Witch Hunt

I can claim to be a descendant of a young woman who, in 1692, was tried and found guilty of being a witch. She was later vindicated and the guilty verdict was rescinded, after she had been hanged.

I don't pretend to understand a witch hunt. I am not a psychiatrist, but I am pretty sure it has something to do with fear, lack of imagination and a failure to understand, to use a current, hijacked word, diversity.

I can think of one high-profile criminal case where an arrest was made of someone who was obviously chosen because he looked and behaved eccentrically. His name and life were plastered all over the papers before it became obvious that he was not involved in murder. His crime? He was a bit odd.

Why is this relevant just now? Well, I was intrigued by the case of a young man who had "twittered" that he was going to blow up an airport. It was a joke, a bad one, but it was taken seriously enough for him to be arrested and initially, convicted of sending a menacing public electronic message. His conviction was quashed on appeal.


Some people appear to scour the web hoping to be offended. In this case there are other factors. We struggle with a communications medium that is new and unpredictable and yet we use it in a very old fashioned way. Twitter is pub talk, tittle-tattle with a bit of spleen-venting on the side. I suppose it can also be used to encourage democracy but we treat it as if it is personal and conversational, a thing the appeal judge recognised in overturning the guilty verdict. 


Another factor in this case is more tangible. We have been terrorised by certain sections of the community to the extent that we see demons and witches around every corner. That is not to say that the threat of being blown up by a terrorist is as imaginary as witchcraft. It is a real and present danger. Perhaps it is better to remember that you have more chance of being killed by a barbecue than by a suicide bomber.


In a climate of fear people look for scapegoats. The clever thing is to figure out the difference between the real and the imaginary and make sure that those in charge of our security understand it.