Gaslighting in America

Cord Jefferson’s essay on gaslighting and crazymaking of minorities in America — mentioned: Kanye West, Jimmy Kimmel, Trayvon Martin, stop and frisk, and his own dark skin — is perfect. Everyone should read it. Let’s get everyone to read it. Print it out and leave in on your kitchen table. Leave it open on all of your tabs, then invite your friend to use your computer. Rent a small plane and drop copies from the sky.

(“There’s a form of mental torture called “gaslighting,” its name taken from a play in which a man convinces his wife that the gas lights in their home she sees brightening and dimming are, in fact, maintaining a steady glow. His ultimate goal is to drive her into a mental institution and take all her money, and soon the woman ends up in an argument with herself about whether she’s losing her mind. American race relations have a similar narrative: An entire set of minorities confident that the everyday slights they’re seeing are real and hurtful, and an entire set of other people assuring them that they’re wrong.”)

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