If you've been watching closely, something interesting is happening with Republicans.
- While they complain about "cancel culture," they're banning books and telling educators what they can/can't teach.
- While they're accusing the Biden's of corruption, Trump and Jared Kushner engaged in the most blatant example of high-level corruption in recent American history.
- While they claim Democrats weaponized government, Bill Barr and John Durham blatantly weaponized the DOJ.
That is why we have come to see that, with Republicans, every accusation is a confession. Psychologists call this projection, or a self-defense mechanism characterized by a person unconsciously attributing one's own issues onto someone or something else as a form of delusion and denial.
Of course, there are people - like Karl Rove - who use projection as a political strategy. One way to inoculate yourself against an accusation is to project it onto your opponent. But most of the MAGA folks are too ignorant to pull that one off on a regular basis.
Instead, it all starts with wanting to attack your opponent - especially her/his motives. But interestingly enough, that takes empathy, or an ability to understand another person from their point of view. That is not a skill these Republicans have developed. As a matter of fact, they've demonized schools for wanting to teach it to children.
If you want to attack your opponent, but lack the ability to understand where they're coming from, your only option is to project onto them what you would do in similar circumstances. In other words, your only frame of reference is yourself.
So you are likely to accuse your opponent of corruption because that's what you would do in similar circumstances (or what you did). If you weaponized DOJ to go after your opponents, you'll accuse them of doing so.
As House Republicans use their new-found majority to go on the attack, what we are actually watching is a grand example of their own projection. There's a word for that one too: self-own, or "when someone inadvertently embarrasses themselves, especially by doing something that backfires on them."
Very insightful! I was skeptical of the "every accusation is a confession" interpretation until you explained why we should expect it.
ReplyDeleteThank you very much! That does explain a lot, and makes perfect sense too.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Nancy - insightful as always. While I've been aware of the "every accusation is a confession" tendency for quite a while, I hadn't tied in the other aspect you speak to: the hard right's inability to imagine the perspective of the liberal and leftist side. I've certainly noticed that they seem incapable of imagining that we are doing anything for altruistic reasons, or to benefit society as a whole, I hadn't quite taken it as far as you have. Appreciate your angle on things, as always.
ReplyDeleteThe Republican Party has nothing to offer the American people. As such all the Gross Old Pervert Party can do is perform political kabuki ginning up fear and anger in their rightwing drones.
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