And isn't it ironic...?

This time there's a link, because the ironic effect is something to experience. It's an article on how to keep Mean Ole Prez Duck from stealing your reality.

Mind you, the article is on target, and I believe some of the advice is sound. Fortunately, as luck would have it, I don't have to waste much time going over it all, because the author has conveniently packed all I need in a couple of paragraphs.

“We are living in a time where a lot of people are having a tough time deciding what’s real and feeling like they are being manipulated,” Stern says. “If they know something is true and somebody tells you it’s not true, holding on to your reality is essential. You can’t be gaslighted if you stay inside your own reality and recognize the manipulation when you see it.”
...
With gaslighting, it feels as though the ground is always shifting beneath you. There is no center of gravity. And while we’re being told up is down and black is white, the only way to make sense of it is to remain resolute. Let people have their alternative facts. You’ll stick to reality.

I believe this article is directed at Those-Who-Are-Right (aka, Prez Duck's opposers), to give them the tools to defend from his feverish stream of alternative facts. Yes, I could be wrong; no, this being the Guardian, I suspect I'm not.

However... let's apply this to a different crowd - Prez Duck supporters.

“We are living in a time where a lot of people are having a tough time deciding what’s real and feeling like they are being manipulated,”

From what I've been reading, Trump supporters would feel right at home with this description. They say they're being manipulated by the mainstream - media, celebrities, comedians, etc. So, the Guardian would get got a yuge thumbs-up from the Rednecks for exposing the conspiracy.

“If they know something is true and somebody tells you it’s not true, holding on to your reality is essential. You can’t be gaslighted if you stay inside your own reality and recognize the manipulation when you see it.”

Again, Trump supporters will completely agree with this. If they remain faithful to their view of the world, they can see the mainstream lies for what they are.

Double irony points for failing to recognize that "stay inside your own reality" is definitely not something you want to include on an article about distortion of the truth and objective reality. After all, how do you know your reality hasn't been manipulated, too?

With gaslighting, it feels as though the ground is always shifting beneath you. There is no center of gravity. And while we’re being told up is down and black is white, the only way to make sense of it is to remain resolute. Let people have their alternative facts. You’ll stick to reality.

I believe this final paragraph speaks not only for itself, but also for many other resolute people on the planet, from 9-11 truthers to Daesh militants.

Of course, we get to understand this article much better when we consider the context.

• The Guardian is part of the mainstream media.
• Consequently, the Guardian does not spread fake news/alternative facts.
• Which is equivalent to say that the Guardian always tells the Truth(TM).
• This, in turn, means those who agree with the Guardian are committed to the Truth(TM). No, I won't call them "truthers", don't worry.
• So, the implication in the above linked article is that it is written by someone who holds the Truth(TM) and directed at those who are committed to the Truth(TM).

And here, we get to the usual blind spot for these people: My point of view is superior to yours. My truth is valid, yours is your own reality a bubble of lies. Or, as I was reading the other day on a news site pretty much like the Guardian, it's OK to silence "bigoted speech" and it's wrong to say "all speech deserves protection".

What these people usually forget is that one day the balance of power may shift so far away from them that someone else will be using these same arguments to silence them.