Gaslight
Posted: Fri May 03, 2019 7:36 am
Gaslight - noun, a form of illumination in use prior to the invention of the electric lightbulb, sometimes using oil derived from whale blubber as fuel. Gas lanterns in use today are incandescent lights. They burn fuels like propane, white gas or kerosene...
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I tend to take things literally. A gaslight is a gaslight. But today people use the word differently, apparently to describe abusive behavior, specifically when an abuser manipulates information in such a way as to make a victim question his or her sanity. If that's the case, there is a lot of gaslighting going around today, mostly coming from controlled mass media.
Here's more background on the current, wide use of this term "gaslighting":
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The term “gaslight treatment” was coined by a classic 1944 movie starring Ingrid Bergman. In it, Bergman’s character is gradually made to think that she’s going mad. Her new husband moves household items, makes the sound of footsteps in the attic (which he claims not to hear), and alters the brightness of the gaslights on the first floor, all to make his wife believe that she is losing touch with reality.
When applied to a family, the gaslight treatment is a special form of dysfunction. It happens when you, a child, receive messages or encounter experiences within the family which are deeply contradictory. Messages which are opposing and conflicting; experiences which can’t both be true. When you can’t make sense of something...Of the endless number of psychological factors that can plague a person throughout his life...https://blogs.psychcentral.com/childhoo ... -gaslight/
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I tend to take things literally. A gaslight is a gaslight. But today people use the word differently, apparently to describe abusive behavior, specifically when an abuser manipulates information in such a way as to make a victim question his or her sanity. If that's the case, there is a lot of gaslighting going around today, mostly coming from controlled mass media.
Here's more background on the current, wide use of this term "gaslighting":
---
The term “gaslight treatment” was coined by a classic 1944 movie starring Ingrid Bergman. In it, Bergman’s character is gradually made to think that she’s going mad. Her new husband moves household items, makes the sound of footsteps in the attic (which he claims not to hear), and alters the brightness of the gaslights on the first floor, all to make his wife believe that she is losing touch with reality.
When applied to a family, the gaslight treatment is a special form of dysfunction. It happens when you, a child, receive messages or encounter experiences within the family which are deeply contradictory. Messages which are opposing and conflicting; experiences which can’t both be true. When you can’t make sense of something...Of the endless number of psychological factors that can plague a person throughout his life...https://blogs.psychcentral.com/childhoo ... -gaslight/