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Counseling A Gaslit Nation
Brownstone Institute ^ | 11/27/23 | John Naugle

Posted on 11/28/2023 5:42:20 PM PST by CFW

In 1944 the truly remarkable movie Gaslight, starring Charles Boyer and Ingrid Bergman, was released to theaters to great success and acclaim. Its plot centers around a woman who is being manipulated by her husband to believe that she is becoming insane, even to the point where he uses her observation of the gas lights dimming in their home as proof of her hallucinations or false memories.

So impactful was this movie that it gave birth to the term gaslighting, which is ”a form of psychological abuse where a person causes someone to question their sanity, memories, or perception of reality. People who experience gaslighting may feel confused, anxious, or unable to trust themselves.” It is one of the principal forms of abuse that a victim experiences at the hands of a malignant narcissist.

[snip]

The article itself includes a parade of “experts” subtly saying that people are crazy for thinking there is even a problem at all. For example, take this snippet:

Even for people whose incomes have kept pace with prices, research has long found that people hate inflation more intently than its economic impact would suggest. Most people do not expect their pay to keep up with rising prices. Even if it does, the higher pay may come with a time lag.

“They’re obsessing over the fact that the prices they pay for the things that are very salient — gas, food, grocery store prices, rent — those things still seem elevated, even though they’re not increasing as rapidly as they were,” Hershbein said.

[snip]

I distinctly remember Governor Mike DeWine of Ohio lecturing his citizens as if it were their fault that he had to impose a mask mandate. President Biden’s infamous “We’ve been patient, but our patience is wearing thin” is a textbook example of narcissistic rage.

(Excerpt) Read more at brownstone.org ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Culture/Society; Editorial; Government
KEYWORDS: covid; culture; domesticenemies; economy; gaslighting; government; psychwarfare
The entire thing is worth a read.
1 posted on 11/28/2023 5:42:20 PM PST by CFW
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To: CFW

Wow. Great post. Thank you.


2 posted on 11/28/2023 5:47:13 PM PST by Fungi
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To: CFW

Thanks for posting this.

I discovered Brownstone a few months ago, and it is my news wrap up in the morning.

The opeds like this one are incredible.

I don’t go there until about halfway through my second cup of freshly brewed coffee.

brownstone.org ...


3 posted on 11/28/2023 5:55:39 PM PST by Grampa Dave ( Any one, who can make you believe in absurdities, can make you commit atrocities!!" ~ (Voltaire)!, )
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To: CFW

.


4 posted on 11/28/2023 5:56:26 PM PST by sauropod (The obedient always think of themselves as virtuous rather than cowardly.)
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To: CFW

Bookmark


5 posted on 11/28/2023 5:59:28 PM PST by Southside_Chicago_Republican (The more I learn about people, the more I like my dog. )
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To: CFW
If I were counseling a victim of narcissistic abuse in my office or the confessional, my immediate suggestion would be to break off contact as completely as possible as the relationship is unrecoverable.

Sound advice when applicable, but when it is your government, it doesn't work that way. Besides, that is exactly what they want you to do. Sadly we are not alone either, as many of the leaders of so-called western nations who once embraced freedom, now fully embrace tyranny & also gaslight their citizens as well. They are beginning to fight back, because they out number their "betters".

How does a nation respond when the abusers are politicians from both parties and nearly the entirety of the administrative state and legacy media?

Yes, that is the question, to which I guess the answer is to treat them as they treat you.

6 posted on 11/28/2023 6:20:24 PM PST by Robert DeLong
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To: CFW

Good article.


7 posted on 11/28/2023 6:45:35 PM PST by hinckley buzzard ( Resist the narrative.)
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To: CFW; Liz; bitt; DJ MacWoW; null and void; Travis McGee; Red Badger; Diogenesis; 444Flyer

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/here-there-and-everywhere/201701/11-red-flags-of-gaslighting-in-a-relationship

1. They tell blatant lies.
2. They deny they ever said something, even though you have proof.
3. They use what is near and dear to you as ammunition.
4. They wear you down over time.
5. Their actions do not match their words.
6. They throw in positive reinforcement to confuse you.
7. They know confusion weakens people.
8. They project.
9. They try to align people against you.
10. They tell you or others that you are crazy.
11. They tell you everyone else is a liar.


8 posted on 11/28/2023 6:53:44 PM PST by SaveFerris (Luke 17:28 ... as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold ......)
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To: CFW

Bookmark.


9 posted on 11/28/2023 8:35:26 PM PST by Inyo-Mono
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To: Robert DeLong

It is like government gun “buy-backs”. Based upon their actions, the “government” would be considered a prohibited person when it comes to owning a firearm.


10 posted on 11/29/2023 8:35:47 AM PST by CFW (I will not comply!)
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