do without question. Sadly, those commands are almost always to destroy an innocent victim.
Everyone needs to know about narcissist’ groups of flying monkeys and how they can survive their attacks. Share this article with friends and family to spread awareness about them.
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