Fours make good targets for unconscious group projections of the Shadow, not because they are actually bad in some way but because they are highly sensitive to emotions like grief and pain. They make effective targets for others’ projections because they can’t help but be aware of—and voice—the negative aspects that others don’t want to see or own. This is why many Fours become the “identified patient” in their families. And this whole dynamic can work to reinforce the Four’s defenses, which in some ways cause them to take refuge in their “badness” as a way of avoiding the positive aspects of
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