# Bullies and Psychological Projection **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [November 9, 2010, 11:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bullies-and-psychological-projection/560018 "2010-11-09T11:16:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 1\ **Showing post:** 1
**Author:** ![jorolat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ed655f/32.png) [@jorolat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jorolat)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2010, 11:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bullies-and-psychological-projection/560018/1 "2010-11-09T11:16:02Z")
After some 9 years or so, I came across [a thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=88249) in which a chap had called me a “jerk”. I had forgotten all about it, but in an _almost_ whimsical moment I posted a reply in which I called him a jerk, too. I say “almost” whimsical because at the back of my mind hovered the expectation that abusive personalities might see the belated reply and think, “Wow - someone’s been called a jerk, is this a legitimate target I can have a go at, too?!” You’ve exceeded my expectations 🙂 The thread has been closed by Miller with the words: > [@](#): > > jorolet sure knows how to nurse a grudge. I’m not sure that’s entirely healthy, but given that this fight is nearly a decade old, and one half of it isn’t around to participate anymore, I’m closing this thread. Well, if I had held a grudge for 9 years it certainly wouldn’t be healthy! Psychological projection is caused by internally reacting against unresolved psychological issues and then _projecting_ them onto someone who hasn’t any responsibility for their existence. This is what you’ve done here, Miller - there is no “fight”. You’ve “presumed” I held a grudge because it fits your psychological history - my saying I acted on a tongue-in-cheek whimsy simply won’t register either with yourself or with others of your kind - the underlying “urge” is far too strong. I may point out that lots of children are psychologically damaged because of projection and these kind of scenarios. They then grow up and usually become perpetrators themselves, of course. You may have closed the thread, but thankfully it won’t be deleted - it’s a mine of useful stuff. As the original thread is closed, I can’t reply directly to Euphonious Polemic who wrote: > [@](#): > > jorolat, the fact you bumped a 9 year old thread shows a disturbing tendency towards masochism that you undoubtedly know exists. Furthermore, your replies show clearly a passive aggressive nature that is rather poorly hidden. You’ve gotten hold of the wrong end of the stick entirely. Here’s an extract from the [Dover Blog: Psychology of a Small Town](http://dover.evopsychology.com/2009/06/biggin-street-incident-straw-that-broke.html) website, the last paragraph being particularly pertinent: > [@](#): > > In the mid-1980s, a 27 year-old woman called, “Karen” was admitted to St. Augustine’s Psychiatric Hospital, Chartham, near Canterbury in Kent, suffering from a mental illness so severe that at one point the Senior Consultant said, “Perhaps it would be better if Karen were to spend the rest of her life in hospital.” > > On admission, the combination of mental illness and administered medication gave Karen the appearance of what can only be described as ‘catatonic’: her face was as stiff and immobile as if carved out of wood, the irises of her dull lifeless eyes appeared to be painted on; Karen drooled, she didn’t move, and she didn’t respond to any attempts to talk to her. > > If Karen had spent the rest of her life in hospital then she would have done so as a human vegetable. > > Acting as a private individual, knowledge of a specific type of psychological trauma [1] was employed in order to “bring back” Karen to a point where the usual agencies were able to take over. > > A fuller account of Karen’s story will eventually appear in this “Abuse in Dover” category. For now, it is sufficient to say that Karen, as a number of the more experienced staff at St Augustine’s already knew, didn’t have a mental illness at all: her condition was simply the result of nearly 27 years of non-stop psychological abuse. > > None of the people who contributed to Karen’s condition - everyone from parents and siblings to virtual strangers - ever saw themselves as abusers. On the contrary, the people responsible wouldn’t have thought there was anything remarkable about the the way they had behaved towards her. Miller, Euphonious Polemic, et al., come into the third category of “virtual strangers”. I’ll be back when I’m ready to use the original thread on my websites (and whatever replies appear here, of course). Thank you for these contributions. --- _[View the full topic](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bullies-and-psychological-projection/560018)._