Gaslighting is when someone tries to make you doubt your own moods, observations and memories *to obscure* their lies. Lying is involved BUT lying and gaslighting are not synonyms.
"i didn't take your donut" - just lying.
"you're always accusing me of the silliest shit, like i stole your donut or slept with your sister" - gaslighting
I would take it further than that: "I sat here and watched you eat that donut" or at least "I bet you forgot you ate it again. You're always doing that."
I was gaslighted in a relationship over 20 years ago, and at the time there was an extremely high chance I'd have to explain the term every time I used it (I'm a movie freak). Watching the term get mangled these last several years is a special kind of semi-triggering. Like, STFU, you have no clue.
Yes!
Related, I've seen "red flag" being used for the things that are the events, not the warning signs that bad things are coming. Like "it's a red flag if he hits you". No, that's the thing the red flags were meant to warn you about.
Really got sick of people using ‘kompromat’ to try to make themselves sound like espionage experts AA if it was somehow different from garden-variety blackmail.
Christian.
A lot of the people calling themselves Christian today would lock Jesus up in a heartbeat for the things he did and said that they never read about. Most never opened a Bible.
Comments
"you're always accusing me of the silliest shit, like i stole your donut or slept with your sister" - gaslighting
Related, I've seen "red flag" being used for the things that are the events, not the warning signs that bad things are coming. Like "it's a red flag if he hits you". No, that's the thing the red flags were meant to warn you about.
A word got some power and now people just try to exploit it and ruin the word. imho it's nearly the same process that happened to Woke.
A lot of the people calling themselves Christian today would lock Jesus up in a heartbeat for the things he did and said that they never read about. Most never opened a Bible.