We learned in the previous essays that “labeling” is a cruel human behavior with the “other” being the most horrific such label. Labeling is often accompanied by “projection.” In Freudian terms, when one feels anxious by pressure from the id or superego one can try to relieve that pressure by blaming people or circumstances in the external world thus escaping personal responsibility for changing one’s experience. Projection can also be used to explain impersonal aspects of the external world but usually says more about the person doing the projecting than the “illusion” they are trying to understand.
For example, Peter Goldmark, former publisher of the International Herald Tribune, “projects” on former President Obama in an essay he wrote in 2012. He uses the Myers/Briggs Type Indicator as his rationale for understanding the president’s behavior. “It looks to me as if our president is in the ‘idealist’ category, which the authors describe as ‘on a perpetual search for the meaning of life … often excellent communicators and can be thought of as catalysts for positive change. [Idealists] generate enthusiasm for their ideas and actions. At best, they are charismatic, receptive, and accepting. Sometimes they are too idealistic … not particularly good at disciplining or criticizing others. They value harmony and do not flourish in a competitive or divisive arena.”[i]
Projection toward an individual is devastating. But when an entire nation like the United States becomes anxious, the projections have particularly tragic consequences, such as in this example: “If our nation were to return to the rates of incarceration we had in the 1970’s, we would have to release 4 out of 5 people behind bars. A million people employed by the criminal justice system could lose their jobs. Private prison companies would see their profits vanish. This system is now [2011] so deeply rooted in our social, political and economic structures that it is not going to fade away without a major shift in public consciousness.”[ii]
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Supplemental Reading: Projection, The ABC’s of Simple Reality, Vol 2
#16 Detached
[i] Goldmark, Peter. “Obama’s personality under the microscope.” The Denver Post.
January 15, 2012, p. 5D.
[ii] Alexander, Michelle. “In Prison Reform, Money Trumps Civil Rights.” The New York Times. May 15, 2011, p. 9.
