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Every time the president* tweets something ridiculous, like he invented the question mark or he’s the first black president, remember this:
He’s not saying it because he’s an idiot.
He’s saying it to assert his control over reality. He’s saying it because he’s authoritarian.
He’s not saying it because he’s an idiot.
He’s saying it to assert his control over reality. He’s saying it because he’s authoritarian.
“Saying something obviously untrue, and making your subordinates repeat it with a straight face in their own voice, is a particularly startling display of power over them. It’s something that was endemic to totalitarianism.”
niskanencenter.org/blog/authorita…
niskanencenter.org/blog/authorita…
“I’m not racist, *you’re* racist!” is a classic white supremacist move.
Like all abusers, racists love to deny, attack, and claim the victim is really the offender.
And when it’s the president doing the gaslighting, that’s authoritarianism.
rantt.com/brett-kavanaug…
Like all abusers, racists love to deny, attack, and claim the victim is really the offender.
And when it’s the president doing the gaslighting, that’s authoritarianism.
rantt.com/brett-kavanaug…
And yes, he’s an idiot. Really a huge idiot. But this is something he’s good at. His stupidity comes through in a lot of what he says. But this is about power, not IQ. Focusing on his stupidity while he systematically dismantles what’s left of our democracy is dangerous.
It’s been over two years and a lot of us (myself included) still aren’t fluent in the language of authoritarianism. We need to be.
Recommend this @ThePlumLineGS thread (and the links above) as the way to process Trump’s calculated idiocy.
Recommend this @ThePlumLineGS thread (and the links above) as the way to process Trump’s calculated idiocy.
@ThePlumLineGS And @docrocktex26, @C_Stroop, @sarahkendzior and @AndreaChalupa are great sources of anti-gaslighting analysis.
