Projectionism projecting is when someone puts their own issues on someone else, i.e. it is when a person attributes his/her own thoughts/feelings/behaviors to/on to another person, and a/or a group of ppl, and an/or an
organization.
This is an ad hominem attack on a persons character; it is a tactic used in, typically,
internet argument conversations by trolls who have no real criticisms to make. Used most often at a certain point in the
conversation when they know that they have lost the argument, & perhaps they started without a real argument in the first place, the troll uses projectionism to defend themselves.
1. If I have a brother who is an addict and has borrowed a lot of money from me without paying me back and I have a friend who says her brother just asked her to borrow $20; I might respond saying, "
Don't do it. He's not trustworthy and you can just kiss that money goodbye!" I might not know a thing about her or her brother but I'm PROJECTING my own experience onto the situation. It's my stuff I'm talking about instead of the real issue at hand.
2. Projectionism is
particularly common among racists & other bigots. They will commonly make bigoted comments & then deny that they are bigots; and further defend themselves by accusing the person that normally initially accuses them first of being the very thing that they more often than not end up accusing the other person of being.
Tho, it is possible, & certainly not unheard of, for a troll to use projectionism against someone before that someone has a chance to say ...ANYTHING... to the troll, as trolls are known to attack anyone unprovoked. Regardless of the details of how the troll and their victim(s) begin the
conversation, in
using this particular troll-tactic, a troll never backs up their comments or accusations with facts, only unfounded criticisms, and often outright lies; which is at the heart of an ad hominem
personal attack.
