Defining the word ‘gaslighting’

Barry Johnson’s chronic misuse of the term “gaslighting” prompts me to quote Inigo Montoya: “you keep using that word… I don’t think it means what you think it means.” Gaslighting is manipulating someone by trying to make them believe things that aren’t true, or to doubt things that are. My letter was an example of satire, not gaslighting.

A better gaslighting example would be Mr. Johnson’s claim that Biden’s done nothing to improve the electrical grid, even though Biden’s 2022 Infrastructure Law includes $13 billion to modernize and expand the grid. And a fine example of a logical fallacy would be Johnson also paradoxically arguing that governments shouldn’t spend tax dollars on things that aren’t specifically mentioned in the Constitution, which would not only preclude funding the power grid, but also such things as highways, schools, and prisons.

Another paradox: why was it okay when Trump spent $900 billion for Covid relief, but when Biden did the same thing it “flushed the country with unearned cash” and crashed the economy? Johnson also fails to explain how Biden somehow caused inflation to rise at an even higher rate around the world than it did in the U.S., but I appreciate that he apparently gives Joe credit for having that much power.

But regarding his admonishment to “be smarter”: challenge accepted. As I’ve argued in this space before, America would be better off if fewer people rallied around MAGA, and more people embraced MATH: Make America Think Harder … but that’s probably inconceivable.

— Scott Paulo, Chico