Projection

Projection. Something that is absolutely rife in the UK, and probably a lot of other countries. The simple meaning is: Projecting is when someone unconsciously attributes their thoughts, feelings, or behaviors to another person.

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My own interpretation of projection is when people are unable or unwilling to express their frustrations in a constructive manner and so take out their anger on someone or a group of people who they perceive to be 'luckier' than them. 

Easily the most common example of projection I see on social media is related to people's jobs. Let's get this straight; the vast majority of people would not do the jobs they do if it wasn't for the money. Many people resent their jobs. But, they are unwilling to look at their own conditioning and choices they made. So they target people on benefits. No-one who truly enjoyed what they do would be spending their time getting pissed off at people on benefits or saying that their taxes pay for everyone on benefits (the mentality over taxes in the UK is weird and something I will never understand. If only they were told where their taxes really go ..)

If people were to express their true feelings, they would say:
This work isn't really for me. 
I wish I was doing something else and not working so hard. 
I want to spend more time with my family. 
I hate and resent my job. 

The establishment has such people exactly where they want them, stressed and burned out from overwork and spending more and more money as costs of food go up. But because they feel trapped as a wage slave, it's easier for them to be jealous of other people. Let's be honest - if being on benefits was that great, or if being a successful entrepreneur was down to 'luck' - why aren't more of these people doing it? 

Another reason they criticise people on benefits, immigrants etc is because these people are not THEM. Not part of their club. You never hear anyone complain about people who win the lottery then quit their job. They aren't called lazy. They aren't criticized for being rich. Because a lot of citizens would do the same thing, as well as eventually lose most of the money because of their mindset. But there is a stigma around being on benefits and immigrants - maybe because these tax payers think THEIR money is going to these people. Now, I am 100% of the view that taxation is theft, and should be abolished without question. But man, the way some people carry on about their taxes, it's as if they pay millions of pounds in tax. And the ignorance some people have over becoming an entrepreneur or being a professional footballer is astounding, I could go on about that in a separate post. 

There's another aspect of projection that I would like to talk about, that is quite popular in spiritual and self help circles. That is, that aspects of another that you don't like is a reflection of something within you. I think that's true up to a point, but not always. It just depends on the topic and situation. There's certain things such as lying, any sort of abuse, theft, greed and violence that should be an absolute no in anyone's book. There's also certain things that can be very triggering where it's possibly worth going deeper within to explore your own emotions around the subject. My biggie is false accusation or unfair treatment - if someone accused me of a crime I didn't commit, I would probably lose it. Unfortunately, this does happen and doesn't help people who have been genuinely wronged. 
There are other aspects of a person's character, such as laziness, moaning, short temper, anger or lateness that can trigger an aspect of ourselves. I'm not an expert on this subject matter at the moment so I am not going to go into great detail, but - to say that getting annoyed at something is always a reflection of an unhealed aspect of you, is a little dangerous in my opinion. 

Peace