I recall from the days when I was in elementary school, my older relatives who were black would sometimes greet one another with a raised fist. Also, when agreeing with a point expressed by someone, my relatives would raise a fist and declare, “Right on.”
Back then, I didn’t fully understand the meaning behind use of a raised fist. Nevertheless, I appreciated that it seemed to convey unity with and membership of an in-group.
In adolescence, I admired how Tommie Smith and John Carlos displayed the raised fist gesture in a photo from the 1968 Olympic Stadium in Mexico City. Often associated with the civil rights movement, one source states of Smith’s intentions regarding the pose:
In his autobiography, Silent Gesture, published nearly 30 years later, Smith declared that his gesture was not a “Black Power” salute per se, but rather a “human rights” salute. The demonstration has been called one of the most overtly political statements in the history of the modern Olympics.
In 1997, when assigned to the United States Army Military Police (MP) and Chemical School Training Center of Fort McClellan, Alabama as an adult, I graduated with members of MP Class 05-97. In the above photo, two MPs and I displayed the raised fist pose. According to one source:
The raised fist, or the clenched fist, is a long-standing image of mixed meaning, often a symbol of solidarity, especially with a political movement. It is a common symbol representing a wide range of political ideologies, most notably socialism, communism, anarchism, and trade unionism, and can also be used as a salute expressing unity, strength, or resistance.
Prior to posing for the MP photo, my buddies and I briefly discussed our intentions. We displayed the somewhat ambiguous gesture as a symbol of our commitment to stand against oppression and wrongdoing. As law-enforcers, we believed that was our duty.
Elaborating on the gesture, one source opines, “It’s a way of indicating that you intend to meet malevolent, massive institutional force with force of your own – you are an individual who feels bound with other individuals to fight an oppressive status quo.”
Retrospectively, I appreciate the irony of law enforcement officers (LEOs) believing they existed to combat oppression, as many people view law enforcement as an oppressive system rife with wrongdoing. While I don’t fully agree with this perspective, I do appreciate my intention underlying the MP photo.
In a blogpost entitled Human Fallibility, I stated of my graduate study experience between 2012 and 2014:
I was enamored with the rhetoric of el-Hajj Malik el-Shabazz. Having been formally educated in social justice praxis, I even considered myself a “social justice warrior” (SJW). It was during the time while undergoing my social work education that I decided to display my faith for the cause in the form of a tattoo.
That tattoo was of a closed fist and is on the back of my right calf. No longer ignorant about the role of LEO by that point in my life, I wanted to commemorate the raised fist in regard to human rights. The quote accompanying my tattoo is, “No one is free when others are oppressed.”
Depending on what area of the U.S. I’m in when people see my tattoo, I’ve discovered that people project upon my ink whatever predetermined conclusions they maintain. Regarding the Freudian concept of psychological projection, one source states:
Psychological projection is a defense mechanism of alterity concerning “inside” content mistaken to be coming from the “outside” Other. It forms the basis of empathy by the projection of personal experiences to understand someone else’s subjective world. In its malignant forms, it is a defense mechanism in which the ego defends itself against disowned and highly negative parts of the self by denying their existence in themselves and attributing them to others, breeding misunderstanding and causing untold interpersonal damage.
Living in Austin, Texas, I’ve received many compliments regarding my tattoo. On two separate occasions, people have asked if they could take a photo of my calf, presumably to post somewhere on social media.
Traveling in other parts of Texas, the reception to a commemorated closed fist hasn’t been as warm. One imagines people project meaning upon the tattoo that relates to a communist red salute, the Black Lives Matter movement, Antifa, or other plausible representations.
No longer allied with SJW causes, I retain appreciation for what I now understand the raised fist likely meant to black relatives from my youth. It’s an expression of solidarity. Likewise, I value my intentions from MP school. It represents the struggle against oppression and injustice.
With this sociopolitical framework in mind, I now turn toward July 13, 2024, a day on which Donald Trump was injured in a failed assassination attempt. In video footage of the event, Trump can be seen raising his fist in the air and apparently telling the crowd to “fight” after having been shot. Describing the matter, one source states:
Since public appearances by Trump typically draw mixed crowds of supporters and detractors, his use of a raised fist provides a potent message for both groups. It can function as a gesture of solidarity for those who are with him, and one of defiance against those who oppose him. In this way, Trump’s raised fist is like a Rorschach inkblot, since it allows people to interpret his message according to their own ideological preferences.
The Rorschach test mentioned by the source is a projective assessment tool common of psychoanalytic practice. According to the Texas Administrative Code:
In accordance with the §503.003(b)(1) of the Act, the use of standardized projective techniques is prohibited. This prohibition includes, but is not limited to, the Rorschach Inkblot Test, the Holtzman Inkblot Test, the Thematic Apperception Test, the Children's Apperception Test, and the Senior Apperception Test.
One reason these projective assessment measures aren’t permitted by professional counselors practicing in the State of Texas is because, as suggested in the aforementioned source, projection is subject to interpretation. Essentially, a person sees what they’re biased toward seeing, not necessarily what simply is.
Per one source, “Trump raised his fist and projected a characteristic image of defiance.” This description comports with other descriptions of the raised fist pose referenced herein. However, a separate source used the antithesis of meaning regarding the gesture by declaring:
We need to take another message from this tragedy that goes beyond raised fists. The message that should be clear and immediate is this: We live in a country with too many guns, with too much easy access to firearms and far too much violence.
This irrational form of projection is often trotted out whenever events involving gun violence are popularized within the U.S. By “irrational,” I’m referring to that which doesn’t comport with logic and reason. To better understand this anti-gun argument, consider the following syllogism:
Form –
If p, then q; if q, then r; therefore, if p, then r.
Example –
If a would-be assassin attempts to murder a former U.S. president with a rifle, then the government should deprive lawful gun owners of access to firearms.
If the government should deprive lawful gun owners of access to firearms, then snipers who lawfully carry out their duties by killing would-be assassins through use of rifles should be disarmed.
Therefore, if a would-be assassin attempts to murder a former U.S. president with a rifle, then snipers who lawfully carry out their duties by killing would-be assassins through use of rifles should be disarmed.
Although the proposal is syllogistically logical, it isn’t reasonable. Moreover, if lawful use of firearms is a method of stopping violent and unlawful use of firearms, then snipers or other governmental authorities (i.e., LEOs) aren’t the sole entities worthy of self-defense or defense of others through use of firearms.
This isn’t advanced logic. In any case, I suspect people who irrationally and emotively cling to anti-gun arguments when faced with truthful and realistic scenarios – such as Trump ostensibly being saved from a rifle-wielding sniper – have committed the act of confession through projection.
According to one source, “Confession through projection” represents a “total lack of self-awareness that would be funny if it weren’t so sad.” I first heard this phrase from Viva Frei.
In the case of irrational gun control described herein, the aforementioned source apparently advocates oppressive gun-grabbing when the raised fist by Trump symbolizes defiance against tyrannical oppression. These two positions are at odds with one another.
One doesn’t have to be politically active in order to understand how a confession through projection-type of action regarding this anti-Second Amendment variety isn’t constitutional. Thus, I defiantly raise my fist in alignment with the Stoic virtue of justice against oppression. Right on!
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References:
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Anderson, M. (2024, July 14). The man killed in the assassination attempt on Trump died shielding his family. NPR. Retrieved from https://www.npr.org/2024/07/14/nx-s1-5039293/corey-comperatore-man-killed-in-trump-assassination-attempt
Colvin, J. (2024, July 15). Amid chaos and gunfire, Trump raised his fist and projected a characteristic image of defiance. The Associated Press. Retrieved from https://apnews.com/article/trump-assassination-attempt-image-photo-fight-5ede33e665f2af78de737084b37adcf9
Crawford, M. (2021, November 17). The art of gaslighting: Confession through projection. Rounding the Earth. Retrieved from https://roundingtheearth.substack.com/p/the-art-of-gaslighting-confession
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