#darvo

This is designed to disorent you, force you into a defensive position and leave you apologising and unlikely to raise an issue again. Survivors come away from these interactions confused and dazed.

Get comfortable with these phrases

"My recollection of events is not up for debate."

"That may be true, but we are discussing your behaviour right now."

"Let's focus on what actually happened."

"You are holding me accountable for your actions"

Am I "going too deep", or were you unaware of the depth?

It's clear that the "pro Palestinian" left have been fully infiltrated by fascists, both Western fascists who have always been nakedly antisemitic and are finding the perfect avenue to mainstream their Jew hatred... and Islamist fascists who simply never cared that Jews are a global minority group that has faced oppression and violence in multiple different continents, they don't care about social justice or fundamental human rights. It's not part of their intellectual tradition.

The "pro" Palestine movement has been captured by people who have decided that a) Palestine is emblematic of all of the problems of the world, and that b) every Jew is worth sacrificing to correct these problems, because c) if Palestine is emblematic, aren't Zionists responsible for everything then?

Now the prevailing thought is that someone should be able to call for violence against Jews, someone should be able to harass or even assault Jewish Americans, because bringing it up, complaining, taking a stand, that's the equivalent of telling them you like children blowing up, you like hundreds of thousands of people being homeless and food insecure, you like prisoners being detained in Guantanamo conditions without due process, where anyone can torture them as revenge even if there's no proof they're an actual Hamas member.

Is there a reason they argue like Republican Fox News addicts? I guess that kind of explains how easily the "movement" is falling apart to literal fascists.

They say "nobody cares about your hurt feelings ZIONIST!" if you mention literal stabbings and firebombs. They say "but we should talk about how pervasively synagogues indoctrinate the vast majority of Jewish people with Zionist ideology." They roll their eyes because "don't you know Palestinians are suffering 200x what these cushy American Jews could even imagine?" Facts don't care about your feelings uwu~

But at the end of the day, they care a lot about their own feelings, much more so than the facts. They feel entitled to hate all Jews all over the planet, to secretly revel in antisemitic rhetoric and acts, to want to take out their impotent frustration and despair on any and all Jews they'd like. This is very much about their feelings and not any Jewish people's feelings.

They've been waiting for this, or many of them never cared at all. Now it's finally Leftist to quote Nazis and openly make fun of Jews who are getting stabbed. Now it's finally Leftist to call for incinerating all of Israel and maybe we should consider a lot of Diaspora Jews too, you know they can't be trusted! Oh but don't forget to honor the victims of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, innocent civilians should never have been targeted by America's vicious imperial violence!

Because I have a background in psychology, I’ve been able to recognize these patterns both online and offline for years, and the truth is simple: aesthetic innocence doesn't equal moral innocence. Some people weaponize softness as camouflage.

◇ The psychology behind the mask

Psychologists call this impression management: strategically performing different versions of oneself depending on the audience. Everyone does this to some degree (being professional at work, yet casual with friends), but some individuals use it to manipulate, punish and control.

Online, this often appears as personas built around:

pastel aesthetics

baby talk or "smallness"

exaggerated vulnerability

selective naivete

agere-coded language

To most people, this looks harmless. Cute, comforting, even. But that’s the point. A convincing persona can hide very dark behavior.

This type of constructed innocence often overlaps with:

masking (concealing real emotions or aggressions)

pseudoinnocence (pretending to be fragile, clueless or harmless)

vulnerable narcissistic traits (hypersensitivity, manipulativeness, ego-protection)

These traits create a powerful shield: "I can’t be harming anyone. Look how soft I am!"

◇ Vulnerability, weaponized

Some people escalate this performance by faking or exaggerating illnesses, disabilities or neurodivergence to gain sympathy, control narratives or avoid accountability. Clinically, this falls under Factitious Disorder Imposed on Self (FDIS) - also known as Munchausen syndrome - and its online form, Munchausen by Internet.

Signs of this include:

claiming chronic illness or neurodivergence only when convenient

inconsistent or contradictory stories

outrage when questioned

using their "condition" as a shield while harming others

We’ve seen this phenomenon before. Remember when TikTok suddenly exploded with teens "developing Tourette’s overnight"? It wasn’t real Tourette’s. It was mimicking popular creators for attention. The same thing happens with self-diagnosed autism, DID, tics or chronic illness content when the goal is to cultivate a sympathetic persona.

True neurodivergent people don’t use their diagnosis to terrorize others, brag about punishment or orchestrate harassment campaigns.

◇ The language of punishment (and how it betrays their intent)

A major red flag is punitive language disguised as morality. Some individuals claim to be "protecting the community" while using vocabulary that reveals their real motive: domination and retribution. Phrases like:

"Let’s get rid of this person for good." "They don’t deserve to be here." "Terminate them." "We must destroy them."

This isn’t community care and accountability. This is eliminationist thinking, the kind used by people who enjoy seeing their target suffer.

If someone claims to be fragile, soft or harmless, but speaks like they’re delivering a death sentence, believe the behavior, not the persona.

◇ Understanding DARVO

Another tactic that frequently shows up in these cases is DARVO, a manipulation pattern where an abuser:

Denies what they did Attacks the victim Reverses Victim and Offender roles

Example:

They harm someone.

They deny it and claim the victim is the aggressive one.

They suddenly portray themselves as terrified, fragile and overwhelmed.

They rally others to "protect" them from the person they targeted.

The soft persona becomes a weapon in this reversal. They "couldn’t possibly" be the aggressor, so the victim must be.

◇ What matters most: actions, not aesthetics

Someone can flood their blog with hearts, plushies and baby-talk while simultaneously:

bragging about ruining someone’s online presence

encouraging dogpiling

spreading misinformation

selectively sharing screenshots out of context

weaponizing their followers’ pity

wishing harm on their "enemy"

The contrast between the persona and the behavior is the point. It creates cognitive dissonance so people doubt their own perception.

◇ My advice, from professional training and lived experience

Because I have formal education in psychology and firsthand experience with this pattern, here’s what I want everyone to understand:

Document everything. Screenshots, timestamps, links, archives - these all matter.

Watch for inconsistencies. If their story about neurodivergence, illness or trauma changes depending on who they’re talking to, that’s not a symptom, but strategy. If something feels manipulative, it probably is.

Separate persona from behavior. Soft aesthetics mean nothing if the behavior is cruel.

Don’t take the bait. People who thrive on drama want reactions. Silence starves them.

Educate your communities. The more people understand these psychological patterns, the harder they are to exploit.

◇ In case you need it, a TL;DR

Abusers have a hard time seeing abuse. They would rather see themselves as the victim.

John Roberts is using DARVO rationale.