Gaslighting

"Gaslighting" is a term you almost certainly have heard.  It derives from the 1944 Ingrid Bergman film Gaslight, where a husband manipulates his wife into thinking she is mentally ill.  It is a technique intent on making someone(s) believe patently false characterizations of events even in the face of overwhelming evidence to the contrary.  We have all probably succumbed in - usually - small matters when someone we trust provides information that proves to be incorrect.  

Gaslighting is used extensively in political campaigns, mainly because it seems to work.  People are willing to accept as truth the most ridiculous  claims. ....

The most outrageous example of gaslighting in this election cycle in my view is this:  "Donald Trump insisted that the Jan. 6 attack, when his supporters stormed the Capitol and assaulted scores of law enforcement officers, was not a day of violence, but a "day of love" (See Oct 17, 2024 CBS News story)

Of course the facts of the matter, in case your memory needs a jog or has been corrupted by Russian disinformation, is exactly the opposite.  

Here is a sampling of the Jan 7, 2021 headlines from across the country.

Vote. Vote your conscience.

Copyright ©  2024  Dave Hoplin