Aus dem Notizblock des Übersetzers…
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Salon.com hatte dieser Tage einen Artikel mit dem Titel »Trump is gaslighting us – again!«, der sofort einige Erinnerungen weckte. Zunächst natürlich mal an einen der großen Psychothriller, Gaslight (Das Haus der Lady Alquist), der die Welt lange vor Hitchcocks Psycho das Schauern lehrte. Und dann natürlich, als Spezialist in Sachen amerikanischer Slang, das Wort gaslighting selbst, 
das sich von diesem Film ableitet, in dem Charles Boyer die arme Ingrid Bergman systematisch in den Wahnsinn zu treiben versucht. Und obwohl gaslighting damit durchaus finstere Absichten impliziert, die über »täuschen«, »durcheinanderbringen« oder »irre machen« weit hinausgehen, sind die ersten Zitate in meiner Datenbank durchaus nicht ernst gemeint. Es zahlt sich übrigens aus, Jahrzehnte lang mit Block & Stift fernzusehen. So habe ich denn auch einige schöne Zitate aus ganz großen Serien bei der Hand:
I just don’t remember signing this.
Well, who’s to blame if you have amnesia?
Aw, don’t give me that amnesia bit.
I remember seeing this last night at the poker game.
What poker game?
Radar, didn’t we play poker last night?
If you say so, sir.
Oh, I get it. You’re trying to gaslight me, right?1
Hier versuchen die üblichen Verdächtigen in der TV-Serie MASH den armen Colonol Blake irrezumachen. Dasselbe Spielchen erlaubt sich Roz in Frasier mit ihrem gleichnamigen Chef:
Frasier: Roz. KACL Talk radio, 780 AM. (off air. He goes into Roz’s area)
Roz, I’m so sorry. Your name was right there in front of me and
I just couldn’t put my finger on it.
Roz: Oh forget about it. I already have.
Frasier: Well it’s been happening to me a lot lately. Last night I walked
into the kitchen and I just stood there, I couldn’t remember what
I’d gone in there for.
Roz: Don’t make yourself crazy over it, it’s completely normal. Oh,
by the way, you hair stylist called to confirm your appointment.
Frasier: I made an appointment with Timo, I don’t remember that.
Roz: That’s ‘coz you didn’t, I was just gaslighting you. 2
In einer anderen Episode von MASH nimmt man sogar Bezug auf den Film:
Charles Boyer was trying to drive Ingrid Bergman crazy in Gaslight.
The light’s going dim!
No, it’s not. You’re crazy.
Now, she knew she wasn’t going crazy. The audience knew she wasn’t going crazy.
And this French guy is trying to have her put away! Now I’d like to know why!
All right, she had a Swedish accent, but we’re still talking about an American citizen here.3
Wie auch immer, obwohl to gaslight bereits in den 1950ern in dieser Bedeutung benutzt wurde, dauerte es geraume Zeit, bis es Einzug in die Wörterbücher, selbst in die Slang-Wörterbücher, fand. Hier der entsprechende Eintrag aus dem guten alten Chapman:
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| gaslight v To deceive someone systematically : He set me up and has been gaslighting me [1950s+; fr the 1944 movie Gaslight, in which a man attempts to drive his wife mad by causing her to mistrust her senses]4 | ||
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Einen recht makabren Scherz scheinen die Jungs von Steely Dan in ihrem Song »Gaslighting Abbie« von ihrem 2000er Album Two Against Nature im Sinn zu haben:
What will it be some soothing herb tea? / That might be just the thing
Let’s say we spike it with Deludin / Or else, maybe tonight a hand of solitaire
Flame is the game / The game we call gas lighting Abbie
…
Let’s keep it light, we’ll do a fright night / With blood and everything
Some punky laughter from the kitchen5
Der Artikel auf Salon.com unterscheidet sich insofern von den vielen Fundstellen, als die Autorin Amanda Marcotte genauer auf Bedeutung und Herkunft des Wortes eingeht:
»Most people who’ve been in abusive relationships have endured the “gaslighting” experience, which is when an abuser tries to distort a victim’s perception of reality.
Here’s how it typically goes: The victim confronts the abuser about his abuse, whether it’s physical or emotional. Rather than accept responsibility for his behavior, the abuser then tries to turn the tables on the victim by making false accusations. (The term originated with the 1944 film “Gaslight,” with Ingrid Bergman as a wife being driven slowly insane by her husband.)
Typically, the abuser will accuse the victim of being “crazy” or “paranoid.” These qualities have the advantage of being slippery and ill-defined; they can be used literally or as metaphors. To make it worse, the abuser often reserves the sole right to define what constitutes “crazy,” making it almost impossible for the victim to defend herself.
It’s enough to drive one crazy. It’s also exactly what Donald Trump is doing to the media, with his fake-news debate over whether terrorist attacks are somehow underreported.«
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Interessant ist übrigens, dass das Verb auch in der Variante to gaslamp sb zu finden ist, d.h. merkwürdigerweise – dem Diktat des neuen Web-Analphabetenums folgend – als to gas lamp sb. Und dann gibt es noch den gaslighter; das ist dann der, der sich des gaslighting bedient.
Remember It Was NOT Always This Way. This is new and the pundits are just gas-lamping you into thinking this is an acceptable new norm. I submit it is not acceptable and truly is dangerous to business, profits, and privacy.6
“Gas-lamping” is a cover-up behavior. If someone is gas-lamping you, they have done something immoral and they don’t want you to know. Something bad too. Maybe even bad enough to land them in jail…7
Terror in Charlotte- Who Killed Justin Carr? — Who shot Justin Carr? You are right now watching unapologetic ‘gas lamping’ take place, where folks who stood next to this young brother Tuesday night whil…8
Und um das Ganze noch ein bisschen zu komplizieren:
Can a flame be lit with flatulence? True. The art of fart-lighting (or blue-darting, zorching or gas lamping, as it’s also called) is the practice of setting fire to the gases from one’s backside, often producing a blue hue.9
Gas-lamping: The expulsion of gas by a person in a plank position is photographed at the moment it meets a source of ignition. Popular among teens. Recommended only while wearing fire retardant pajama bottoms. A “gas lamp” gone awry is called Bruckheiming.10