Gaslighting

First, the video footage from the annual 2022 Congressional Baseball Game, played for charity:

Democrat Rep. Linda Sanchez (CA) flips off the Republican dug out. Her team got blown out 10-0.pic.twitter.com/CgPOaEsLs4

— Ryan Saavedra (@RealSaavedra) July 29, 2022

Ms. Sanchez did the job of any batter at the plate: she got onto first base. Then, the team coach put in a pinch runner, at which point Ms. Sanchez trotted back to the Democrat Party dugout amid cheers.  Just another day in baseball.

As Ms. Sanchez trotted past the Republican Party dugout, however, she threw the rude gesture depicted in the video above and was roundly criticized in social media for her unsportsmanlike behavior and divisiveness.

After that, the reality gets muddy and more than once.

From LINDA SANCHEZ CHANGES STORY YET AGAIN, CALLS OUT REPUBLICAN WOMEN:

...Sanchez flipped off the Republican dugout during what was supposed to be a unifying baseball game, claiming a “nerve was struck” after she heard an “offensive and misogynistic comment from the Republican side” on her way back to the dugout.

She then changed her story to basically say, ‘Just kidding, it wasn’t from the actual dugout but from the stands, and it’s the same person every year but I won’t reveal what was said.’

And then, she shifted to bashing Republican women in attendance for not defending her … even though nobody, besides the Congresswomen [sic], has so far heard the alleged comments....

Sheesh.  What a laughable story!

The above insignificant baseball story reminds me of other recent but significant news stories with shifting narratives and shifting definitions.  Two examples: the very definition of the word recession and the lie that the border is secure (when the word secure clearly does not describe the border situation).

What's happening here?  A particular kind of lying known as gaslighting: 

psychological manipulation of a person usually over an extended period of time that causes the victim to question the validity of their own thoughts, perception of reality, or memories and typically leads to confusion, loss of confidence and self-esteem, uncertainty of one's emotional or mental stability, and a dependency on the perpetrator.

How successful the Democrat Party's recent multiple perpetrations of gaslighting will be when the 2022 midterm elections roll around remains to be seen.  

After all, gaslighting in politics is often quite successful.  Until the day comes when it isn't.

What other examples of gaslighting, recent or otherwise, can you provide?  Successful or not?

Try Objectivity, Please

For a few moments, let's be honest with ourselves, even if we cannot be honest publicly. Yes, our political views make such brutal honesty even more difficult.

The above said, we should make herculean efforts to be honest with ourselves — particularly for us who are voters in a democratic republic. Let's get past cognitive bias and political-party bias and all that.

1) Below is a short video of one of Joe Biden's recent outbursts. He is furious! And in the friendly venue of the AFL-CIO. My grandmother started having such outbursts, complete with similar gestures, post-stroke and when the situation certainly didn't merit such an outburst. 

2) Watch President Biden's face in the short video below.  What do you notice about his facial expressions and body language?

WATCH: Pres. Biden ignores questions when asked about his son’s business dealings with Russian oligarch.

“Why have you stopped taking questions from the press,” a journalist shouts. “What are you afraid of?!”

pic.twitter.com/HRptNwPURj

— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) June 16, 2022

2) To close this post, let's have some wry humor and perhaps something we can all agree on.  Heh.