I can't believe I have to do this in 2012, but some of us apparently need to be reminded that Hallow'een doesn't come with a "Get out of Bigotry Free" card. It's bizarre, I know, but there is a bastion of folks who still believe that a licence to dress up also implies that they have carte blanche to commit acts that at any other time of year would get them fired, or sued, or worse.
A survey of social media shows the same tired old arguments are being trotted out as justifications for intolerance. "All in good fun", "get a sense of humour", "no one really gets hurt"... The causal racism and sheer jackassery seems to be getting worse, not better. I won't even begin to go into the sexist and LBGT stereotyping, which is also glaring, obvious, and just as hate-promoting. Instead, I will focus on the racism, narrowing in on a deconstruction of anti-witch bigotry specifically.
Activist groups have made the argument for decades that constant and consistent negative stereotypes of certain groups deeply affect those who are part of that culture, as well the society they live in. These assumptions have been backed up by thousands of studies, and with persistence, their efforts have largely made such depictions distasteful at the very least, and illegal where possible. It has been a great boon to progressive thinking to have serious consequences to those who insist on reducing others to stereotype images and demeaning their lifestyles, cultures, or persons, thus trampling on their human rights.
I remember once when I was little that my very white, very racist, mother and her escort dressed up in blackface for a Hallow'een party. It made a big impression on me. I naturally had met people who were differently coloured than I was, but the weird, thick, dark make-up that my mother covered her face and hands with looked nothing like the skin it was supposed to represent. Nor did the dark, curly wig seem at all like hair. It took me years to figure out what her costume actually was, and exactly how it was so negative, though I was uncomfortable about it at the time, even in my innocent confusion...
Today, of course, it's generally no longer considered tasteful to go in blackface. And it's starting to sink in that representations of traditional native garb, like headresses and face paint, are unacceptable public attire for those who have no cultural claim to it. Though there are still hold-outs on that one... In Canada, negative stereotyping of an identifiable people, such as black Sambos and Uncle Toms, "How" Indian chiefs and "Jewish conspiracy" literature are considered offenses under the hate crimes and human rights laws. The continuation of these negative concepts has put lives and lifestyles at risk from the ignorant and it is for that reason that this society has felt such laws are necessary in a just culture. Though Harper and the neocon agenda have been doing their best to dismantle all the progress we've made..
The latest trend for negative stereotype costume ideas currently is Muslim terrorists, a vicious offshoot of the anti-Arab Islamaphobia being voraciously fed by the neocon propaganda machine. Yah! What a progression in tolerance. And what fun!
With all the anti-Arab lynchings that have happened in the Western world recently, plus the clearly discriminatory laws being passed, especially in the States, it is childishly easy to counter the argument that "no one gets hurt' by these depictions. A quick Google search yields a plethora of recent material on the very real consequences of what Islamaphobia and anti-Arab racism are doing to communities. It is clear that perpetuation of these stereotypes are getting people killed, destroying livelihoods and families and generally making life much harder, often for those who can least afford it, such as new immigrants.
Establishing this, most reasonable people agree that these depictions of stereotypes are not in fact amusing or in good fun in any way, and are actually harmful and should be highly discouraged. And yet, it's still open season on witches, for many reasons. Don't think that counts? Think again... Let's start with the charming cartoon above.
This caricature perpetuates a similar Hate that says that all Muslims are terrorists, for example, only actually slightly more disgusting and vile. I know some might think it funny, but it's totally not. Baby eating jokes are never funny, and depicting it as a characteristic of an entire group puts us on the level of irredeemable Evil. And what can you do with irredeemable Evil other than destroy it?
Using cartoonish depictions of this narrative to incite hatred and fear against a group of people is also not new. Wood cuts depicting the tale of Norwich and the Blood Libel in England for example were enormously popular, and reached what would be urban legend status nowadays. The story goes, in Norwich in the Twelfth century, a “boy named William was found dead in the woods outside of town, and a monk, Thomas of Monmouth, accused local Jews of torturing him and murdering him in mockery of the crucifixion of Jesus.” Though the case was obviously never proven, the boy was actually made the *first” martyred blood libel saint (there are more?!), legitimizing this horrific mythology in the eyes of the common people. After all, how could the child be a saint and do those miracles if he *wasn’t* sacrificed by demonic Jews? Depictions of gleeful Hebrews bathing in the blood of children, and St. William in particular, are not difficult to find in the historic record, since so many were made.
Image to the right is a depiction of the story of Norwich and the Blood Libel
So to prove the hate and harm in the side-splitting witch comic above, let's try a quick mental experiment. Using the similar blood libel accusation for Jews, and our imaginations (since my photoshop is terrible), let's use the wood cut to the left as our model. Using the same large nosed rich men, obviously supposed to be a caricature of Jews, we throw in one of their sacred objects like a menorah for extra clarification, and then use the exact same caption. ("I only use local children".. Heh.) Funny, right? Everyone used to know the "Jew and baby killing" stereotype, so if everyone is familiar with it, then it's not hateful, it's hilarity! It's because you can use such labels as punchlines - black guys are gangstas or Asians are good at math. Or blond women are stupid. Or gays are pedophiles. Or Jews and witches eat children. I mean, we all know it's not true, and no one really looks like that, but for some reason black men are getting shot in the streets for wearing hoodies, gays are beaten on their way home, and witches are still losing their homes, families, and livelihoods in North America. And their limbs and lives elsewhere.
In the top cartoon, the pointed black hats represent our Elders and express respect and power as the leaders of our community. Rather like a Bishop's mitre. And it is these women who are depicted as the baby eaters! Not just anyone, but the community leaders. Rather like drawing the Pope and his cardinals carving up a choirboy. Funny, right? Surely no disparaging statement can be meant to the Catholic community in general... I mean, it's only their leaders.
It is in part due to the accusation of Blood libel that led to the Holocaust. There were many other factors of course, but with such beliefs rampant in the popular culture, some persons thought that "those people" only got what was coming to them. I mean, what else are you going to do with baby eaters? Which is why the Gypsies were also included in the Final Solution...
*All* of these blood libel images could qualify as Hate literature according to the Criminal Code of Canada. "Hate propaganda" means "any writing, sign or visible representation that advocates or promotes genocide. The Code defines genocide as the destruction of an "identifiable group." The Code defines an "identifiable group" as "any section of the public distinguished by colour, race, religion, ethnic origin or sexual orientation." A group that eats babies certainly qualifies as one that should be exterminated, and these witches are not shown as crazy offshoots, but expected to be typical of their group. Otherwise, it's not funny!
Witchcraft murder: Couple jailed for Kristy Bamu killing
More on that case, plus others:
Increasingly prevalent, albeit marginalized, unreported and thus “hidden” social phenomenon of torture and murder of children believed to be witches
Imagine what Hallow'een is like for my family. All those positive images? Seriously. We must not be able to take a joke or something. Rather like the natives in my area having to put up with at all those Indian Chiefs coming to their door...
Witches are not fictional creatures. We are not werewolves or Frankenstein monsters. We do not have green skin, and only some of us have warts. We are young, old, women, men, straight, gay, and of all shapes and sizes. Witches have always been, and still are, real people. We are recognized as legitimate churches with our own holidays by federal governments, and these negative images can be, and often are, a threat to our quality of life and sometimes our safety.
It's our sacred holiday of Samhain and, unless one actually is a witch, dressing up as stereotypical witches is bigotry. Same with depictions of our sacred objects like brooms, cauldrons, wands, or other accoutrements. Even cartoonishly. When we do it, well, then it really *is* just all in good fun. I mean, let's face it. Sometimes, you just have to shake your head and laugh at all this...
 |
| My current favourite Witch hate image. |
I can't believe I have to do this in 2012, but some of us apparently need to be reminded that Hallow'een doesn't come with a "Get out of Bigotry Free" card. It's bizarre, I know, but there is a bastion of folks who still believe that a licence to dress up also implies that they have carte blanche to commit acts that at any other time of year would get them fired, or sued, or worse.
A survey of social media shows the same tired old arguments are being trotted out as justifications for intolerance. "All in good fun", "get a sense of humour", "no one really gets hurt"... The causal racism and sheer jackassery seems to be getting worse, not better. I won't even begin to go into the sexist and LBGT stereotyping, which is also glaring, obvious, and just as hate-promoting. Instead, I will focus on the racism, narrowing in on a deconstruction of anti-witch bigotry specifically.
 |
| Anti-racism Hallow'een campaign poster |
I remember once when I was little that my very white, very racist, mother and her escort dressed up in blackface for a Hallow'een party. It made a big impression on me. I naturally had met people who were differently coloured than I was, but the weird, thick, dark make-up that my mother covered her face and hands with looked nothing like the skin it was supposed to represent. Nor did the dark, curly wig seem at all like hair. It took me years to figure out what her costume actually was, and exactly how it was so negative, though I was uncomfortable about it at the time, even in my innocent confusion...
Today, of course, it's generally no longer considered tasteful to go in blackface. And it's starting to sink in that representations of traditional native garb, like headresses and face paint, are unacceptable public attire for those who have no cultural claim to it. Though there are still hold-outs on that one... In Canada, negative stereotyping of an identifiable people, such as black Sambos and Uncle Toms, "How" Indian chiefs and "Jewish conspiracy" literature are considered offenses under the hate crimes and human rights laws. The continuation of these negative concepts has put lives and lifestyles at risk from the ignorant and it is for that reason that this society has felt such laws are necessary in a just culture. Though Harper and the neocon agenda have been doing their best to dismantle all the progress we've made..
Hampshire's Community Advocacy Assoc. anti-racism awareness poster
 |
| Just to put it in perspective... |
The latest trend for negative stereotype costume ideas currently is Muslim terrorists, a vicious offshoot of the anti-Arab Islamaphobia being voraciously fed by the neocon propaganda machine. Yah! What a progression in tolerance. And what fun!
With all the anti-Arab lynchings that have happened in the Western world recently, plus the clearly discriminatory laws being passed, especially in the States, it is childishly easy to counter the argument that "no one gets hurt' by these depictions. A quick Google search yields a plethora of recent material on the very real consequences of what Islamaphobia and anti-Arab racism are doing to communities. It is clear that perpetuation of these stereotypes are getting people killed, destroying livelihoods and families and generally making life much harder, often for those who can least afford it, such as new immigrants.
Establishing this, most reasonable people agree that these depictions of stereotypes are not in fact amusing or in good fun in any way, and are actually harmful and should be highly discouraged. And yet, it's still open season on witches, for many reasons. Don't think that counts? Think again... Let's start with the charming cartoon above.
This caricature perpetuates a similar Hate that says that all Muslims are terrorists, for example, only actually slightly more disgusting and vile. I know some might think it funny, but it's totally not. Baby eating jokes are never funny, and depicting it as a characteristic of an entire group puts us on the level of irredeemable Evil. And what can you do with irredeemable Evil other than destroy it?
Where does that particular horrible idea in this
illustration come from? Good question. Blood Libel, baby killing
or eating, is traditionally attributed to peoples that have been targeted for
removable with extreme prejudice. Ancient Romans are said to have used it
against Christians at various times, though current
evidence indicates that may be Christian propaganda to justify their
own martyrdom and later accusations of blood libel against other groups. Huns
had this attached to them, which is why the name still invokes shudders after
centuries. Jews have been the most common recipient of the Blood
Libel tag in current millennium. And occasionally Gypsies. (The latest Jewish
blood libel incarnation, with the same themes, is disturbingly alive and well
in the Illuminate
conspiracy myth cycle.) Used for generations to murder individuals from
cultures accused of it, witches are only the most recent addition to this
fable used to justify hatred. But if it’s only a caricature, and no
one believes they look like that, then no one ever suffered or died from that
myth. Right? And we're completely evolved now anyway and aren't at
all susceptible to negative representations about a group of people,
right? Right...
Using cartoonish depictions of this narrative to incite hatred and fear against a group of people is also not new. Wood cuts depicting the tale of Norwich and the Blood Libel in England for example were enormously popular, and reached what would be urban legend status nowadays. The story goes, in Norwich in the Twelfth century, a “boy named William was found dead in the woods outside of town, and a monk, Thomas of Monmouth, accused local Jews of torturing him and murdering him in mockery of the crucifixion of Jesus.” Though the case was obviously never proven, the boy was actually made the *first” martyred blood libel saint (there are more?!), legitimizing this horrific mythology in the eyes of the common people. After all, how could the child be a saint and do those miracles if he *wasn’t* sacrificed by demonic Jews? Depictions of gleeful Hebrews bathing in the blood of children, and St. William in particular, are not difficult to find in the historic record, since so many were made.
Image to the right is a depiction of the story of Norwich and the Blood Libel
So to prove the hate and harm in the side-splitting witch comic above, let's try a quick mental experiment. Using the similar blood libel accusation for Jews, and our imaginations (since my photoshop is terrible), let's use the wood cut to the left as our model. Using the same large nosed rich men, obviously supposed to be a caricature of Jews, we throw in one of their sacred objects like a menorah for extra clarification, and then use the exact same caption. ("I only use local children".. Heh.) Funny, right? Everyone used to know the "Jew and baby killing" stereotype, so if everyone is familiar with it, then it's not hateful, it's hilarity! It's because you can use such labels as punchlines - black guys are gangstas or Asians are good at math. Or blond women are stupid. Or gays are pedophiles. Or Jews and witches eat children. I mean, we all know it's not true, and no one really looks like that, but for some reason black men are getting shot in the streets for wearing hoodies, gays are beaten on their way home, and witches are still losing their homes, families, and livelihoods in North America. And their limbs and lives elsewhere.
In the top cartoon, the pointed black hats represent our Elders and express respect and power as the leaders of our community. Rather like a Bishop's mitre. And it is these women who are depicted as the baby eaters! Not just anyone, but the community leaders. Rather like drawing the Pope and his cardinals carving up a choirboy. Funny, right? Surely no disparaging statement can be meant to the Catholic community in general... I mean, it's only their leaders.
It is in part due to the accusation of Blood libel that led to the Holocaust. There were many other factors of course, but with such beliefs rampant in the popular culture, some persons thought that "those people" only got what was coming to them. I mean, what else are you going to do with baby eaters? Which is why the Gypsies were also included in the Final Solution...
*All* of these blood libel images could qualify as Hate literature according to the Criminal Code of Canada. "Hate propaganda" means "any writing, sign or visible representation that advocates or promotes genocide. The Code defines genocide as the destruction of an "identifiable group." The Code defines an "identifiable group" as "any section of the public distinguished by colour, race, religion, ethnic origin or sexual orientation." A group that eats babies certainly qualifies as one that should be exterminated, and these witches are not shown as crazy offshoots, but expected to be typical of their group. Otherwise, it's not funny!
Dress as whatever profession or imaginary creature or
natural feature you like. But if you are choosing a costume that is
characterizing a "culture" or "race", you are contributing
to racism.
Admittedly, representations of witches aren't usually that bad. Often it's just old hags with hooked noses, warts, green skin, and buckle shoes riding brooms with their bloomers showing. But those very same images are also used as monsters to frighten children, and all that underlying hate and fear is understood, or they wouldn't be staples in Haunted Houses. They are trivializing images perpetuated by the dominant culture justifying violent historical and modern oppression, and they are not in any sense okay.
Admittedly, representations of witches aren't usually that bad. Often it's just old hags with hooked noses, warts, green skin, and buckle shoes riding brooms with their bloomers showing. But those very same images are also used as monsters to frighten children, and all that underlying hate and fear is understood, or they wouldn't be staples in Haunted Houses. They are trivializing images perpetuated by the dominant culture justifying violent historical and modern oppression, and they are not in any sense okay.
I've lost jobs because of this kind of myth. One neighbour suggested my house should be burned down. A friend only recently abandoned me entirely because her pastor confirmed her opinion that demons were haunting her because she hung out with me. Witches are losing custody of their children because judges really believe things like this about us. It is pure Hate literature, and it actually endangers my family. After hundreds of years of murder and torture of witches, women and children are still being killed all over the world for similar suspicions. But you don't have to take my word for it, or my personal life experience as a witch that it's still happening. Here are just a few recent reports from around the world.
Witchcraft murder: Couple jailed for Kristy Bamu killing
More on that case, plus others:
Increasingly prevalent, albeit marginalized, unreported and thus “hidden” social phenomenon of torture and murder of children believed to be witches
Imagine what Hallow'een is like for my family. All those positive images? Seriously. We must not be able to take a joke or something. Rather like the natives in my area having to put up with at all those Indian Chiefs coming to their door...
Witches are not fictional creatures. We are not werewolves or Frankenstein monsters. We do not have green skin, and only some of us have warts. We are young, old, women, men, straight, gay, and of all shapes and sizes. Witches have always been, and still are, real people. We are recognized as legitimate churches with our own holidays by federal governments, and these negative images can be, and often are, a threat to our quality of life and sometimes our safety.
It's our sacred holiday of Samhain and, unless one actually is a witch, dressing up as stereotypical witches is bigotry. Same with depictions of our sacred objects like brooms, cauldrons, wands, or other accoutrements. Even cartoonishly. When we do it, well, then it really *is* just all in good fun. I mean, let's face it. Sometimes, you just have to shake your head and laugh at all this...
It surprizes me not a jot that this rare book was discovered in the Bible Belt bastion of anti-witch bigotry that is Alberta, where I've lived for more than 30 years.
ReplyDeleteEntitled "Invectives Against the Sect of Waldensians", it is exceedingly rare — one of only four copies known to exist — and is thought to be one of the founding texts for the Christian horror and propaganda against witchcraft.
“The real evil is actually in this book, and it’s human. It’s not magical,” said Gow, a medieval history professor. “It’s a view of one’s fellow human beings as agents of the devil that is truly evil.”
Its pages describe cackling wenches sailing across the night sky on broom sticks, frolicking in nocturnal orgies of twisted delight and casting Satanic spells to doom crops with lightning and hail.
“It’s this long, involved, complex litany of imaginary crimes,” said Gow, “which were cooked up in the fevered literary imaginations of these small-time church men.”
The purpose of the book, Gow explained, was to instruct witch hunters on how to identify and prosecute supposed servants of the devil. Ominously, it describes how one should “ratchet up the pain” to force suspected witches to confess, said Gow.
“It’s a fascinating thing,” he said. “It’s 150 pages of craziness.”
http://www.therecord.com/news/canada/article/841220---rare-book-on-witchcraft-discovered-in-alberta-library#.ULEcrYsWAa4.facebook
Anti-witch bigotry is just as fear driven, virilent, and dangerous as homophobia and Islamophobia, and based on much the same mythology.
ReplyDelete"Of course, those in the throes of this phobia are in denial. They never recognise it as such. Instead, they cling to their "deeply held convictions" that, for example, allowing people of the same sex to marry each other will ruin it for everyone else. They cling to their rosary beads or the backs of their trousers insisting it is a moral objection. But a glance at those objections unfailingly reveals an unwarranted belief that "something bad will happen"
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/nov/27/homophobia-islamophobia-right-words-associated-press
The suppression of women and sexuality, particularily by Christian extremists, has always been a major componant of anti-witch sentiment. Midwives and healers were often the first and easiest targets. Entire books have been written about it, but here is a quick summary, which draws the lines of anti-witch bigotry to the modern War on Women. From the Daily Kos.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/03/17/1075308/-Sex-Witchcraft-and-the-War-on-Women?detail=hide
"If there is anything that would serve as an analogy to political parties of the day, it would certainly be the church vs. the pagans. And similar to modern day political leanings, where the church was unequivocally opposed to sexuality, the pagans celebrated it as ritual. And the church want nothing more than to convert all of the pagans to Christianity, or kill those who refused."