Sigmund Freud might call this a classic case of transference or in the modern parlance projection
At first I thought it was
Projection. Which as you know, involves individuals attributing their own thoughts, feeling and motives to another person. Thoughts most commonly projected onto another are the ones that would cause guilt such as aggressive and sexual fantasies or thoughts. For instance, you might hate someone, but your superego tells you that such hatred is unacceptable. You can 'solve' the problem by believing that they hate you.
But then I thought, maybe it is d
isplacement. As you are aware, displacement is the redirection of an impulse (usually aggression) onto a powerless substitute target. The target can be a person or an object that can serve as a symbolic substitute. Someone who feels uncomfortable with their sexual desire for a real person may substitute a fetish. Someone who is frustrated by his or her superiors may go home and kick the dog, beat up a family member, or engage in cross-burnings.
Then I thought, Oh no, for certain it is Sublimation, because as you know it is similar to displacement, but takes place when we manage to displace our emotions into a constructive rather than destructive activity. This might for example be artistic. Many great artists and musicians have had unhappy lives and have used the medium of art of music to express themselves. Sport is another example of putting our emotions (e.g. aggression) into something constructive.
For example, fixation at the oral stage of development may later lead to seeking oral pleasure as an adult through sucking ones thumb, pen or cigarette. Also, fixation during the anal stage may cause a person to sublimate their desire to handle faeces with an enjoyment of pottery.
But then of course, like I'm sure you have already concluded ships, I quickly realized it was a classic case of denial. Becusae as you know more than most ships, denial involves blocking external events from awareness. If some situation is just too much to handle, t
he person just refuses to experience it. As you might imagine, this is a primitive and dangerous defense - no one disregards reality and gets away with it for long! It can operate by itself or, more commonly, in combination with other, more subtle mechanisms that support it. For example, smokers may refuse to admit to themselves that smoking is bad for their health.
Luckily, I recognized this too and allowed you the usual mental berth I give you to maneuver through your interesting and predictable explanations.