This is a man who desires nothing more than to be admired, whose entire shtick revolves around presenting himself as a hero worthy of envy and emulation (lest we forget, he 'identifies with Gandhi and Martin Luther King'). To people like Maugham, any perceived diminution of what they believe to be their exalted status feels like a mortal attack, which is why every loss must be spun as a win, and black must be made to be white if the facts threaten his self-image. He's just the latest in a long line of people on social media who think they're dealing me a fatal blow by telling me I've lost popularity, that my legacy is tarnished or that former fans hate me. None of these people appear to grasped yet that I'm completely indifferent to being disliked by people I've never met, especially those I do not respect because of their online behaviour or what I believe to be their irrational and illiberal views. Maugham is a textbook narcissist who can't believe that everyone else doesn't live life with an unceasing thirst for validation from complete strangers. In spite of the fact that we've never met, and that as the years have rolled by I've been very open about the fact that I find his public behaviour increasingly bizarre, he seems to genuinely believe that the loss of his approval will cause me anguish. In reality, it's a welcome source of ongoing entertainment, so long may he continue.
