History of Feminism
Related: About this forumCotton Mather ~ Spectral Evidence
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spectral_evidence
Calling her a "rampant hag" and the "Queen of Hell," the Reverend Cotton Mather harbored no doubts that Martha Carrier deserved to be executed as a witch during the Salem outbreak on August 19, 1692. The Salem documents themselves, however, reveal that her crime was not witchcraft but an independence of mind and an unsubmissive character. A daughter of one of the founding families of Andover, Martha married a young Welsh servant, Thomas Carrier, in 1674, by whom she had four children. The Salem accusation against Martha came only two years after the selectmen of Andover blamed a smallpox epidemic on her witchcraft. Although historians have blamed her accusation on causes ranging from a conspiracy against Andover's proprietary families to reaction against threats to patriarchal inheritance, her contentious spirit and the earlier charge of witchcraft seem the most plausible explanation.
http://www2.iath.virginia.edu/saxon-salem/servlet/SaxonServlet?source=salem/texts/bios.xml&style=salem/xsl/dynaxml.xsl&chunk.id=b4&clear-stylesheet-cache=yes
I find the group think in all of this, so interesting, and others turning on friends and family to save themselves from the real evil.
mzteris
(16,232 posts)"the group think in all of this, so interesting, and others turning on friends and family to save themselves" is still very much true overall.
And while women may not "burn as witches" we still suffer the stigma of being women who will not bow down. (Funny, though, how some of - you know - those posts about our little group - refers to us as a "coven".
People fear what they don't know. People fear what they can't comprehend. People fear those who are not like themselves. People hate those who have courage they don't posses.
redqueen
(115,108 posts)so obviously it has nothing to do with her being an independent, unsubmissive woman.
boston bean
(36,225 posts)seabeyond
(110,159 posts)even resorting to this behavior and projecting it on the small group that speaks out.
it is not always about fear.
mzteris
(16,232 posts)Afraid of change. Afraid of rocking the bot. Challenging the status quo. Defying authority figures... I think there is some degree of jealousy wrapped up in there somewhere, too. Ashamed to some degree that they can't be the one to stand up, speak out, question, be themselves rather than who they're told to be.
Fear that omg IF this person is right, then everything I believe in, the person I think I am, is all false.
While im not talking just relgion, i want to make this point (since we're taking Puritans) Religion in the modern world is a paternalistic authoritarian society. Women submit and obey.
seabeyond
(110,159 posts)you are right. in everything you say. thank you for saying that the way you did. i know this is true.
thanks.
very good.
Scout
(8,624 posts)i can think of worse groups to be a member of than our little "coven"
Little Star
(17,055 posts)lather, rinse, repeat.
Some never learn from the past, they just keep repeating it. Group think can be a very harmful thing.
People will most often go along, to get along and belong to the group. Truth and consequences be damned!
It reminds me of the childhood game of telephone.
Scout
(8,624 posts)and thus the swarm is born, and grows.
followers, who want to be the cool kids. or at least not make themselves a target of the swarm.
Little Star
(17,055 posts)going against group think makes you a target also.
Edit to add:
If you look at the number of people who have registered at DU, "More than 150,000 user registrations and 50,000,000 posts since 2001" It seems to support the idea that many choose to stay silent. Can't say I blame them either. Head in sand is better than sticking neck out.
I think it's that way in many group think instances. Self preservation and all.
seabeyond
(110,159 posts)it is a sense that one cannot win. i get it.
seabeyond
(110,159 posts)this is so true. people that are not a part, totally clueless. i see this over and over. they do not even know what they are arguing, but they are there, another body holding a torch.
seabeyond
(110,159 posts)damn, i have never been that. i do not know how to be that. but, sure would be a hell of a lot easier.
seabeyond
(110,159 posts)yes.
it is telling and says a hell of a lot. this is not a quiet phenomena. it is well known. we see it today. and until people stand up to it, we will continue to see.