If you have ever asked yourself that, you’re
not crazy. You’re most likely being gaslighted. Gaslighting is a form of
psychological abuse aimed at controlling a person by altering reality to the
point where the person will doubt their own sanity.
The term
“gaslighting” comes from a 1930’s play called Gas Light. The main character in
the play literally tries to drive his wife crazy by gradually dimming the
gas-powered lights in their home. When she notices the lights dimming, her
husband not only denies that the lights are dimming, he convinces her that she
is imagining it to the point where she questions her own sanity.
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 like 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 our eyes over what we are told.
Never listen to the people who tell you that you are crazy, because you are
not, you’re being gaslighted.
If you have never saw it...flip on your Netflex or Prime, or whatever and watch "Gaslight" movie with Ingrid Bergland and Charles Boyer. Great old movie.(1944)
Fred.
