General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region Forums"Prepare for the Ultimate Gaslighting." 👀
Prepare for the Ultimate Gaslighting
Julio Vincent Gambuto
Apr 10
<snip>
What the trauma has shown us, though, cannot be unseen. A carless Los Angeles has clear blue skies as pollution has simply stopped. In a quiet New York, you can hear the birds chirp in the middle of Madison Avenue. Coyotes have been spotted on the Golden Gate Bridge. These are the postcard images of what the world might be like if we could find a way to have a less deadly daily effect on the planet. Whats not fit for a postcard are the other scenes we have witnessed: a healthcare system that cannot provide basic protective equipment for its front line; small businesses and very large ones that do not have enough cash to pay their rent or workers, sending over 16 million people to seek unemployment benefits; a government that has so severely damaged the credibility of our media that 300 million people dont know who to listen to for basic facts that can save their own lives.
The cat is out of the bag. We, as a nation, have deeply disturbing problems. Youre right. Thats not news. They are problems we ignore every day, not because were terrible people or because we dont care about fixing them, but because we dont have time. Sorry, we have other shit to do. The plain truth is that no matter our ethnicity, religion, gender, political party (the list goes on), nor even our socio-economic status, as Americans we share this: we are busy. Were out and about hustling to make our own lives work. We have goals to meet and meetings to attend and mortgages to pay all while the phone is ringing and the laptop is pinging. And when we get home, Crate and Barrel and 3M and Andy Cohen make us feel just good enough to get up the next day and do it all over again. It is very easy to close your eyes to a problem when you barely have enough time to close them to sleep. The greatest misconception among us, which causes deep and painful social and political tension every day in this country, is that we somehow dont care about each other. White people dont care about the problems of black America. Men dont care about womens rights. Cops dont care about the communities they serve. Humans dont care about the environment. These couldnt be further from the truth. We do care. We just dont have the time to do anything about it. Maybe thats just me. But maybe its you, too.
Well, the treadmill youve been on for decades just stopped. Bam! And that feeling you have right now is the same as if youd been thrown off your Peloton bike and onto the ground: what in the holy fuck just happened? I hope you might consider this: what happened is inexplicably incredible. Its the greatest gift ever unwrapped. Not the deaths, not the virus, but the Great Pause. It is, in a word, profound. Please dont recoil from the bright light beaming through the window. I know it hurts your eyes. It hurts mine, too. But the curtain is wide open. What the crisis has given us is a once-in-a-lifetime chance to see ourselves and our country in the plainest of views. At no other time, ever in our lives, have we gotten the opportunity to see what would happen if the world simply stopped. Here it is. Were in it. Stores are closed. Restaurants are empty. Streets and six-lane highways are barren. Even the planet itself is rattling less (true story). And because it is rarer than rare, it has brought to light all of the beautiful and painful truths of how we live. And that feels weird. Really weird. Because it has never happened before. If we want to create a better country and a better world for our kids, and if we want to make sure we are even sustainable as a nation and as a democracy, we have to pay attention to how we feel right now. I cannot speak for you, but I imagine you feel like I do: devastated, depressed, and heartbroken.
And what a perfect time for Best Buy and J. Crew and Gwyneth Paltrow to help me feel normal again. If I could just have the new iPhone in my hand, if I could rest my feet on a pillow of new Nikes, if I could drink a venti blonde vanilla latte with two pumps of syrup, then this very dark feeling would go away. You think Im kidding, that Im being cute, that Im denying the very obvious benefits of having a roaring economy. Youre right. Our way of life is not ruinous. The economy is not, at its core, evil. Brands and their products create millions of jobs. They make up a system that keeps us living long and strong. We have lifted more humans out of poverty through the power of economics than any other civilization in history. Yes, without a doubt, Americanism is a force for good. It is not some villainous plot to wreak havoc and destroy the planet and all our souls along with it. I get it. But its flaws have been laid bare for all to see. It doesnt work for everyone. Its responsible for great destruction. It is so unevenly distributed in its benefit that three men own more wealth than 150 million people. Its intentions have been perverted and the protection it offers has disappeared. In fact, its been brought to its knees by one pangolin.
And so the onslaught is coming. Get ready, my friends. What is about to be unleashed on American society will be the greatest campaign ever created to get you to feel normal again. It will come from brands, it will come from government, it will even come from each other, and it will come from the left and from the right. We will do anything, spend anything, believe anything, just so we can take away how horribly uncomfortable all of this feels. And on top of that, just to turn the screw that much more, will be the only effort even greater: the all-out blitz to make you believe you never saw what you saw. The air wasnt really cleaner; those images were fake. The hospitals werent really a war zone; those stories were hyperbole. The numbers were not that high; the press is lying. You didnt see people in masks standing in the rain risking their lives to vote. Not in America. You didnt see the leader of the free world push an unproven miracle drug like a late-night infomercial salesman. That was a crisis update. You didnt see homeless people dead on the street. You didnt see inequality. You didnt see indifference. You didnt see utter failure of leadership and systems. But you did. And so we are about to be gaslit in a truly unprecedented way. It starts with a check for $1,200 dont say I never gave you anything and then it will be so big that it will be bigly. And it will be a one-two punch from both big business and the big white house inextricably intertwined now more than ever and being led by, as our luck would have it, a Marketer-in-Chief. Business and government are about to band together to knock us unconscious again. It will be funded like no other operation in our lifetimes. It will be fast. It will be furious. And it will be overwhelming. The Great American Return to Normal is coming.
</snip>
This was posted yesterday in another OP, but it had a broken link to the article: https://www.democraticunderground.com/100213265536
underpants
(182,773 posts)Going to have to give it a read.
underpants
(182,773 posts)Consumerism is your contribution. The powerful did not fail you. How dare you enjoy peace and quiet. Americans in particular just got a real taste of how the rest of the world lives at least in terms of balance of time.
Frankly this whole thing (aside from the horribleness of it) is really very Star Treky.
GusBob
(7,286 posts)Twilight Zone-ish
Saturday Night Live-like
underpants
(182,773 posts)a lot better than Battlestar Galactica-y
GusBob
(7,286 posts)Felt good
Thanks
Laelth
(32,017 posts)-Laelth
dewsgirl
(14,961 posts)cilla4progress
(24,726 posts)Knr
dalton99a
(81,455 posts)Los Angeles, pollution-free. Photo credit: Gabriel Duarte
Celerity
(43,327 posts)here is a tweet posted in that article
NOT a good look for Fauci at all, smdh, regardless of the fact it is a NewsMax interview
Link to tweet
SunSeeker
(51,550 posts)AND at the end of that statement he ads the qualifier "now." As in, it is not a major threat to the American people now, but it could be in the future.
Fauci did not agree with the Newsmax ass that "there's nothing to worry about"; he said it was a "serious" matter.
Celerity
(43,327 posts)Trump will toss him under the bus (unfairly or not) in a heartbeat if he thinks it serves his purpose.
SunSeeker
(51,550 posts)AND THEN THE FEDS DIDN'T. They totally botched the testing rollout. Fauci did not know that was going to happen. Then we were in big trouble. We could not do targeted quarantines like South Korea. We had no tests. It spread out of control in our country and we were forced to shut down the whole economy.
Celerity
(43,327 posts)that aspect out, and predicting Trump will more than likely try to roll with that if he thinks it will help him.
SunSeeker
(51,550 posts)Last edited Sat Apr 11, 2020, 08:05 PM - Edit history (1)
And your description of what Fauci said on the 26th was wrong.
Celerity
(43,327 posts)SunSeeker
(51,550 posts)One even said the US has "done a damn good job" of responding to Covid-19. I fucking hate Trump's gaslighting, especially since it's so purvasive that it even seeps into DU.
FM123
(10,053 posts)They will come at us with revisionist history like sexual predators do - that hand on your backside? What are talking about - it never happened....
2naSalit
(86,548 posts)with relief funds and cash from repeatedly confiscated medical equipment.
likesmountains 52
(4,098 posts)ancianita
(36,023 posts)THANK YOU!
This is FUTURE FORGING!
underpants
(182,773 posts)Shes cool with everything anyway
ancianita
(36,023 posts)I also posted this on FB as a repackage with other stuff I've been reading.
johnthewoodworker
(694 posts)Victor_c3
(3,557 posts)Im not wishing anyone in particular pain, but the economic crisis to follow the pandemic needs to be painful for everyone if we want real change in our society.
I think itll be a great opportunity to rid our nation of the for-profit healthcare, expand social security, and curb the power of corporations. We can become a wonderful country if we force the government to shift its focus from caring about corporations and billionaires to small businesses and the average American.
Bernardo de La Paz
(48,998 posts)The BlackSphere ^ | April 6, 2020 | Kevin Jackson
Posted on 4/8/2020, 4:21:19 PM by Forgiven_Sinner
There came a point in the Chinese Wuhan Virus pandemic when
President Trump spotted the game of the Leftists. So he played
along. At first President Trump rightfully downplayed the severity of
the Chinese Wuhan Virus. He equated it to various flu bugs. He then
cautioned people to stay away from sick people, wash their own hands
and if sick, cough into their elbows.
If Trump were Obama, this advice would have been deemed
yogiesque. Then you can bet some Leftist organization would have given
Obama an award for potentially saving millions of lives. But since we
live in the era of Trump, Leftists declared Trump unfit. They claimed
that his cavalier attitude cost lives.
Trump got the message; a message that had been drilled into him for
four years. He knew that nothing he does will satisfy Leftists unless
he plays along. So he did. (Excerpt) Read more at theblacksphere.net ...
I thought my fellow Freepers would like this article. Kevin Jackson
shows how Trump is using Fauci as the bad cop to set expectations very
low and then he is the good cop beating expectations.
I'm not tired of winning. Are you?
1 posted on 4/8/2020 by Forgiven_Sinner
the Dems. The unions will laud him as Ceasar. Hell be a modern day
FDR. Too bad he cant run again after his landslide in November.
13 posted on 4/8/2020 by blackberry1
Trump. Consider that with cover from those two stalking horses, they
actually sanctioned granting Trump dictatorial powers. Without
declaring a national security emergency, Trump could not have - with
neither congressional nor judicial oversight - imposed:
- border controls
- travel restrictions
- moderated sanctuary states
- re-homed domestic production
- import tariffs
- lower oil prices
- undeclared cartel operations
- $8-10T to invest/re-direct US economy
Can anyone imagine the collective Homer Simpson "DOH!" going through
the proglib media right now? By now everyone knows the threat was
overblown - CV has been in Calif since fall. Also, the death tally
radically overstated, with bounties being paid for CV victims in order
to recover federal reimbursement funding.
The whole thing was/is a scam of epic proportions, with the
expectation that Trump would be consumed in the operation. Yet, like a
martial arts master, Trump now has reversed the attack, and now has
complete and total control. That is, as long as the shut down order is
maintained.
So, anyone care to guess when the MSM starts badgering Trump about
re-opening the country? And what will Trump do? LOL - he'll defer to
the two MD experts, laughing inside. Oh sure, small biz is taking a
hit, but there is more than enough $money to make every front-line
warrior good. Because that's who's the tip of the spear - small
businesses are Trump's army to defeat the real enemies of the
republic.
18 posted on 4/8/2020 by semantic
cp
(6,623 posts)We have this big chance to wake up. We are seeing everything with fresh eyes. We are re-knowing our deepest values.
Great, great article. Thank you!
nolabear
(41,959 posts)Dream Girl
(5,111 posts)To checks are months away for many. Food scarcity is real. The fear of dying is real. One days this will be a distant memory but it is going to ave an indelible mark. Shits gotten to real for people to forget. Death, hunger and poverty...there would have to be a hell of a response to open that off the memory bans of millions. And the response and been pitiful at best.
c-rational
(2,590 posts)credibility of our Media" The corporate media has damaged their own credibility. In a sense, they were agglomerated not to provide truth, but to provide marketing for their owners and the interests of a few. Almost propaganda.
Regarding this great pause, I am saddened by the loss of many, but at the same time, in many ways I welcome it. To a less hectic life, I hope we learn from this.
Kali
(55,007 posts)if anything he is allowing media the chance to redeem itself, but they lost their credibility all on their own
llmart
(15,536 posts)One of my favorite quotes and I have no idea who said it first but it is "Stop the glorification of busy."
Anyone who has lived long enough will probably come to the same conclusion that I did that this notion of how "busy" we are is something to wear with a badge of honor. Meet or talk with someone you haven't seen in awhile and ask them how they are and they'll say, "Oh, I've been so busy." I think this mantra coincided with the Reagan years of "greed is good" and recreational shopping. There was a backlash of sorts by some of us with the voluntary simplicity movement of the early 90's. Maybe it's the era I grew up in and/or the family I grew up in that has always made me feel like I'm outside the mainstream because I never felt comfortable in that new "busy for busy's sake" culture. I had less and less in common with the people around me.
Not everyone buys into the notion that this is just how our lives are in America and we have to accept it. Quite frankly, I think we're in the minority and I have little hope that more and more people will see the light after this pandemic is history. We read and heard about these same notions after 9/11 and yet, here we are.
DanieRains
(4,619 posts)1984 is here for 40% of the population, thanks to Murdoch, Ailes, and Hate Radio.
Trump will claim less than 100,000 died as a victory, and the whole problem is the fault of the WHO.
The 1% will get most of the help, and we don't even get funerals for our loved ones, much less a chance to say goodbye.
Soon we will be flying, cruising, driving, and polluting like never before. Making up for lost time.
The impact of this pause will only affect people who have brains who can "slow down" long enough to try to understand why having 1% of the population having all the power, and the media (brainwashing apparatus) will keep the gravy train flowing.
Returns baby. All that really matters to our owners, who are sitting save in their chalets, and mansions.
Welcome to Earth.
And yes we are too busy trying to stay ahead of the wave to DO SOMETHING to change our fate.
Hothouse Earth, for one.
42bambi
(1,753 posts)the mind-bending hard right nonstop megaphone of non-stop hate, racism, and LIES, the younger generation will begin a transformation of this country that we can only dream of. My grand-kids are ready and willing to make the changes needed to make this country whole again.
pandr32
(11,579 posts)But, I have a question about the pangolin. Thet have enough trouble trying to survive already so why is a pangolin blamed for the virus?
Kali
(55,007 posts)and then jumped to humans...
pandr32
(11,579 posts)Seriously, though--I thought it was just a guess.
Kali
(55,007 posts)some other cross-species diseases. I first read about it from some mysterious horse deaths in Australia.
dlk
(11,552 posts)This crisis will not end quickly and we will all be forever changed by it.
gulliver
(13,180 posts)We have definitely learned a lot from this, and things are going to get better as a result. It will actually be good to get back to trivia, playing games, wasting our youth, etc.
Dream Girl
(5,111 posts)Ferrets are Cool
(21,106 posts)DENVERPOPS
(8,810 posts)I would find the addresses of every Republicon who voted for Trump and send them a copy of ANIMAL FARM.
1984 requires a higher intelligent reader than ANIMAL FARM......
1984 is here, but it is the Republican cabal we need to fear far more................
PatrickforO
(14,570 posts)I think, though, there will be some equally massive pushback from increasing numbers of people. We'll see.
Lock him up.
(6,925 posts)But it's not enough Socialism (yet).
alfredo
(60,071 posts)Its a Great read that, In the end I found hopeful. Worth the time to read
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_World_Without_Us
Pluvious
(4,309 posts)( response from a lurking friend )
They will totally try, but we can't go back to the way things were. This pandemic has shown how brittle our system is. I think it was AOC who tweeted a few weeks ago that this crisis threw an accelerant onto a number of slow-burning, hidden fires of things like the gig economy, gutting of the safety net, underinsurance, etc. If anything good will come out of this, I'm hopeful this will finally put the brakes on neoliberalism and the myth of rugged individualism.
Mr.Bill
(24,282 posts)welcome to retirement in a small town. I've been doing it for ten years. I'm not wealthy enough to be much of a philanthropist, but it's inspired me to give something else I have a limited amount of. My time. I've been volunteering at my local hospital with my wife for about six years.
About a month ago they shut down all volunteer operations until this crisis passes, but that didn't stop my wife. She has been sitting at her sewing machine making masks for the hospital. So far we have only four Corona cases in our county, so no PPE supply problems, but they are giving the masks to health care workers to use outside of work. I've been delivering them and chasing down donated supplies and stuff we have to purchase. There's actually a network of ladies from my wife's quilting club and other volunteers doing this and they have made hundreds of masks. Now they are giving them to discharged patients to take home.
I guess my message here is find something to do. It leaves no time for depression or despair. I hope you and your families are well.
Ferrets are Cool
(21,106 posts)peggysue2
(10,828 posts)Thanks for the read and link.
TheFourthMind
(343 posts)Pepsidog
(6,254 posts)MasonDreams
(756 posts)Hopefully for the better in the long run, but, then again, people don't eat in the long run, they would like to eat everyday.