Does this sound like the behavior of anyone you know?
“A defense mechanism in which the individual attributes to other people impulses and traits that he himself has but cannot accept. It is especially likely to occur when the person lacks insight into his own impulses and traits.”
“The externalisation of internal unconscious wishes, desires or emotions on to other people. So, for example, someone who feels subconsciously that they have a powerful latent homosexual drive may not acknowledge this consciously, but it may show in their readiness to suspect others of being homosexual.”
“Attributing one’s own undesirable traits to other people or agencies, e.g., an aggressive man accuses other people of being hostile.”
“The individual perceives in others the motive he denies having himself. Thus the cheat is sure that everyone else is dishonest. The would-be adulterer accuses his wife of infidelity.”
“People attribute their own undesirable traits onto others. An individual who unconsciously recognises his or her aggressive tendencies may then see other people acting in an excessively aggressive way.”
“Projection is the opposite defence mechanism to identification. We project our own unpleasant feelings onto someone else and blame them for having thoughts that we really have.”
All righty then. Now that we have a working clinical description of Freudian projection, let’s take a look at who’s doing it. First, there’s Weak ‘n’ Stupid:
The Bush administration has launched a preliminary legal inquiry that could land Venezuela on the U.S. list of nations that support terrorism, following reports of close Venezuelan links with Colombian rebels, a senior government official has confirmed.
The investigation is the first step in a process that could see Venezuela join North Korea, Cuba, Sudan, Syria and Iran as countries designated by the State Department as supporters of terrorism.
U.S. laws give some leeway on what economic activity is subject to such sanctions, but experts say adding Venezuela to the list would force U.S. and even foreign firms to sever or curtail links with one of the world’s largest oil producers.
Pardon me while I laugh hysterically. If this little foray into Cloud Cuckoo Land actually goes through (and even Chavecito rather doubts it will), it will certainly put a crimp in the champagne wishes and caviar dreams of ExxonMobil and ConocoPhillips. After all, if they have to “sever or curtail links” with evil, terra-ist Venezuela, that means no contracts for either one–and no $12 billion for greedy-ass Exxon. Oh well. That just leaves more for those oil corps that do play nice. And, bonus: some of them will be paying in euros–worth more, please note, than the plummeting Yanqui greenback.
Of course, the people who were shut out when Chavecito halted the creeping privatization of PDVSA are crying foul in their own way…by projection, of course. These same discredited old-order politicos tried the same strategy in the run-up to the 2002 coup; unfortunately, they enjoyed no more success then than they will this time.
Which reminds me…isn’t there another practical definition of insanity floating around out there?
