As soon as I finish my dinner, I make it a habit to allow my thoughts to float around to kill some time and stimulate my noggin. This time, my musings led me to a specific passage from one of my old, old articles.
Projection has been a Filipino’s primary weapon when it comes to facing problems, and it seems to work for some; but at what cost? Is the neglect of one’s personal responsibilities, passing it on the backs of others just for the sake of alleviation of pain justified?
A little trip to Wikipedia can already be fruitful in determining what projection technically means.
| SUPPORT INDEPENDENT SOCIAL COMMENTARY! Subscribe to our Substack community GRP Insider to receive by email our in-depth free weekly newsletter. Opt into a paid subscription and you'll get premium insider briefs and insights from us. Subscribe to our Substack newsletter, GRP Insider! Learn more |
Psychological projection or projection bias is a psychological defense mechanism where a person subconsciously denies his or her own attributes, thoughts, and emotions, which are then ascribed to the outside world, usually to other people. Thus, projection involves imagining or projecting the belief that others originate those feelings.
Basically, projection is blaming someone in order to feel better about one’s self. Now, why does a particular person’s face keep popping in my head?
Yup, this time of the year is full to the brim with this projection thing. It would seem that the third plague has struck the Philippines at its most powerful state yet. As you may all know, the president has this curious penchant of passing the burden to someone else when things go awry for him.
Low economic performance? Blame GMA. She’s the one responsible for everything bad happening right now.
Trouble with good governance? Blame Corona. He’s in cahoots with GMA since she appointed her. And since she’s the one we’re blaming for low economic performance, then we can blame Corona for something as well. How about an impeachment?
Still low economic performance? Blame Noli de Castro. He’s messing up with the news. His negativism is the reason why people are reluctant to do something for the economy. His critiques are the reason why we can’t progress. Besides, he’s GMA’s right-hand man. We can blame him for something too.
Everything’s still messed up? Blame Batman. We always depend on him when we’re down, and he can’t even be there when we need him the most.
PNoy’s term has been pockmarked with tiresome blame games to shift the burden of responsibility away from him. After all, come on, who needs responsibility when we can just have someone to take the fall and be praised for it? Time and time again, some personality, some figure in the past will be invoked to take one for the team; for PNoy’s team, that is. PNoy never fails to find ways to clean his hands by bringing up the old administration and its remnants as the perpetual perpetrators of everything that’s ugly in the Philippines. He always has an alibi up in his sleeve. He always has a human shield. He always has a scapegoat. Gosh, he’s so prepared. He truly is the perfect president.
However, a funny thing about projection is that, while it makes you feel better about a problem, it never actually solves the problem (couldn’t be more obvious, huh). The problem is still there, wreaking havoc in your projection-filled life.
PNoy can blame GMA all he wants, but that doesn’t change the fact that the economy is still lagging, and that he can hardly do anything about it. PNoy can blame Corona for everything that’s bad in the government, but the truth remains that with or without Corona, PNoy’s administration, in its failure to deliver its promises of peace and prosperity, is heavily flawed to begin with. PNoy can blame Noli de Castro until crabs learn how to fly, but it won’t hide his own inability to meet the greatness expected of him, given his colourful and flowery campaign speeches and whatnot.
Also, another problem with projection-based governance is that you eventually run out of scapegoats. Someday, there will be no people left to blame for your own inaction and incompetence. The reason is simple; the problem just doesn’t lie with them anymore. As the man on the wheel, as the man supposedly capable of change, the problem is now with you.
But this is unacceptable, right? After all, PNoy was the one who brought that 6.4% economic growth in the Philippines! He’s the one who ousted Corona from office! He’s the one who showed us the straight path! The fault must lie on someone else! And so, the classic witch hunts will go on indefinitely to make everyone (especially the president) feel better.
So, now while we’re still in the phase of a national goose-chase, we better start counting; how many more scapegoats do we need PNoy? How many can the Philippine society provide to satisfy PNoy’s indulgences?
How many more GMAs and Coronas do we need before we stop pointing fingers, learn to stand up on our own, and simply take responsibility for what went wrong in our sorry country for our own sake?
People continue to think that PNoy is right in mind. But for the past two years, he has NOT done a single thing that NORMAL thinking people would do. I have always considered him to be an evil savant. That is how he is able to get away with the image he has been playing for the past two years – a pseudo-innocent. I am sure a psychological and psychiatric evaluation would land him in a room with white, padded walls.
dapat pagbayaran ni gloria ang mga nagawa nyang kasalanan sa bayan, kasama na ang dalawa nyang alipores na sina corona at kabayan. hindi nya gagawin ang paninisi kung wala silang iniwan na mabigat na problema sa bansa. mana talaga sa kanyang ina na lumaban para sa demokrasya.
Missing the point.
Mana talaga siya kay Cory: parehong DUWAG! 😛
I mean seriously, palaging may problema sa bawat administrasyong naiwan. Have you ever seen Gloria blaming Erap for everything? Hell no! She is just doing her job and that’s it.
If that is your view, then no wonder why this country was failing. Because many people like you are intellectually bankrupt. Dapat pagbayaran ni Fishball ang lahat ng kabuktutan sa mga posts niya. Don’t you know that this GMA hate will bring NOTHING and it’s a waste of time?
Just accept the fact that you’re IMMATURE. Or maybe you’re just a programmed machine. 😀
fishball just sent in his generic comment, then collected his payment. job done. next article please.
Mana talaga siya sa kanyang ina na walang ginawang matino para sa bayan, period. Dapat pagbayaran nilang mag-ina ang ginawang paninira ng angkan nila sa mga Pilipino.
Utak-ibon ka nanaman?
ULOL, ang presidente MO ang dapat magbayad dahil hanggang ngayon WALA parin siyang nagagawang mabuti para sa ating bansa.
GUNGGONG
@ Fishball
You think that the majority of our country support PNoy?
The 15 million out of 92 million is only 16%.
That means your president is was only supported by a minority. And before you say that his ratings are still high, think again dipshit, his ratings are going down down down down down to the point of no return.
Face the music Fishball, your president is FINISHED.
This song is for the Yellowtards. Hope you like it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QxYOctaFyVg
😀
Arche,
You and I see the same thing:
“I don’t know about you but I have yet to see the President ever be accountable for anything. Not for the current condition, not for his current staff and not for his friends. Yet GMA and Renato Corona seem to be the embodiment of all the ills of this country for him.”
from my last post.
Maybe because it’s the truth. No matter what Fishball or the other Malacanang sponsored cyber trolls say.
It is the truth. And no amount of trolling can ever change that. 🙂
super like!:)
Bad weather? Floods? Blame PAG-ASA.
But isn’t this part of the pinoy culture (different from Filipino culture)? Blame everything on someone else.
VP Binay seems to be one of targeted scapegoats of the blameless administration. The blame games continues to this day and is expected to involve many other personalities before the end of BS Aquino’s term.
BS Pnoy is projecting that the reason for the downward trend of his satsifaction rating is media’s too much negativism. He started with lashing out FVP de Castro during dinner hosted by the very show he co-anchors.
PS Kris said everyone is entitled to his own opinion but she forgets her bro is not just anybody. He is the President of ROP so every word that comes out of his mouth (irrespective how dirty both the word and the mouth) becomes policy statement.
At its best, it only shows breeding is not something that comes with money or genes. Some may be educated but not learned. Hence terms “mal-edukado” and “walang modo” were coined.
The trouble of Noynoy Aquiino is: he simply cannot accept responsibility. An American President, had a sign on his desk stating: “The buck (blame) stops here!!!”. It will not do you any good, much more for the country. If something goes wrong, or does not work. You go to find somebody to blame. Using the Blame Game is: immature, irresponsible, and will never work. People have brains. They are thinking people also…
It’s those thinking people Hyden that saw this coming a mile away. The guy never in his life showed initiative, drive, decision making, crisis management, leadership , creativity. The fact anybody for one second thought he would be a good president is totally totally beyond me. The people that voted for him (including tons in my family) try so hard to convince themselves it was still right choice. We are truly an EMO race.
Projection. I actually hate it when people do that. It’s revolting. Any show of pride by another person tends to put me off.
The dictator wannabe continues in trying to control government and the media. Please see the link…
http://www.malaya.com.ph/index.php/column-of-the-day/9838-emerging-monocracy
Okay, so now we are living on a political era of endless blame game, and taking credit of the accomplishment of others.
This puppet show is brought to you by AbNoy, together with his supportive cohorts, yey!
Projection really does no good to develop one’s personal development. It induces some senseless pride to the person to become high and mighty. Damn, sick and tired of this country..
well, there is always the last one to blame, the people who elected him to office…