DescentBB

let's read together, shall we, class?

When you start hearing folks try to sell you on 'alternative reality' and they aren't talking about hallulcinogens, you have yourself a case of Gaslighting. What is it, and how does it work?
This is how gaslighting begins. These are not my words, but I think they are true, and important to understand:
If you are puzzled by the bizarre "press conference" put on by the White House press secretary this evening (angrily claiming that Trump's inauguration had the largest audience in history, accusing them of faking photos and lying about attendance), let me help explain it. This spectacle served three purposes:
1. Establishing a norm with the press: they will be told things that are obviously wrong and they will have no opportunity to ask questions. That way, they will be grateful if they get anything more at any press conference. This is the PR equivalent of "negging," the odious pick-up practice of a particular kind of horrible man (e.g., Donald Trump).
2. Increasing the separation between Trump's base (1/3 of the population) from everybody else (the remaining 2/3). By being told something that is obviously wrong—that there is no evidence for and all evidence against, that anybody with eyes can see is wrong—they are forced to pick whether they are going to believe Trump or their lying eyes. The gamble here—likely to pay off—is that they will believe Trump. This means that they will regard media outlets that report the truth as "fake news" (because otherwise they'd be forced to confront their cognitive dissonance.)
3. Creating a sense of uncertainty about whether facts are knowable, among a certain chunk of the population (which is a taking a page from the Kremlin, for whom this is their preferred disinformation tactic). A third of the population will say "clearly the White House is lying," a third will say "if Trump says it, it must be true," and the remaining third will say "gosh, I guess this is unknowable." The idea isn't to convince these people of untrue things, it's to fatigue them, so that they will stay out of the political process entirely, regarding the truth as just too difficult to determine.
This is laying important groundwork for the months ahead. If Trump's White House is willing to lie about something as obviously, unquestionably fake as this, just imagine what else they'll lie about. In particular, things that the public cannot possibly verify the truth of. It's gonna get real bad.

Like Obama didn't practice the very things you are complaining about. Lets see:

Running guns to drug lords
Saying a ambassador was killed because of a video
Saying "If you like your doctor, you can keep your doctor"

I think you get my drift.

woody, if you can't see the difference, heaven help you.

All I can see at the moment is President Trump has picked decent people for various positions in his cabinet and yet to see any harmful actions. Just because you are trying to predict such things doesn't mean they are true.

he has picked some potentially functional people, a few complete dolts and three who are a clear threat to the security and well being of the nation. Mixed bag. First weekend was a glaring failure at seeding high public confidence.

woodchip wrote:All I can see at the moment is President Trump has picked decent people for various positions in his cabinet

Holy ★■◆● you are delusional

Careful TopGun.

Slick, you are right on, but remember, the press has failed in it's duty before. But even with that failing, a leader who destroys the press can get away with anything they want, legal or illegal or even extralegal.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline ... nixon.html

So Grendel, should we just abolish the press if they're part of the national propaganda machine anyway? If we did that, what other options are available for the people to keep our leaders at least halfway accountable?

No. Just be mindful about who is saying what and why. Propaganda only works if the information is not questioned.

Grendel wrote:No. Just be mindful about who is saying what and why. Propaganda only works if the information is not questioned.

precisely, and on a historical note, Franklin and Jefferson(likely others) went to some pains to note that our system relies on an informed and involved populace. Part of being informed is being vigilant and questioning EVERYTHING(not the same as doubting everything, a subtle difference).

Grendel wrote:No. Just be mindful about who is saying what and why. Propaganda only works if the information is not questioned.

Well, for crying out loud, the stuff that comes from the office of this president and the mouth of his press secretary has definitely got to be propaganda from an alternate universe. It just boggles the mind. If his claim were even remotely true, since Trump refuses to release this information he claims he has in his hot little hands, about how 5 million people committed voter fraud, he's essentially conspiring to obstruct justice, which is an impeachable offense for a president.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/amphtml/ ... se-policy/

https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/rel ... -illegally