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Displacement as a defense mechanism in the irrational fear of guns
August 17, 2008 | Tagged hoplophobia, irrational fear of guns |
In her excellent article, “Raging against Self-Defense, A Psychiatrist Examines the Anti-Gun Mentality,” Dr. Sarah Thompson does a great job of describing the roles of projection, denial and reaction formation in what Colonel Jeff Cooper labeled hoplophobia, that is, an irrational fear of weapons. Projection, denial, and reaction formation are among the defense mechanisms postulated by Sigmund Freud, the “father” of psychoanalytic theory.
In short, projection means that if a person is angry, he or she may believe that everyone else is also angry. “I’m so mad that I could kill my brother. Therefore, he must be so mad that he wants to kill me.” Denial is simply a refusal to consider the possibility of a particular event or circumstance. “I could never possibly be robbed, so why would I want to carry a gun?” Reaction formation is an attempt to battle a personal internal compulsion by publicly proclaiming the opposite. With regard to hoplophobia: “I’m afraid that I might hurt somebody if I had a gun; therefore, I say that I want to ban all guns. By announcing that I want to deny everyone the right to have a gun, I can “protect” myself from my own violent tendencies and hide those tendencies from the anticipated disapproval of others.”
Displacement is another defense mechanism that I believe plays into hoplophobia. Displacement occurs when an emotion can not be directly expressed against its perceived cause. For example, a union steward yells at a factory worker. The worker can not yell at the steward without incurring negative consequences. The worker unconsciously displaces his anger by driving aggressively on the way home, yelling at his wife, and kicking his dog. The behavior is useful to the worker, because it allows him to externalize his anger without losing his job. The negative side effects of aggressive driving, irritating his spouse, and abusing his pet may not be immediately apparent to the individual involved.
In the gun debate, displacement expresses itself in the anger that many crime victims, surviving relatives, and well-meaning Liberals feel when they are unable to punish or express anger at criminal perpetrators of violence against innocent people. Displacement may even be used to relieve personal guilt perceived by a friend or relative over a failure to somehow protect a loved one from violence.
Liberals are especially prone to this kind of unrealistic thinking, because they have been taught to believe that criminals are merely products of genetics and environment. There are no evil people, there are only disadvantaged people who have never been given a chance in life. But, something must be responsible for the injury or death of a loved one. Since it can’t be the perpetrator, it must be the gun. “It can’t be that somehow I failed to keep my loved one safe. It can’t be my fault. I’m a good person. It must be the gun. Yeah! That’s it! It’s the gun. If we can just get rid of all the guns, then my loved one didn’t die in vain.”
As Dr. Thompson points out, with regard to Freud’s defense mechanisms, we all use them to some degree. It is only when the use of defense mechanisms causes other undesirable results that there is reason for concern. With gun control, the undesirable results include emboldened criminals, increased danger of corruption through the development of black markets in firearms, and increased risk of tyranny and genocide.
Dr. Thompson also mentions that the leaders of the Left do not necessarily suffer from hoplophobia. They may be subject to the far more serious condition of unlimited political ambition. If you believe that political ambition is their motivation, you have to ask yourself this question. What are they planning to do that is so terrible that they fear provoking armed resistance from the citizens of America? That is a fearful question and fodder for more discussions. But most of the folks on the Left are probably not bent on world domination.
Dr. Thompson has some good advice on educating rank and file Liberals on gun issues. See also my post: “A figurative ‘quick shot’ at Liberals on gun control,” 07-29-08, under the category, “Psychology” on this site.
And remember, while we are educating Liberals, we have to keep them from infringing upon our natural, fundamental right to self-defense from crime and tyranny. Vote Republican!
Def Mech
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