Ghastly Gaslighting

Frederick R Smith has moved to Frederick R. Smith Speaks (substack.com)

The term gaslighting originates in the systematic psychological manipulation of a victim by her husband in Patrick Hamilton’s 1938 stage play Gas Light.  Adaptations include the 1940 British psychological thriller film directed by Thorold Dickinson which stars Anton Walbrook and Diana Wynyard, and features Frank Pettingell. The film adheres more closely to the original play upon which it is based – Patrick Hamilton's Gas Light (1938) – than the 1944 MGM remake. The play had been performed on Broadway as Angel Street, so when the MGM remake was released in the United States, it was given the same title as the American production.

The 1944 version was directed by George Cukor and starred Ingrid Bergman, Charles Boyer, Joseph Cotten, and 18-year-old Angela Lansbury in an Oscar-nominated screen debut (Supporting Actress). It had a larger scale and budget than the earlier film, and it lends a different feel to the material. To avoid confusion with the first film, this version was originally titled The Murder in Thornton Square in the UK. This film features numerous deviations from the original stage play, though the central drama remains of a husband trying to drive his wife insane in order to distract her from his criminal activities.

The following text (Part One) is floating about on the internet and the author is currently unknown. Because of its efficacy, I have taken the liberty of re-posting it here.  Part Two contains additional gaslighting experienced by your cyber-friend Fred Smith.

Part One - Author Unknown

Have you ever asked yourself, ‘am I crazy?’ 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.

We are living in a perpetual state of gaslighting. The reality that 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 a crime; murder, gang violence, drug dealing, drive-by shootings, armed robbery, but we are told that it is not a 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 the 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 as 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.

Part Two - Author Frederick R Smith

Throughout the summer of 2020 and ongoing to this day, riots have broken out in 100 plus cities. Seeing through the “mostly peaceful protest” mantra, you know in fact the left-wing commits these atrocities. Nevertheless, when you question reports that the “right-wing incites the violence” and the “right-wing forms the only threat to the Nation” you ponder your mental clarity. For sure, you are being gaslighted.

The media highlights Bill Gates as the savior because of his insistence on injecting the entire population of the planet. When questioning the “news” (sic) propping up a non-doctor, you wonder why they brand you as a conspiracy wacko. Nope, you are being gaslighted.

When the fires broke out in California, you read online reports about arsonists setting the inferno. You question the efficacy of the mainstem reports about this being a climate change issue and again become a target, your friends and system target you to be a nutcase. Remember, you are being gaslighted.

Analyzing data from reliable sources and reading papers by unbiased professionals you see the high numbers of “cases” because so many people just walk in for a test (unlike anything in the past). Your arduous work researching tells you most of the cases are nothing more than positive test results for COv2 fragments with no sickness. You rejoice that this might lead us to herd immunity. You also question the media insistence on a casedemic. Suddenly, friends and family bark at you for not being a subject matter expert for daring to even whisper these facts. Of course, once again you are told that you just want to kill granny. Not at all, you are gaslighted.

You ponder certain states that closed polling places due to Covid then scratch your head why other venues are open at the same time. You also see many reports of voter fraud from local news sources then pull out your hair hearing the mainstream blabber on about there is no evidence of voter fraud. Gaslighting alert!

You wonder why anybody in their right mind would call for defunding police. Because of this concern, you find yourself branded as a police state supporter. Come on folks, you are being gaslighted.

Citing CDC’s own statistics and documentation, you out point our only 6% of all the reported fatalities were exclusively from Covid with the remaining having more than two co-morbidities. You get blindsided by others tagging you to be a Covid denier even when you point out this information could be invaluable for the medical community. Classic gaslighting.

Present irrefutable life experience about the Marxist indoctrination in academia, along with historical information concerning communist infiltration in the nation, you get the “you are paranoid” response. You begin to wonder if you are in a dream state. Nope, it is gaslighting.

You marvel at the cancel culture’s ability to attack long past secular sins. How about the Democratic Party and its roots in slavery and racism? Never mind. Gaslighting.

But wait, there is more. Looking at the sanitized clips of “mostly peaceful” protests on TV, you also see an overwhelming number of online videos with looting, burning, and murder. Trying to reconcile this discrepancy, friends and family tell you CNN and kindred spirits are the only sources for real news (sic). Good advice? No, it is simply good old gaslighting.