BY APPO JABARIAN
Until recently, I wasn’t familiar with the expression “Flying Monkeys.” Lately it has become the buzz expression around town in describing various narcissistic corrupted leaders and their cronies within our beloved organizations.
According to psychologists, “Flying monkeys” is a term used in popular psychology mainly in the context of narcissistic abuse. They are people who act on behalf of a narcissist to a third party, usually for an abusive purpose (e.g. smear campaign). The phrase has also been used to refer to people who act on behalf of a psychopath, for a similar purpose. “Proxy abuse” is closely related to the term. The term is from the flying monkeys used by the Wicked Witch of the West in the 1939 film Wizard of Oz to carry out evil deeds on her behalf.”
There are several “flying monkeys” around the listed corrupted Armenian organizational leaders. These “flying monkeys” are basically small-time wannabe “Kingmakers” that are guided by their own personal petty agendas.
Now the Western U.S. Armenian community is actively pursuing and nurturing four movements dedicated to saving a number of community structures:
- SAVE The Western Diocese of Armenian Church from Arch. Hovnan Derderian and his partners;
- SAVE The AGBU from oligarchs Berge Setrakian, Sinan Sinanian and their cohorts;
- SAVE The ARF-WR/ANCA-WR from autocrats Vicken Hovsepian and Nora Hovsepian, Esq. and their proxies;
- SAVE The TCA-Tekeyan Cultural Assoc. from Edmond Azadian and cronies.
During the last several months these organizational leaders have been identified and their wrongdoings exposed. This communitywide exposure should signal to those involved that “It’s no longer business as usual;” and “a new Sheriff is in town.”
It has become clear that these leaders have corrupted their organization. In order to perpetuate their corruption to hold on to their power and exploit their organization they have various cronies help in their deception. They are using their cronies as “flying monkeys” to achieve their personal agendas. All this for their personal gain. This form of corruption is always at the expense of the community.
There are two main categories of flying monkeys: witting and unwitting.
The relationship between people who wittingly know and act as “flying monkeys” for their corrupted leaders can be best described in a two-words “Mutual Exploitation.”
The relationship between unwitting “flying monkeys” of corrupted leaders can be described as “Abuse of Supporters.”
As I write, loyal honest generational supporters of these organizations are monitoring their leader’s activities and their “flying monkeys”. As the community is discovering one by one the nefarious activities a buzz is developing. These so-called leaders and their “flying monkeys” are no longer immune as they are being exposed.
The curtain is being pulled back on their shenanigans, exposing their dishonest maneuvering secrets and activities.