A brief study of allusions: Gaslighting : The Good Samaritan : "I guess we're not in Kansas anymore, Toto" : "Round up the usual suspects"

I've been becoming progressively more uncomfortable with the extremely common use of the term "Gaslighting" -- from the superb 1944 film marking 17 year old Angela Lansbury's film debut -- for propaganda and disinformation. This wonderful psychological thriller is about a situation where a woman is slowly driven insane by distractions and disinformation. Now, I suppose it's hardly surprising that this analogy would be used for Donald Trump's behavior a lot, but, still, the parallel to the film is quite a stretch, and jars. Propaganda and disinformation are just that, they aren't, quite literally the film "Gaslight". And, the analogy is so fragile that it can be abused, quite easily, so that the use of the term "gaslighting", itself becomes gaslighting! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaslight_(1944_film) I have similar problems with the use of the wonderful New Testament story of the Good Samaritan, which is now applied to anyone who we feel has done a good deed, for any reason whatsoever. The Good Samaritan, in the New Testament, is about a kind of person considered an enemy alien, at the time, for local Jews -- the Samaritans -- who helps a man in need of assistance out of the kindness of his heart. The man had been beaten and robbed, and left for dead by the side of the road. Many devout Jews ignored him and just walked past, but, the reviled Samaritan gave him food and medical assistance to make him well. Now, these days, in the US, this term is used for people who shoot a robber dead! I'm quite certain, this was NOT what Jesus had in mind! Jesus was rather big on people doing no harm, you know, to anyone, even robbers. So, the situation is used to advance political agendas that have nothing whatsoever to do with Christianity. On the other hand, I rather like the phrase "I guess we're not in Kansas anymore, Toto", from the Wizard of Oz, and use it myself. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wizard_of_Oz This term can be used to apply to any situation in which things have changed so completely, that they are unrecognizable, and our normal expectations of reality no longer apply. The tornado has taken Dorothy and her dog Toto to another universe, the Land of Oz, where the rules she has learned to live by no longer exist. It seems to describe a lot of situations rather well. Another allusion I use, and I think works quite well, is "round up the usual suspects", from the very end of "Casablanca", one of Humphrey Bogart's most beloved starring roles. Rick has just shot dead the Nazi officer who was about to arrest him. His new friend, the French Commandant of Casablanca, rather than turning Rick in, decides to shield him, and orders his men to "round up the usual suspects". So, whenever someone deflects the blame from himself, or a friend, we can use this phrase. This leads to another rather nice common allusion, almost immediately afterwords, when Rick says "Louis, I think this is going to be the beginning of a beautiful friendship". I like that one too! Whenever we help each other, friendship blossoms. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casablanca_(film) I think the reason I like the latter two, is because they are actual phrases, that can be used in related circumstances that do not confuse the issues. In contrast, Gaslighting and The Good Samaritan refer to complex, rather special stories, that can easily be, and are, grossly overgeneralized to situations that have little to do with the actual details of the originals. Thus, they can be used as propaganda, rather more easily, than very specific phrases, which either apply, or do not.

Nayib Bukele's fascist dictatorship in El Salvador

The key point to understand about Bukele's dictatorship in El Salvador -- and Bukele himself brags that he is a dicator, by the way -- is that he has maintained a state of emergency in the country for years now, in which no one is entitled to due process by law. No legal defense, no court proceeding, you are in jail indefinitely, if Bukele says so. In other words, Bukele is the law in El Salvador. He has also rounded up 2% of the country and warehoused them in concentration camps which he now wants Donald Trump's neo-Nazi regime to help him finance, and Mr. Trump is playing along quite happily, too! Bukele has bulldozed the country's Constitution so he can stay President indefinitely -- no wonder Donald Trump loves this guy! -- and replaced the entire Supreme Court of the country and its prosecutors with close personal allies, completely under his control. Sound at all familiar? Of course it does. Nayib Bukele is Donald Trump's role model. Now, like rather a lot of fascist dictators historically, Bukele is, actually, very popular with his people. Mussolini, Franco and Hitler were all very popular, as well. After all, it's best to get along with a leader who can put you in prison forever, anytime he feels like it, isn't it? So, you might as well get along with him naturally, so, you're, inevitably, rather better off liking him very much, aren't you? So, you love the guy! And, they do! Now, the problem Donald Trump has in mimicking Bukele's regime, is the sheer size of the United States, and its diversity. It simply would be rather difficult to get all the states to play ball, let alone all the people in them. While a few million people can be controlled pretty well with a large military, hundreds of millions cannot be. So, Donald Trump's fond dream of being America's Nayib Bukele may be just that -- a pipe dream. Let's all hope so!