Projection  by Tom Reynolds

There is a saying that whatever the Democrats are accusing you of doing, they are already doing, themselves.  I saw a recent article in Ammoland that adds another dimension to that saying and, perhaps, it explains some of the motivation of the Left. 

Sigmund Freud called it “projection.”  People assign their own fears, flaws, and impulses to others as a psychological defense mechanism.  It’s easier to accuse someone else and attach your own toxic personality traits onto others than it is to confront yourself.  For example: If a man feels emasculated and insecure, he labels masculinity itself as “toxic.”

Projection is also political and it might just explain why the anti-gun Left is so determined to disarm law-abiding Americans.

The Democrat leadership will tell you guns are the cause of violence as if an inanimate object can, by itself, initiate violence.  Or are they really projecting their own thoughts that, “If I had a gun, I might lose control.” It’s not our behavior that they’re afraid of, it is their own behavior, projected onto us. 

Lately, there have been several “gun violence” incidents by radical left wingers.  The media and the Democrat leadership quickly blamed guns for the actions of those left-wing radicals and called for more gun control.  Is it deliberate misinformation or political spin or is it the Democrats’ inability to face uncomfortable truths about themselves?  Did the Democrat elite again come face-to-face with their own worst fears about themselves?

Their inability (or refusal) to self-reflect when mixed with their toxic ideology becomes extremely dangerous. (We on the Right are not paranoid, the Left really is out to get us!) 

Everyone can fall into the same trap.  But on the right, there’s a level of moral restraint, (spiritual / religious grounding), that keeps most – but not all - of us from acting out violent fantasies. Many of us live with a belief in higher accountability. But in an atheistic communist society, there is no spiritual higher power.  Those with a conscience tend to use their power responsibly. Those without a conscience, who project their violent impulses on others, can become unpredictable and unstable.

Does the Left oppose civilian gun ownership because they assume that we’ll use a gun the way they imagine themselves using it? That we’ll act on the same immoral impulses they’ve refused to confront in themselves? 

Do they want to be sure we cannot use guns against the Democrat power elite because they see themselves as taking up arms against the Republican power elite?

To SCOPE members and many other Americans, a firearm is a tool for protection, for hunting, for preserving life, and defending the innocent. To others, it’s a tool of power and aggression. That difference lies not in the object, but in the mind of the holder.

Should we worry about the person who views a gun as a last line of defense or the one who sees it as a first strike in an act of violence?