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ix Introduction A Summary Many authors, Blum among them, have pondered the personal aspects of sadomasochism, specifically, the reasons for (causality of) individual sadomasochism—that is, the role that sadomasochism plays in personal emotional dysfunction. They have mostly concluded that according to Holtzman and Kulish quoting Blum, masochism is simply “consciously or unconsciously seeking pain, suffering, and humiliation.”1 But still poorly understood/mainly ignored is the heart of that matter: why would some- one be altruistic (self-sacrificial) if that meant failing to act in a selfish, that is, self-protective, manner? Why would anyone act in a hurtful way to one- self if he or she sensibly realized that the way to nirvana consisted of at least appearing to be overly generous and giving to others? Why would anyone turn his or her daily life into an exercise of self-defeat? Why would anyone be the principle pinion of like-minded groups of men and women out to collectively harm themselves, hurt the opposition, or do both at the same time so that nobody thrives yet no one escapes? I understand how some groups want to relieve the suffering of (other) oppressed groups, a noble aim. But what is hard to fathom is why these groups themselves become antisocial organizations breaking our society apart in the process of seeming to put it together, as if reducing the active suffering (of others) should be their fundamental/real objective, but see helping themselves thrive as forbidden because doing so is unhealthy and amoral, especially if it involves opposing other groups currently seeking some of the fame and all of the power. But this is the reality. Self-harm and being sadistic to others nevertheless affects the highest levels of society: from staff in the White House on down to leaders of our households and from the top gun to the ordinary rifleman out to cripple our own houses and spreading to the workplace, with ourselves beholden to bosses with