November 28, 2020
This article is published online by David Blackmon with the following disclosure:
[NOTE: I received the explainer below in an email from a friend this week. It has been making the rounds in email and social media for awhile now, and is the best tutorial on the concept of “Gaslighting” I have seen. Thus, I want to share it with the audience of DBDailyUpdate. Unfortunately, I have no idea who the author is – If I did I would give him or her proper credit.]
I found it, also, to be the best explanation of what the term “gaslighting” means and wanted to give it as much distribution as possible, so I have copied it here. Again, the author is unknown, but should the name of the author come to light, we will make sure to give the proper credit to them. -Devin
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“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 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 that the police 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.
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”.
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I would add, trust your own eyes. When what you see with your own eyes does not match what you are being told, don’t believe what you are being told! It is SO easy to just sit back in your chair and turn on the TV and watch and listen to whatever the talking heads tell you and they make it SO believable. STOP doing that! Get online. Go to every alternative news source you can find and READ what they have to say. Get on Youtube and watch alternative news sources so you can get BOTH sides, or even multiple sides, to the stories of the day. It takes more effort, yes, but there is NO value in just soaking in the lies you are being fed all day long by the major news media outlets.
If you are wondering where to start, I strongly recommend the news aggregating site: https://www.whatfinger.com/ This site provides some links to mainstream media sources, but most of the links come from alternative news sources. It also includes some video links at the top and occasionally down below. If what you see offends you, ask yourself, why? Why does it offend you? Most likely it’s because you have been so thoroughly gaslighted that you cannot believe it.
If you are more video oriented, and not so much a reader, try some of these sources:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJdKr0Bgd_5saZYqLCa9mng
https://www.youtube.com/user/PowerfulJRE
https://www.youtube.com/user/patrickbetdavid
If you spend enough time watching and reading from these sites you will begin to notice the gaslighting when you turn on your TV and watch the major news media outlets. I promise you that you will. And you will thank me when you do.
Devin