Given my propensity for evaluating human behavior in its
many forms, one thing becomes evident; the individuals who identify themselves
(passively or actively), as bible fundamentalists, young earth creationists, evangelicals, Teabaggers
(all inferred insults applied), Christians, right-wing-nut-jobs etc. have
a very well developed defense mechanism of Psychological Projection.
Defining Projection - albeit an older term (Freud) it still fits
the thought paradigms today. Simply
defined: A person will reject their own
negative personality/character attribute(s) and then assign those same attributes
to the person or entity they are in conflict with, in an effort to quell
or reduce cognitive dissonance.
Described as a defense mechanism it works very well for the user as a
way of displacing responsibility or distracts from the harm produced by one’s
comments or actions. This has also be
identified as a False-Consensus event
but for the purpose of simplicity and ease of use I will continue to use ‘Projection.’
This can take on many forms. As a whole Americans are naive to the effects of projection. A person makes an assumption that all persons
of the same persuasion or belief system thing and behave in the same fashion as
he/she does given they ascribe to the same system – Both positive and negative.
One is the perception that all Christians worship the same god or that all
follow the same interpretation of the bible.
More insidious Projection takes place when an Atheist
confronts a Fundamentalist on their negative character attributes or perceived bias and they are
reflected back with strong emotion and hostility.
An example of this was and exchange between a talented
blogger nonprophetess and a random fundamentalist here. He clearly has very biased views and aggressively
projecting them on her and the other participants of the conversation.
When addressed directly the dialog becomes immature and
is resembles the grade school dialog “I know you are but what am I...?” This will generally elicit a strong Counter
Projection (Jung) escalating the conflict.
Example:
Makes one think, "Are you that unaware?"
When addressing Projection events one must understand
that this is taking place at a rudimentary behavioral level and typically based
on a defect of character or personality.
In the simplest terms it is like arguing with a five year old who needs
a nap. How to successfully address an
exchange one can rely on the basic application of Applied Behavior Analysis. Strongly reinforce any positives
identified in the dialog even if that requires re-framing the dialog (this can
and will elicit a very strong negative emotional response from the projector).
Dialog with a person projecting should resemble that of a
dialog with a five year old. Treat them
accordingly. You may have to break down
the dialog into short simple sentences – state a core topic and stick to it. They like to take people down the rabbit hole
of delusion. Continuously redirect them back to the core
topic. Consider if you will gain any
benefit from it or will the other party?
Remember you are the one in control of the conversation and your
emotions. They are not. Don’t own their issues. We have enough of our own.
When a ‘Projector’ hits Crisis Phase (cognitive
dissonance) this can and will elicit ‘Word Salad’ from the more disturbed
individuals. This should be a trigger
to end the conversation due to individual being in an emotional crisis and
unable to respond coherently. This is also identified when scripture or
bible verses are being quoted. This is a
signal that there is no longer a productive dialog going on and the person has recluses
into their mental safe zone.
Decline the invitation to be angry and stay rational.
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