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So has Johnson's latest attempt at gaslighting, convinced you?

(150 Posts)
CvD66 Mon 30-Jan-23 13:26:54

Boris Johnson recently tried to divert attention from his financial problems by making a unofficial trip to Ukraine (not on Sunak business). He followed this by claiming he persuaded Germany to part with special tanks for Ukraine (roundly denied by Germans). Now Johnson has stated that in a telephone call, at the start of the Ukraine war ‘Putin threatened me at one point, and he said, 'Boris, I don't want to hurt you but, with a missile, it would only take a minute' or something like that.’ Could it be the support he got when he nearly died with Covid, (unlike the 139.5 thousand actual Covid deaths in England up to Feb 2022), he feels the spectre of his death will divert people from the row over his £800k loan scandal with Richard Sharp, chair of BBC. The latest news is that the senior civil servant Simon Case, told Johnson to stop seeking financial advice from Richard Sharp given Sharp’s imminent appointment to the BBC. This flies in the face of the denials by Johnson and Sharp. But Johnson loves to divert and deny. Yet here today the Kremlin has called him out - once again.

Fleurpepper Mon 30-Jan-23 16:58:46

MawtheMerrier

I don’t see what that has to do with “gaslighting”.

Very clear

''People who engage in gaslighting are often habitual and pathological liars and frequently exhibit narcissistic tendencies. It is typical for them to blatantly lie and never back down or change their stories, even when you call them out or provide proof of their deception.''

Parsley3 Mon 30-Jan-23 17:04:07

I am convinced that Johnson is a dangerous fool. He is making the war in Ukraine about him with this claim. If he thinks be is a big shot on the international stage, it is a pity that he didnt put in the same effort at home. Still, we can take comfort that the missile was only meant for him and not the UK at large.

MayBee70 Mon 30-Jan-23 17:04:36

MawtheMerrier

I don’t see what that has to do with “gaslighting”.

Also, by doing this he’s still keeping himself in the public eye, thereby convincing some people that he’s still a big beast, not just in British politics but on the world stage, too. ‘Look how important I am: so much so that Putin fears me so much he feels the need to threaten me’. Add to this the fact that he went to Ukraine again and I think he went to Davos (?). He seems to be completely oblivious to the fact that he’s under investigation for several things.

Fleurpepper Mon 30-Jan-23 17:13:26

Parsley and MayBe, good posts.

A friend told me yesterday they'd discussed this at a local meeting- the concern that he was putting the all of the UK at risk, and that if Putin was considering a targeted strike, the UK would be, geographically and politically- the 'obvious' choice.

Sends shivers, truly. A very dangerous man- well, both of them.

GrannyGravy13 Mon 30-Jan-23 17:34:42

Fleurpepper

Parsley and MayBe, good posts.

A friend told me yesterday they'd discussed this at a local meeting- the concern that he was putting the all of the UK at risk, and that if Putin was considering a targeted strike, the UK would be, geographically and politically- the 'obvious' choice.

Sends shivers, truly. A very dangerous man- well, both of them.

If a rocket was launched towards the U.K. it would be shot down before it reached the English Channel.

Casdon Mon 30-Jan-23 18:01:38

Fleurpepper

Parsley and MayBe, good posts.

A friend told me yesterday they'd discussed this at a local meeting- the concern that he was putting the all of the UK at risk, and that if Putin was considering a targeted strike, the UK would be, geographically and politically- the 'obvious' choice.

Sends shivers, truly. A very dangerous man- well, both of them.

I don’t see that as at all likely. If he did want to target Boris no doubt a drone launched from within the UK would be the preferred method, not a rocket randomly targeted at the UK, thus incurring the wrath of NATO.

MawtheMerrier Mon 30-Jan-23 18:09:48

Fleurpepper

MawtheMerrier

I don’t see what that has to do with “gaslighting”.

Very clear

''People who engage in gaslighting are often habitual and pathological liars and frequently exhibit narcissistic tendencies. It is typical for them to blatantly lie and never back down or change their stories, even when you call them out or provide proof of their deception.''

On the contrary, while the perpetrator may exhibit all these tendencies, actual Gaslighting is a form of psychological abuse in which a person or group causes someone to question their own sanity, memories, or perception of reality. People who experience gaslighting may feel confused, anxious, or as though they cannot trust themselves
I don’t see anybody unable to trust themselves in this situation, do you? Or wonder about their perception of reality

eazybee Mon 30-Jan-23 18:14:43

And you believe the Kremlin, CvD66?

CvD66 Mon 30-Jan-23 18:26:56

eazybee if there was any truth in Johnson’s claims, he would have made them WHEN it happened not just when he wants to divert people from the latest publicity about his life. I do find it interesting Russia thought it was worth responding to him rather than ignoring. Following Germany’s lead? It is surely insignificant for Putin. But to respond to your question, I definitely don’t believe Johnson who fails to connect with the truth. I encourage you to listen to Nichola Sturgeon’s interview on The News Agents for a great example of this!

Yammy Mon 30-Jan-23 18:35:19

No, he just wants to stay in the centre of things. Why visit Ukraine?

Fleurpepper Mon 30-Jan-23 18:49:55

GrannyGravy13

Fleurpepper

Parsley and MayBe, good posts.

A friend told me yesterday they'd discussed this at a local meeting- the concern that he was putting the all of the UK at risk, and that if Putin was considering a targeted strike, the UK would be, geographically and politically- the 'obvious' choice.

Sends shivers, truly. A very dangerous man- well, both of them.

If a rocket was launched towards the U.K. it would be shot down before it reached the English Channel.

So our GN military expert- where would it end up. What would happen to it?

Fleurpepper Mon 30-Jan-23 18:52:02

MawtheMerrier

Fleurpepper

MawtheMerrier

I don’t see what that has to do with “gaslighting”.

Very clear

''People who engage in gaslighting are often habitual and pathological liars and frequently exhibit narcissistic tendencies. It is typical for them to blatantly lie and never back down or change their stories, even when you call them out or provide proof of their deception.''

On the contrary, while the perpetrator may exhibit all these tendencies, actual Gaslighting is a form of psychological abuse in which a person or group causes someone to question their own sanity, memories, or perception of reality. People who experience gaslighting may feel confused, anxious, or as though they cannot trust themselves
I don’t see anybody unable to trust themselves in this situation, do you? Or wonder about their ^perception of reality^

Yes that is the 'personal' meaning of the word.

But is has a more general meaning too, at societal level. Yozu only need to look at the popular Press and News, to see that people are wondering if he is telling the truth, and what the consequences might be- and question the perception of his reality.

Luckygirl3 Mon 30-Jan-23 18:54:57

I don't think he sees himself as a has-been, and therein lies the problem. Sadly there are people who would vote for him. For them , it matters not what he does, nor that he is a prize pillock - they are taken in by the bluff and bluster.

GrannyGravy13 Mon 30-Jan-23 18:55:34

Fleurpepper I am not a military expert.

I suggest you Google as that is where the GN military experts get their info from.

MawtheMerrier Mon 30-Jan-23 18:56:21

Beg to differ.
Gaslighting is a colloquialism, loosely defined as manipulating someone so as to make them question their own reality.
The term derives from the title of the 1944 American film Gaslight, which was in turn based on the 1938 British theatre play Gas Light by Patrick Hamilton, though the term did not gain popular currency in English until the 20th/21st century.

No need to make things up.

Fleurpepper Mon 30-Jan-23 18:57:52

This from Wikipedia, there are many others

''In politics

Gaslighting is more likely to be effective when the gaslighter has a position of power.[29]

In the 2008 book State of Confusion: Political Manipulation and the Assault on the American Mind, the authors contend that the prevalence of gaslighting in American politics began with the age of modern communications:

To say gaslighting was started by... any extant group is not simply wrong, it also misses an important point. Gaslighting comes directly from blending modern communications, marketing, and advertising techniques with long-standing methods of propaganda. They were simply waiting to be discovered by those with sufficient ambition and psychological makeup to use them.[34]

The term has been used to describe the behavior of politicians and media personalities on both the left and the right sides of the political spectrum.[34] Some examples include:

Comedian Jimmy Dore used "gaslighting" in 2020 to describe why "The Squad" did not vote as a block on Medicare for All.[35]

"Gaslighting" has been used to describe Russia's global relations. While Russian operatives were active in Crimea in 2017, Russian officials continually denied their presence and manipulated the distrust of political groups in their favor.[36]
American journalists widely used the word "gaslighting" to describe the actions of Donald Trump during the 2016 US presidential election and his term as president.[37][38][39][40][41]
Columnist Maureen Dowd described the Bill Clinton administration's use of the technique in subjecting Newt Gingrich to small indignities intended to provoke him to make public complaints that "came across as hysterical" in 1995.[42]
"Gaslighting" has been used to describe state implemented psychological harassment techniques used in East Germany during the 1970s and 80s. The techniques were used as part of the Stasi's (the state security service's) decomposition methods, which were designed to paralyze the ability of hostile-negative (politically incorrect or rebellious) people to operate without unjustifiably imprisoning them, which would have resulted in international condemnation.''

GrannyGravy13, if you are not a military expert, I think the situation is a tad too serious to make such assertions.
But since you seem to know, I'll ask again. What would happen to a nuclear weapon shot in the air? And where would it land? Please.

GrannyGravy13 Mon 30-Jan-23 19:11:58

Fleuroepper why are you obsessed with nuclear weapons?

Your constant catastrophic posts could be unsettling for some.

ExperiencedNotOld Mon 30-Jan-23 19:17:42

Any excuse to maintain the constant criticism of the present government annoys me as the alternatives aren’t so great either. Dreary Keir and his deputy, both having their strings pulled by far left union members. And the Lib Dems, disappeared into their own fog. or is you’re Scottish, Wee Burney, cripes.
Why not start a conversation on what you might want instead, in someone that might make positive moves to regenerate this country?

Fleurpepper Mon 30-Jan-23 19:18:37

I am amazed you ask that question in the current situation.

And yes it is (no 'could' about it) very unsettling for many!

Fleurpepper Mon 30-Jan-23 19:23:39

Question seen esewhere

''Question: Why would Putin threaten the life of someone he used like a puppet on a string to effect Brexit, used to park billions of pounds of oligarch money in UK, and who inflicted massive damage on the British economy and manipulated an FSB agent into the British Parliament.''

indeed!

Casdon Mon 30-Jan-23 19:46:13

ExperiencedNotOld

Any excuse to maintain the constant criticism of the present government annoys me as the alternatives aren’t so great either. Dreary Keir and his deputy, both having their strings pulled by far left union members. And the Lib Dems, disappeared into their own fog. or is you’re Scottish, Wee Burney, cripes.
Why not start a conversation on what you might want instead, in someone that might make positive moves to regenerate this country?

What we need and deserve above all is honest politicians who care about this country in charge. That’s the answer to your question in one short sentence. If you can convince not only us, but the electorate that we have that in the current government, I actually will eat my hat.

ExperiencedNotOld Mon 30-Jan-23 19:54:54

No, Caslon, we’re very far from having a committed, honest leadership that have the best interests of the United Kingdom as their prime focus. Instead entry into politics appears to have one aim - what it could do for the individual’s prospects.
Something has got to give. But will it? Probably not, but we need to stop accepting people because of their affiliations and start looking at the suitability of them as individuals,
Britain isn’t broken, but with the shower fronting all political parties, it seems it could be.

Casdon Mon 30-Jan-23 20:18:51

ExperiencedNotOld

No, Caslon, we’re very far from having a committed, honest leadership that have the best interests of the United Kingdom as their prime focus. Instead entry into politics appears to have one aim - what it could do for the individual’s prospects.
Something has got to give. But will it? Probably not, but we need to stop accepting people because of their affiliations and start looking at the suitability of them as individuals,
Britain isn’t broken, but with the shower fronting all political parties, it seems it could be.

It’s not about party affiliation for the majority of people. We aren’t an amorphous group of Labour supporters on the political threads, far from it. However, we’ve never had such a crooked crew in charge as since 2019. I don’t believe that all politicians are crooked, and I do believe that there are people of great personal integrity in all parties.

Many Gransnetters, and the majority of the electorate are particularly angry at the moment because instead of there being a few bad apples in the government basket, (which I’m sure there always will be) it’s actually very difficult to find even one with the level of personal integrity that we are entitled to expect.

ExperiencedNotOld Mon 30-Jan-23 20:26:20

Casdon

ExperiencedNotOld

No, Caslon, we’re very far from having a committed, honest leadership that have the best interests of the United Kingdom as their prime focus. Instead entry into politics appears to have one aim - what it could do for the individual’s prospects.
Something has got to give. But will it? Probably not, but we need to stop accepting people because of their affiliations and start looking at the suitability of them as individuals,
Britain isn’t broken, but with the shower fronting all political parties, it seems it could be.

It’s not about party affiliation for the majority of people. We aren’t an amorphous group of Labour supporters on the political threads, far from it. However, we’ve never had such a crooked crew in charge as since 2019. I don’t believe that all politicians are crooked, and I do believe that there are people of great personal integrity in all parties.

Many Gransnetters, and the majority of the electorate are particularly angry at the moment because instead of there being a few bad apples in the government basket, (which I’m sure there always will be) it’s actually very difficult to find even one with the level of personal integrity that we are entitled to expect.

Connect back to my comment on what time in politics could do for them. Yes, there are MPs from all parties quietly working for good, but in life it’s those with deviously deployed charisma that push their way to the front. And we fall for it time and again. I have no solution other than to engage with your local MP (I do, but he no longer answers and I know that’s not because my contact is inappropriate, just uncomfortable for him) or the Secretary of State if you feel that strongly about an issue (have done, many times). The more we hold our public servants to account the better.

ronib Mon 30-Jan-23 20:28:27

Ilovecheese

I think he actually might be the Tories best chance of winning again.

Winning what?