Posted on 01/25/2021 2:39:33 AM PST by sodpoodle
WHAT IS GASLIGHTING?
The term originates in the systematic psychological manipulation of a victim by her husband in Patrick Hamilton’s 1938 stage play Gas Light, and the film adaptations released in 1940 and 1944.
In the story, the husband attempts to convince his wife and others that she is insane by manipulating small elements of their environment and insisting that she is mistaken, remembering things incorrectly, or delusional when she points out these changes. The play's title alludes to how the abusive husband slowly dims the gas lights in their home, while pretending nothing has changed, in an effort to make his wife doubt her own perceptions. The wife repeatedly asks her husband to confirm her perceptions about the dimming lights, but in defiance of reality, he keeps insisting that the lights are the same and instead it is she who is going insane.
Today, we are living in a perpetual state of gaslighting. The reality that what we are being told by the media is at complete odds with what we are seeing with our own two eyes. And when we question the false reality that we are being presented, or we claim that what we see is that actual reality, we are vilified as racist or bigots or just plain crazy. You’re not racist. You’re not crazy. You’re being gaslighted.
New York State has twice as many deaths from Covid-19 than any other state, and New York has accounted for one fifth of all Covid-19 deaths, but we are told that New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has handled the pandemic better than any other governor. But if we support policies of Governors whose states had only a fraction of the infections and deaths as New York, we’re called anti-science and want people to die. So, we ask ourselves, am I crazy? No, you’re being gaslighted.
We see mobs of people looting stores, smashing windows, setting cars on fire and burning down buildings, but we are told that these demonstrations are peaceful protests, and when we call this destruction of our cities, riots, we are called racists. So, we ask ourselves, am I crazy? No, you’re being gaslighted.
We see the major problem destroying many inner-cities is crime; murder, gang violence, drug dealing, drive-by shootings, armed robbery, but we are told that it is not crime, but the police that are the problem in the inner-cities. We are told we must defund the police and remove law enforcement from crime-riddled cities to make them safer But if we advocate for more policing in cities overrun by crime, we are accused of being white supremacists and racists. So, we ask ourselves, am I crazy? No, you’re being gaslighted.
The United States of America accepts more immigrants than any other country in the world. The vast majority of the immigrants are “people of color”, and these immigrants are enjoying freedom and economic opportunity not available to them in their country of origin, but we are told that the United States is the most racist and oppressive country on the planet, and if we disagree, we are called racist and xenophobic So, we ask ourselves, am I crazy? No, you’re being gaslighted.
Capitalist countries are the most prosperous countries in the world. The standard of living is the highest in capitalist countries. We see more poor people move up the economic ladder to the middle and even the wealthy class through their effort and ability in capitalist countries than any other economic system in the world, but we are told capitalism is an oppressive system designed to keep people down. So, we ask ourselves, am I crazy? No, you’re being gaslighted.
Communist countries killed over 100 million people in the 20th century. Communist countries strip their citizens of basic human rights, dictate every aspect of their lives, treat their citizens as slaves, and drive their economies into the ground, but we are told that Communism is the fairest, most equitable, freest, and most prosperous economic system in the world. So, we ask ourselves, am I crazy? No, you’re being gaslighted.
The most egregious example of gaslighting is the concept of “white fragility”. You spend your life trying to be a good person, trying to treat people fairly and with respect. You disavow racism and bigotry in all its forms. You judge people solely on the content of their character and not by the color of their skin. You don’t discriminate based on race or ethnicity. But you are told you are a racist, not because of something you did or said, but solely because of the color of your skin. You know instinctively that charging someone with racism because of their skin color is itself racist. You know that you are not racist, so you defend yourself and your character, but you are told that your defense of yourself is proof of your racism. So, we ask ourselves, am I crazy? No, you’re being gaslighted.
Gaslighting has become one of the most pervasive and destructive tactics in American politics. It is the exact opposite of what our political system was meant to be. It deals in lies and psychological coercion, and not the truth and intellectual discourse. If you ever ask yourself if you’re crazy, you are not. Crazy people aren’t sane enough to ask themselves if they’re crazy. So, trust yourself, believe what’s in your heart. Trust your eyes over what you are told. Never listen to the people who tell you that you are crazy, because you are not, you’re being gaslighted.
Sophocles said: "What people believe prevails over the truth." And that's what the media are trying to exploit.
I've heard the term gaslighting before but didn't know what it meant..Now I know.
If you have read this far let me say one thing. I did not write the above and I am not sure who the author is.
I sent this to you because you are hopefully smart enough to understand what is being done to you on a daily basis from many directions. I do not care about your political party affiliation. Just think through what you are being told. Don't listen with a deaf ear, or see with a blind eye. Question everything -- even things from people who you think you can trust. Question why you are being told whatever, by whomever. Question their motives. Question who benefits. Question if there is a hidden agenda behind the propaganda. Question, Question, Question. Then do your own research, and use some of your own critical thinking skills to get to the truth. Listen with your heart and with your mind.
Sadly, 95% of the masses don't even know that they are being gaslighted. At least now you do.
If this makes sense to you, then forward to your friends who you think might "get it.”
“The term “Gaslighting” is recognized by the shrink community as a tactic used by abusers.”
Been there. A common technique used by narcissist.
(And my ex worked in Fauxi’s lab)
First rule of Gaslighting.
There is no Gaslighting.
LOL, I don’t have cable or watch television (Okay, I have been watching the new “All Creatures Great and Small” series on PBS, but I figure my tax money goes to that, so I am fully justified in doing so!) but I do know of those shows and they are quite popular by all accounts.
That said, I know what you mean. I think that boils down to our sense of innate justice. I have just been listening to Jordan Peterson, and he talks about how there is something ingrained in us about fairness and justice that even the youngest of children grasp. We have to learn that a hot stove is dangerous, but we understand at a fundamental level when another child gets more candy than we do...as we mature, we understand that there are valid reasons for what we perceive as injustice, and we can use rationality to temper it.
In this, we understand that concept of the REAL betrayal of “justice” and it does offend us, even more so when we observe the Left trumpeting the same “injustice” on completely flawed and ideologically based criteria. In their case, it is part a combination of never maturing, and using it as an ideological tool to get what they want. Disgusting.
....Just watch the news. Biden is fit and sharp and never felt up those little girls. Hunter is the smartest and most ethical person ever. Trump ruined the world economy when he created the Italian Covid19 virus. Antifa is a myth. That’s not a pile of feces in your bowl of milk.
I've learned to simply avoid as much mainstream media as possible in order to help filter out the noise and garbage. Nothing important is missed and alternate sources are available. Helps clear the mind ....
And mentally ill people can do this very thing and cause the same effect to the victim without even knowing it because they really believe it. Doesn't change the result at all a spouse can drive one mad. Been there.
The media is our #1 enemy.
PFL
It's a great movie but not especially enjoyable for people who have experienced gaslighting in their previous marriage. ;-)
That’s probably true. The ultimate mental cruelty.
Want to return my $15/mo modem to Xfinity.
Any ideas on wat model modem/router to buy? Do I need to spend $150?
What do you use?
Xfinity is great for cell phone service
Astroturfing means pretending that there is a "grass-roots" movement to support a policy, when there isn't really one (astroturf is artificial grass, named after the surface used in the Astrodome in Houston); it's a coordinated ploy by a small group to plant stories in the media to suggest a larger appeal than really exists.
On the one hand, it's a form of gaslighting that tries to get you to deny your own perceptions, and on the other hand it is faking a groundswell of support that isn't really there.
In that sense, astroturfing is a tool that supports gaslighting, because it is fake evidence to the contrary of what you know to be true.
-PJ
The first time I heard astroturf used in a context other than sports fields was when the Tea Party movement started. We called it a “grass roots” movement — which it was. Then some jerk like Maxine or Pelosi tried to demean it by calling it “astroturf”. (Aren’t they just so SO clever? Blecccch!)
To me, that seems different, fundamentally because mentally ill people may indeed think they are telling the truth.
It takes a special kind of a-hole to do this deliberately to cause anguish and pain, and Leftists from top to bottom do this as a matter of course.
That’s a good point. Astroturfing is a tactic deliberately used to do just that, cause demoralization and psychic pain by lies intended to cause that effect.
Very good point, PJT.
"Grass roots" is a term that's been around for a long time.
If Pelosi was accusing the Tea Party of being "astroturf," it's because history has shown us that Democrats always accuse Republicans of doing what they have been doing all along.
She called the Tea Party "astroturf" because it was probably a term they were using already to describe their own strategies.
-PJ
This article on gaslighting is outstanding. We have heard that term used many times in the past year. I am definitely going to share it.
I’m pinging someone who can answer that for you.
Too bad he went full Nazi.
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