Donald Trump is 'gaslighting' all of us

by Guest Wed Jan 11, 2017 10:35 am

http://www.cnn.com/2017/01/10/opinions/donald-trump-is-gaslighting-america-ghitis/index.html

The questions are endless, and the answers, unless you're paying very close attention -- all the time -- can require significant effort to ascertain. Reality is becoming hazy in the era of Trump. And that's no accident.

The fact is Trump has become America's gaslighter in chief.

If you've never heard the term, prepare to learn it and live with it every day. Unless Trump starts behaving in a radically different way after he becomes President, gaslighting will become one of the words of 2017.

The term comes from the 1930s play "Gas Light" and the 1940s Hollywood movie version (Gaslight) in which a manipulative husband tries to unmoor his wife, played by Ingrid Bergman, by tampering with her perception of reality. He dims the gaslights and then pretends it's only she who thinks they are flickering as the rooms grow darker.

That's only the beginning. He uses a variety of truth-blurring techniques. His goal is to exert power and control by creating doubts about what is real and what isn't, distracting her as he attempts to steal precious jewels.

Mental health professionals have made much of the practice, said to be a favorite of narcissists and abusive spouses. But more recently the tactical tampering with the truth has become a preferred method of strongmen around the world. Gaslighting by other means was always a common feature of dictatorships, but it has found new vogue as a more subtle form of domestic political control even in countries with varying degrees of democracy.

Now Trump has brought it to the United States. The techniques include saying and doing things and then denying it, blaming others for misunderstanding, disparaging their concerns as oversensitivity, claiming outrageous statements were jokes or misunderstandings, and other forms of twilighting the truth.

by Guest Wed Jan 11, 2017 10:37 am

some good comments in this thread

https://www.reddit.com/r/politics/comments/5n7fa2/donald_trump_is_gaslighting_america/

The Following Actions are Associated with Gaslighting:

Withholding: Your partner pretends not to understand you or flat out refuses to listen to you. He or she might say things like “I don’t want to hear this again.”
Countering: Your partner questions your memory, even if you’re sure you know what happened. They say “You’re wrong, you never remember things correctly,” or “You’re imagining things, that never happened.”
Blocking/Diverting: Your partner changes the subject to silence you or questions how you’re feeling, saying things like “Is that another crazy idea you got from your (friend/family member)?”
Trivializing: Your partner makes your needs or feelings seem unimportant, constantly telling you that you’re too sensitive, or that “You’re going to get angry over a little thing like that?”
Forgetting/Denying: Your partner pretends to have forgotten what really happened, or flat out denies promises he or she made to you. He/she will say things like, “I don’t know what you’re talking about” or “You’re just making things up.”

Gaslighting is a form of emotional and psychological abuse. If you feel like you’re being gaslighted in a relationship, it’s important to seek help.

A Narcissist's Prayer:
That didn't happen.
And if it did, it wasn't that bad.
And if it was, that's not a big deal.
And if it is, that's not my fault.
And if it was, I didn't mean it.
And if I did...
You deserved it.

by MaxEntropy_Man Wed Jan 11, 2017 10:35 pm

Thanks for posting this. Here is the original movie, which I haven't watched yet.

https://youtu.be/SPcYkxmhGs0

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