Whatever joy I have in the news of last week that immunity has been conferred on several key figures who know where the bodies are buried in Trumpland is partially diminished by my awareness that even if he resigned tomorrow, we would still be left with a significant population that relates to his style of thinking. That is, they employ profoundly immature thinking mechanisms that at core are centered in projecting or externalizing one’s own unwanted, uncomfortable feelings or inadequacies to another person or group. You wonder in shocked awe watching a Trump rally how those in attendance wildly cheering as he talks about crooked Hillary can really buy into what he is screaming, but I think it’s time we take these mobs seriously, and recognize that they are exhilarated by the lies, and especially by the process of “getting rid” of their apparently deep sense that they (as white people) have been cheated out of their privileges by undeserving minorities. It is time that we really appreciate how opposite this thinking is in an American culture that up until recently claimed to take responsibility for whatever happened in a (white) man’s life, blaming no one but oneself for the outcome.

Everyone struggles to some degree with the issue of boundaries, of figuring out moment to moment, life event to life event, “was this my fault or my doing, or were there external factors that I wasn’t aware of or not in control of?” Maturity implies that this is always an active aspect of adult life, and is far removed from the life stage in which one blames teddy for the spilled milk. Well, it seems now that 30-40% of the American populace blames teddy and feels good about it, relieved about it, and in doing so is prepared to entertain stark delusions about “others” in the population, and current factual realities and the nation’s past history are grossly distorted in the process.

As evidence that some phenomenon is out of control, the incidents are piling up that involve white folks (everyday white folks) deciding to become the arbiters of who belongs in the house next door (even when it’s the owner) or who belongs sleeping in the dormitory lounge, or who has a right to the neighborhood pool (pool pass be damned). We should not minimize these incidents; they are instances of aggression and the possibility that someone gets hurt is very high.

We are all susceptible to immature thinking, and we all have lapses at times but through a variety of mechanisms, we recover, “come to our senses”, often with the help of loving relationships that help us “sort things out”. This is good, an essential fabric of our society, because allowing one’s thinking to get stuck in an immature pattern means it becomes more and more difficult to pull oneself out of it. Projection feeds itself, telling the projector that all of the “evidence” supports his viewpoint, and whatever protective action he justifies. Paranoid people tend to be verbally and physically aggressive, and when one is the object of the paranoid’s outburst, it is extremely hard to respond perfectly especially when surprised (which is often the case because paranoia driven people rarely assault in a reasoned way). The imperfect response is then used as justification for the paranoid perception in the first place (almost any black person can attest to this phenomenon).

So, what are we going to be left with when Trump goes down? Will his 30-40% base relinquish this pattern of thinking, modify its rage, rethink its distorted perceptions and their notions of who are Americans? Will there be effective leadership that can bring white folks to their senses?

I can say I was gratified momentarily last week when I heard one of the more learned pundits, David Gergen state, somewhat tentatively, that Trump used projection all the time. I perked my ears up immediately, but a commercial break quickly ensued, and he wasn’t on in the next segment. He’s a political advisor; are there effective politicians out there who can educate us in a recovery? Will there be politicians who can set wise limits on dangerous unruliness directed at individuals and groups in our society?

Typing While Black welcomes this guest blogger!