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I've been reading around #gaslighting lately. For those new to the term, it's a type of manipulation where seeds of doubt are planted within a targeted individual or group, making them question their own memory, perception, or judgment.
1/17
1/17
In 2018, @InsideCdnNurse invited me to write about reconciliation. Looking back with my current perspective, I've realized that what I actually wrote about were the effects of #gaslighting on the stories passed on to me by my father and grandparents.
https://canadian-nurse.com/en/articles/issues/2018/march-april-2018/whose-truth-are-we-talking-about
2/17
https://canadian-nurse.com/en/articles/issues/2018/march-april-2018/whose-truth-are-we-talking-about
2/17
I'll share a few quotes from the article because I don't think I can state it better years later than I could in 2018.
3/17
3/17
"The group moved on to the next person, but my thoughts lingered on my great-grandmother. I had accepted her story as truth, and the fact that it came from my father and grandfather was proof of its veracity. I remained lost in my thoughts for the remainder of the night."
4/17
4/17
"When the fellowship year ended, we published our findings and I continued on with my life. I buried this experience and, am ashamed to say, took the fellows’ comments to heart. I doubted my great-grandmother."
5/17
5/17
"It wasn’t until many years later, after I began reading survivor testimony from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, that validation finally came. There it was in black and white: the event was recorded exactly as my great-grandmother had described it."
6/17
6/17
"Despite all my accumulated privilege — as a physician, academic, advocate, and medical leader — I could not stand up against the accepted narrative that night. Somehow, I lacked the credibility to overcome the incredulity toward my great-grandmother’s story."
7/17
7/17
"Any discussions that followed regarding treaties and residential schools became tainted for me. Our group’s articulation of the problems, solutions, and implementation strategies for systems change were rife with false assumptions..."
8/17
8/17
"...the residential school system experience wasn’t so harmful; Indigenous Peoples needed to move on; resources were better allocated to areas other than healing from the experience."
9/17
9/17
There's A LOT of #gaslighting going on in so many areas of society right now, especially medicine. There are the -isms of course. Racism, sexism, ableism, ageism, classism, etc. But it also occurs in addictions, the social determinants of health, and contract negotiations.
10/17
10/17
Blog from Alex Kimball Williams. I don't think she's on Twitter, but has some great writing easily found on google.
One line stands out to me.
"...racesplaining also assumes that white people are qualified to dictate to us what exactly we need."
https://medium.com/@alexwilliams_55467/racesplaining-is-dehumanization-7b2efed960a9
11/17
One line stands out to me.
"...racesplaining also assumes that white people are qualified to dictate to us what exactly we need."
https://medium.com/@alexwilliams_55467/racesplaining-is-dehumanization-7b2efed960a9
11/17
Substitute "racesplaining" for your own lived experience.
Man-splaining. Able-splaining. Addict-splaining. Contract-splaining.
#gaslighting exists for a single reason, disempowerment. Having the empowered rewrite our lived realities to defend existing systems of power.
12/17
Man-splaining. Able-splaining. Addict-splaining. Contract-splaining.
#gaslighting exists for a single reason, disempowerment. Having the empowered rewrite our lived realities to defend existing systems of power.
12/17
"Austerity will lead to health system sustainability."
"Equity, diversity, and inclusion must be made palatable to bring people along."
"Addiction is a choice, an addict can't change unless THEY choose to change."
Who do these statements empower? Are they actually true?
13/17
"Equity, diversity, and inclusion must be made palatable to bring people along."
"Addiction is a choice, an addict can't change unless THEY choose to change."
Who do these statements empower? Are they actually true?
13/17
No resilience in health systems is BECAUSE of austerity. Cuts don't lead to sustainability.
EDI - by definition - is unpalatable. It's literally about redistributing power.
The system is stacked against addicts. Jobs, housing, food. What choices do they actually have?
14/17
EDI - by definition - is unpalatable. It's literally about redistributing power.
The system is stacked against addicts. Jobs, housing, food. What choices do they actually have?
14/17
To fellow victims of #gaslighting, don't doubt your lived experience.
I'll also say regrettably, don't expect an apology from those that #gaslit you either. Whether they are protecting the status quo or were #gaslit themselves, belief is hard to change.
15/17
I'll also say regrettably, don't expect an apology from those that #gaslit you either. Whether they are protecting the status quo or were #gaslit themselves, belief is hard to change.
15/17
Instead, let's reshape those power structures together. Social media is a powerful force for and against change. It connects, informs, trains, and amplifies.
Our voices matter. You matter.
16/17
Our voices matter. You matter.
16/17
Historically, enlightenment always follows darkness.
Differentiating between #gaslighting and truth is always revealed by outcomes. Pay attention. Keep speaking up. Don't let the empowered rewrite your lived reality; the outcomes of their decisions on your own life.
End.
17/17
Differentiating between #gaslighting and truth is always revealed by outcomes. Pay attention. Keep speaking up. Don't let the empowered rewrite your lived reality; the outcomes of their decisions on your own life.
End.
17/17
