Gaslighting gaslighting

It’s an incredible thing, when you stop and think about it. The year is 2020 – what was initially billed as a year of unparalleled hindsight and moral clarity. At least that was what the calendar classes sold us in the final weeks of last December. We’re surrounded by LEDs, black lights, solar thingys and yet, all anyone ever wants to talk about is gaslighting. You’re gaslighting me, I’m gaslighting you, we’re all being gaslit. The lack of oxygen is enough to go to someone’s head.

The discourse is both confusing and repressive. Gaslights are rarely a thing nowadays. There are a few homes in Park Slope with the telltale flickering of a gassy flame. And Glen Ridge, New Jersey’s best-known quality is its preponderance of gas lamps. These bedroom communities are not what we’re talking about when we talking about gaslighting.  So grab your filaments and listen.  

But what is gaslighting? Some people say it’s a form of psychological manipulation, the careful construction of false narratives in order to confuse the listener or reader. The eventual goal is for them to swap out their baggy clothes for something that fits a little bitter. Straight jacket, anyone? Some argue that the term itself dates from a movie in the 1940s. This is absurd. There were no movies back then. The earliest known movie was shot by a Soviet dog (Leon Dogsky) hurtling through space in the 1950s. He was out looking for tennis balls amid the stars and the stardust. Movies, simply put, didn’t exist before that.

Photographs had only been invented a few years prior by the enterprising young French mischief maker and sometimes sous chef, Gustave Photograph. Still, the pictures didn’t move. The closest thing to a film in those days was what circus figures called “The Human Flipbook.” People with hands so dexterous, so fast, they could shuffle a pile of thousands of photos in seconds, thereby telling a cogent story in the process. The most famous of these strange, yet brilliant individuals was The Coney Island Comet, Gerald Benzene. What set Quick Ger apart from others was his ability to narrate with the velocity of a superb auctioneer. His “movies” were anything but silent. But like all inexplicable fads, this too passed away in time, making way for the next mass delusion. In this case, it involved collecting bottle caps and flicking them at street signs for money.

Gaslighting is a sign of respect. Someone is taking time out of their unimaginably busy day to school you on the world. Don’t take it personally. It’s not psychological warfare or Jedi Mind Trix (the cereal that floats ever so slightly above the milk before forcing its way onto your spoon). It’s about healing and educating. Gaslighting is, plain and simple, a godsend. It’s when someone tells you an uncomfortable truth that you’re not quite ready for. But one that you need to know.

For instance, the “o” in MoMA isn’t capitalized, despite what some people claim. If you’re ever swimming in money, while gold coins may somehow seem more authentic, newly crisp dollar bills are far superior in every conceivable way. When people say birdsong, what they really mean is birdtalk. Avian language is like Italian, in that it’s melodious and therefore gives the impression of music, but these feathered fellas are more often than not ranting like AM radio whackjobs. 

So is gaslighting the way to go? It’s hard to say, for sure. Me? I’d rather light a candle.