It’s a combination of narcissism and infantile passive/aggressive behavior: “I’ll hold my breath till I turn blue!” mashed up with “You’ll feel so sorry after I’m dead!” Most people realize it’s idiotic self-defeating behavior and outgrow it by the time they reach puberty. A few — the ones with serious narcissism issues — imagine it elevates them to the status of Gandhi and stick with it as adults.
it’s a combo of being stupid and being stupid.