The Amanda Palmer Problem -- Vulture

The only "problem" is that Amanda Palmer is a narcissist who has learned to embrace her narcissism, which allows her the freedom to pursue her chosen lifestyle as an artist. We may dislike her music, or be jealous of her Kickstarter success, but on a deeper level we covet her freedom to live out loud in plain sight.

Most of us are taught that narcissism is bad and you must seek permission. You must be at least superficially humble, and you must acquire the appropriate third-party signifiers -- a record deal, radio airplay, glowing reviews -- which indicate that it's okay to like you, that you deserve your success. So when we see someone succeed by flaunting these rules -- especially by someone as brash as Palmer -- we're confronted with uncomfortable evidence that maybe we don't need permission, maybe we can just go ahead anytime and be whatever we want, and maybe it's our own adherence to that worldview keeps us from even trying.

It's easy to hate on Amanda Palmer and people like her, because in being outlandish and brave they cause us to question our own bravery, and to consider that maybe we're just not wired right for this line of work.