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Wednesday, December 10, 2014

The paradox that is Alvin Tan

What lies beneath the amateur pornographer turned political refugee?
alvin tan_pic_300Alvin Tan certainly does not need more publicity. The sex blogger turned political fugitive has become a certified media sensation of his own right, constantly attracting headlines with pronouncements over his social media channels. His pronouncements, while picked up by the media, are spread even further by a segment of the public that admires his audacity, his boldness.
He is a social media kingpin, and if you’ll forgive the comparison, Alvin Tan is to the Malaysian consciousness what Kim Kardashian is to the American.
It’s obvious that Alvin is not stupid. After all, to be a fully sponsored NUS Faculty of Law student requires some considerable cerebral capacity, considering that the NUS boasts having one of the top 10 law schools in the world. Even his postings, despite the liberal use of some rather colourful language, show promise of a mind capable of critical thinking and insight. No wonder he’s been able to attract such a strong following, what with his flamboyant personality and daring, devil-may-care attitude towards the powers that be.
He is a sort of avatar to his ardent fans, who wish they could say the things he says to a ruling government that they believe is the culmination of all that is wrong in this country. He’s the court fool that dared point out that the king had no clothes, and has escaped the chopping block in triumphant fashion. It’s no wonder that BN is after his head; every second he sits on the jester’s throne and laughs at it is another testament to how it has failed to contain the situation, letting him slip through its grasps to possible freedom.
Yes, that freedom is not yet guaranteed, and Alvin himself has acknowledged that his situation, should he be deported home, will not be a good one.
Alvin’s predicament is an interesting one, but I’m a lot more interested in what makes him tick. As mentioned before, he is intelligent, outspoken, bold, motivated and interestingly twisted. Above all things, Alvin’s claim to fame was his exhibitionist tendencies, proven in countless pornographic videos of his former paramour Vivian Lee and himself uploaded onto the Internet for the public to gawk at, along with invitations to join the festivities. Of course, opinions on those videos are divided between free speech proponents and those who think they are morally – not to mention legally – wrong in Malaysia.
Now, it would be an injustice to Alvin to classify him as a textbook exhibitionist, however. Exhibitionism is defined as an “abnormal or unnatural attraction” and is classified as a disorder as it often involves an innocent or unwilling victim – a serious matter that we laugh at all too often. What Alvin is, is a narcissist.
Psychology Today defines the Narcissistic Personality Disorder as “arrogant behaviour, a lack of empathy for other people, and a need for admiration, all of which must be consistently evident at work and in relationships. People who are narcissistic are frequently described as cocky, self-centred, manipulative, and demanding,” which neatly dovetails with Alvin’s behaviour and personal characteristics.
Aggression and thrill seeking
Narcissists are not always bound to admiring their reflections in the mirror (half of the human race, men and women, are guilty of that on a daily basis) but also find their need for attention driving them to aggression and thrill-seeking. The metaphor is too easy to reach for, but one would not be remiss in imagining Alvin prodding the slothful behemoth of our government as an example of “aggressive and thrill-seeking” behaviour.
Now, there would certainly be no need to draw the connection between a narcissistic personality and Alvin’s tendency for amateur pornographic auteurship. So another point to explore would be his relationship with the media. Alvin has taken FMT to task before for covering his sentiments here on the site, but the truth is that, as mentioned above, Alvin has become a person of note, a media sensation. And given that right now nobody is quite as caustic as he is, he provides a field day for every media organization in town. Make no mistake; with his personality type, he enjoys every single bit of attention thrown his way.
It is for this very reason that he continues issuing rants and refusing to truly move forward with a new life in America. He is genuinely enjoying watching the BN government work itself up into a rage trying to get its hands on him, and he’s enjoying the adulation from his fans even as the media lap up his every word, affording him column inches in exchange for a few lines of denouncement that he’s all too happy to provide.
I can already imagine Alvin’s response should he decide to read this – and read this he will, given how narcissists react to attention. I’m looking forward to how caustic he can be. Perhaps, that is part of the fun of trying to dissect this walking paradox. But let us make no mistake; narcissists can be their own downfall, their own hubris eventually catching up with them.
Alvin, you are no idiot. But be careful that your love for yourself and your need for the adulation of your public do not bring you down from your jester’s throne.

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