Today marks the anniversary of the execution of Margaret Jones, the first person executed as a witch in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. She was a midwife, as many alleged witches were, which attests to the continuing tradition of placing blame on the medical community. Still, one wonders how a colony of people who left England to avoid religious persecution could be so intolerant once they reached the New World.
One might wonder why I keep bringing up these witch executions. As Arthur Miller so brilliantly portrayed in The Crucible, the trials of witches in the 17th century were eerily similar to persecutions of people later in history- from the McCarthy hearings to hippies to blacks to gays to immigrants ad infinitum - the witch hunt appears to be a vital and unceasing part of American history. Not surprising, I suppose, in a country that continues to seek to limit the liberties of its people.
At any rate, I post these anniversaries so that we may remember - and in the hopes that perhaps one day we'll figure out a way to end unjust persecutions.
2 comments:
An excellent idea indeed. It's when we stop taking about such things that they tend to get repeated.
unjust persecutions will only end when politicians stop trying to do anything to win elections (i.e. the border control issue) and when all people start to practice tolerance. until then, it will continue to happen.
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