Back when my primary occupation was as a college professor, it was an almost daily occurrence that I thought of something I wished I had said, or didn’t say, and I find that’s happening as well with How Could These Lovely People Let It Happen? The difference is that I could go into the next class session and say it. Obviously I can’t do that with a book, so this blog will have to serve as my next best opportunity. And what do I wish? That I had given more emphasis to the practical, often dangerous effects of projection as a way to maintain confidence in our own positive view of ourselves.
I used to tell my classes to notice the days when it’s surprising how everyone you meet is in a bad mood. Is that realistic? Maybe. Sometimes the news is that bad. But consider that you may be hiding your own negative thoughts and motives, seeing them in others instead of dealing with whatever the issue may be with yourself. In other words, it’s essentially self-deception – a lie. We all do it. But when you don’t look for and recognize those unaccepted feelings you’ll miss out on the chance at knowing and controlling yourself. Worse yet, the chances are good you’ll end up erroneously blaming someone(s) else. (Of course it may well be that you are genuinely angry with someone who was really offensive but, if you are like me, you may still be failing to face the anger with yourself that you didn’t respond differently – still a failed chance to know oneself better.)
Projection is a powerful defense mechanism that helps us think the best of ourselves, and that’s a good spot to be in. But it removes our power at the same time. I can’t solve a problem if I’m missing the facts. What’s worse, I can create problems by misappropriating the cause. That’s at the basis of much of the scapegoating we do, sometimes even of wars we start.
Our tendency to project evil onto others helps us fall prey to news that lies. For example. Consider this quote from the preface of the book about Edward L. Bernays, mentioned in my book in relation to smoking.
The selling of America on the Persian Gulf War was a public relations triumph. Its leading man, Saddam Hussein, was cast as pure villain complete with menacing leer and malevolent mustache. It had Iraqi soldiers snatching infants from hospital incubators and leaving them on the floor to die while Iraqi helicopters hovered over Kuwait City and Iraqi tanks rolled down the streets. The Kuwaiti military, meanwhile, was portrayed as alive, well, and eager to fight back against the invaders.
One detail was left out of that version of the war, however: the fact that it was crafted by one of America’s biggest public relations firms, Hill and Knowlton, in a campaign bought and paid for by rich Kuwaitis who were Saddam’s archenemies. Many of their contentions were later substantiated; others were challenged. But the whole notion that the United States had been rallied to war by a massive hidden PR campaign left many Americans doubting the soundness of their own opinions and wondering whether our very thoughts were being tampered with right here in the hub of democracy. (“the Father of Spin” by Larry Tye, 1998, page vii.)
We all do it — find ourselves ready to project undesirable characteristics onto others. Easy prey to thought manipulators among our friends or on a broader scale. Just one piece of how we “lovely people can let it happen.” And, to tell the truth, I don’t have a method to give up projection. It’s part of our humanity. All I can do is suggest we remain aware of its possibility when we find ourselves eager to believe the worst about someone or some group, especially if it takes the responsibility off our own backs.
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