Loading ...Psychological projection occurs when you attribute to other people qualities or motives which actually describe yourself.
Projection is usually subconscious. It happens because deep down, you’re afraid of being the thing you accuse the other person of being; and to shut down your anxiety, you accuse the other person, instead.
Projection can also be conscious and deliberately manipulative. The motive is to distract others from the fact that you possess these qualities, in hopes of encouraging them to focus on the fact that others do.
It’s hard to imagine a more clear-cut example of projection than the Democratic and leftist-progressive reaction to Donald Trump’s nomination acceptance speech.
First, there’s the Washington Post editorial. “The real estate tycoon is uniquely unqualified to serve as president, in experience and temperament,” the editorial reads. “He is mounting a campaign of snarl and sneer, not substance.
Whether you agree this describes Trump or not, it most certainly describes Obama. His whole presidency has been one long sneer in the face of dissenting opinion. Whether it’s allowing the IRS to target Tea Party groups who fervently oppose his policies, or refusing to negotiate with Republicans in Congress (most of whom are milquetoasts anyway), Obama neither welcomes nor celebrates dissenting opinion. In fact, when his Attorney General threatens to prosecute people who disagree with Islam or climate change, he’s moving beyond a sneer to the ruthless will of a dictator.
“To the extent he has views, they are wrong in their diagnosis of America’s problems and dangerous in their proposed solutions. Mr. Trump’s politics of denigration and division could strain the bonds that have held a diverse nation together.” read more