In our modern world where words seem to just appear out of thin air, we have one to consider, and another to understand in a whole new “light.” One is from the 1800’s and then again in cinema in 1944. The other just appeared in recent years with the youngsters sometimes referred to as the “Snowflake” generation. You know the “safe space” crowd. They are creating a whole new lexicon to keep abreast of the ever-evolving attacks on their egos and world beliefs.
The term “gas lighting” has been around for more than a century and prior to Thomas Edison’s invention of the filament lightbulb, it was the way we supplied light in homes and city streets. The reference was to a fixture capable of controlling the flow of gas for the purpose of supplying light.
The term “gaslighting” seems to have come from the 1944 movie “Gaslight” starring Charles Boyer, Ingrid Bergman, and Joseph Cotton. The central plot is the use of deception by a husband to convince his wife that she is mentally unstable. The word “gaslighting” evolved into common use and describes an alternate mental state that convinces people that their beliefs, and reality are not the same. Also labeled as a covert form of mind control exerted by those in power.
The left used this term during President Trump’s tenure to convince the public that he was out of touch with reality and therefore, feeding us “fake news.” The constant barrage of attacks (lies repeated often enough, become the truth) convinced some, but with constant investigations and verifiable facts, reality began to surface. With investigations Trump supporters had verifiable facts that reality had not become detached from their belief.
And so here we are with another attack from the left back firing on them. Their version of long-term planning rarely exceeds next Friday. Many voters are too inexperienced and ill-educated, to understand our politicians lack of planning and logic.
President Biden has now become the primary, and perhaps worst, “gaslighter” in history. His cringeworthy appearances on television, show a cogitative decline that is painful to watch and politically dangerous on the international stage. Just a few words from the President’s recent proclamations show his “gaslighting” state of mind and the alternate universe he is trying to build for us:
- The gas hike is caused by Putin’s war
- We will all be driving EV’s by 2030, or 2035, or 2050
- Inflation is moderate and about 4%
- The Inflation Reduction Act is a good thing
- And on and on…
We in fact do need to shine a light on the “Gaslighters” because evil always thrives in the dark. Interestingly, “gas lighters” in the 1800’s brought light to a dark land. Whereas ”gaslighting” in the 21 Century brings darkness and evil.
“Microaggressions are in a class by themselves. The concept of the word is there purely to protect the “snowflake” generation from the rest of us. Teachers, and maybe some parents, also believe this nonsense and foster the environment. Either the adults are so scared of the snowflakes that they will not stand up to them, or there is a collective loss of sanity across the nation.
Microaggressions are defined as “a verbal or nonverbal slight that affects an individual, who might identify as being from a marginalized or nonmainstream community.“ You are guilty if that person perceives that you are biased, in some way toward them. We need to be careful here because someone other than you, is deciding that you are biased, even if you never verbalize or show that bias. There are authors who go on to explain that the person may not say or exhibit anything, but the aggrieved person might just “feel” the microaggression. And if you caught the last part of the sentence, and the word “identify” you can get to the crux of this fable.
If you are old enough or have read about Nazi Germany this should make you shake in your boots. It was a lunatic time when people were turned into the government for disagreeing with anything. Children turned in their friends or their parents just for saying, writing, or thinking something with which the government might disagree.
This lunacy is also reinforced by the medical community in some places. The Cleveland (Ohio) Health Clinic gives six examples of microaggressions on its web site. The notes in brackets are ours.
- Following someone around a store because you think they’re going to steal something. [A necessity for small businesses in our current lawless environment]
- Eye rolling when someone mentions feeling invalidated. [Maybe you just said something stupid.]
- Turning away from or avoiding someone altogether. [Not everybody likes everybody, or maybe avoiding a microaggression]
- Scheduling meetings or events that conflict with religious observances or obligations. [There are too many to know them all]
- Ordering food for events and not considering the dietary restrictions of others. [Folks with restrictions need to grow up and if they cannot eat the food presented, bring their own.]
- Only allowing certain people to work on high-visibility projects. [Perhaps, just perhaps you are not the most qualified and have been excluded for a reason.]
To the Cleveland Clinic’s credit, they do recommend that the offended person approach these issues in a nonviolent way, explain how you feel, and walk away.
However, we live in such a litigious society where there is a lawyer lurking around the corner looking for the next payday. As one D. C. attorney explained “If they occur often enough, microaggressions may lead workers to file harassment lawsuits.” But maybe this can cut both ways, employers can have perceived employee ”microaggressions” and maybe counter sue for workplace disruption or unspoken bias.
The truth is that this nonsense needs to end. “Snowflakes” must toughen up.
Ask the Ukrainians if they are worried about Russian microaggressions!
