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billvon

Gaslighting as a strategy

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4 hours ago, Coreece said:

Ok, let's try this.  Suppose you were charged with the task of having to edit the words "ending the covid-19 pandemic." 

Why would you be tasked with using the words ‘ending the Covid-19 pandemic” if your contention was that the WH weren’t trying to represent themselves as having ended the Covid 19 pandemic?

4 hours ago, Coreece said:

 You've read the 65 page OSTP and what they're doing with regard to ending the covid-19 pandemic.  What words would you choose to highlight that topic in the press release?

I don’t understand - you said the 65 page report doesn’t talk about ending the pandemic.

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30 minutes ago, jakee said:
4 hours ago, Coreece said:

Ok, let's try this.  Suppose you were charged with the task of having to edit the words "ending the covid-19 pandemic." 

Why would you be tasked with using the words ‘ending the Covid-19 pandemic” if your contention was that the WH weren’t trying to represent themselves as having ended the Covid 19 pandemic?

Joe said that the author of the press release consciously chose to use the word "ending" to give it some wiggle room.  So I asked him what words would he choose if he were tasked with editing that specific phrase.

 

35 minutes ago, jakee said:
4 hours ago, Coreece said:

 You've read the 65 page OSTP and what they're doing with regard to ending the covid-19 pandemic.  What words would you choose to highlight that topic in the press release?

I don’t understand - you said the 65 page report doesn’t talk about ending the pandemic.

I said that the report talks about what they did, what they're doing and what they're going to do to end the pandemic, which is why I think it was acceptable to highlight all that under the category of "ending the covid-19 pandemic" in the press release, even tho the report itself did not specifically use the phrase "ending the covid-19 pandemic." 

 

Here's my reply to Wendy that I feel best illustrates my perspective on the issue:

"I understand what you are saying, but that's still only one of several items discussed in the report.  They're not going to list all of them in the press release.  If you were to summarize what the report says with regard to what they did, what they're doing and what they're going to do to end it, wouldn't it all fit nicely under the category of "ending the covid-19 pandemic?"

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(edited)
4 hours ago, Coreece said:

Joe said that the author of the press release consciously chose to use the word "ending" to give it some wiggle room.  So I asked him what words would he choose if he were tasked with editing that specific phrase.

 

I'll give it a go: Totally Hamburgered the Covid-19 crisis creating widespread disagreement over whether his selfish incompetence caused 100 or 150,000 needless American deaths thereby causing what now seems to be a Never Ending economic and health crisis causing the United States to be a world laughing stock-again.

The point being that there really isn't any way to improve it without lying.

Edited by JoeWeber

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3 hours ago, Coreece said:

  Joe said that the author of the press release consciously chose to use the word "ending" to give it some wiggle room.  So I asked him what words would he choose if he were tasked with editing that specific phrase

He would only be tasked with editing that specific phrase if someone had aready decided they wanted him to use that specific phrase. Why would they want him to use that specific phrase if the intention was not to mislead the readers?

Quote

I said that the report talks about what they did, what they're doing and what they're going to do to end the pandemic, which is why I think it was acceptable to highlight all that under the category of "ending the covid-19 pandemic" in the press release, even tho the report itself did not specifically use the phrase "ending the covid-19 pandemic." 

If the synopsis hadn't used the phrase enindg the pandemic would you think it at all appropriate to talk about the Trump administration ending the pandemic, since they have struggled to even contain it, let alone end it?

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My analogy to this situation (where wording was surely deliberately chosen to be misleading):

White House releases Pearl Harbour accomplishments
Highlights include:
- Ending World War II
         We have taken decisive action to understand, engage, and defeat the enemy.
-  .... etc

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2 hours ago, pchapman said:

My analogy to this situation (where wording was surely deliberately chosen to be misleading):

White House releases Pearl Harbour accomplishments
Highlights include:
- Ending World War II
         We have taken decisive action to understand, engage, and defeat the enemy.
-  .... etc

Exactly.  And you'd have right wingers saying "well, it's a PLANNED accomplishment.  I mean, don't you want to win?  What are you, a Kraut?"

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3 hours ago, jakee said:

He would only be tasked with editing that specific phrase if someone had aready decided they wanted him to use that specific phrase. Why would they want him to use that specific phrase if the intention was not to mislead the readers?

If the synopsis hadn't used the phrase enindg the pandemic would you think it at all appropriate to talk about the Trump administration ending the pandemic, since they have struggled to even contain it, let alone end it?

Holy crap, I apologize. Now I understand-enindg. You grade papers at a private school, right? 

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