What is "witch hunting" and does it still exist?
- Gigi Pennoyer
- Sep 20, 2021
- 1 min read
Updated: Dec 6, 2021
The term witch hunting was born in the 17th century in Salem, Massachusetts when there was an ongoing search for people who engaged in witchcraft and who were consequently executed. While this occurred long ago, this term has evolved to mean the general searching and disapproval of those with unpopular political views. In our current world, it is widely known that things are very politicized and polarized, especially with the Coronavirus pandemic.
While actual ‘witch hunting’ does not occur, there is a noticeable awareness and disapproval for people with different points of view. The most prominent example is individuals who are vaccinated against COVID vs people who have not been vaccinated and do not believe in the vaccination. For individuals who do not get vaccinated, this affects people who are vaccinated because it can lead to more COVID cases. This type of judgement and disapproval also applies to individuals who support Trump and those who don’t. This is a very interesting situation to look at because political opinions did not have such a big effect on those around you. Now, I have observed people who aren’t as close of friends because of their differing political views. I have also observed people who do not want to spend time with unvaccinated people who they normally would see.
It is unfortunate that the vaccine has become such a political and polarized issue. While I encourage everyone to get vaccinated, the fact that some people exclude people from their social circles due to vaccination status is incredibly harmful and disregards the fact that people ultimately have to make their own decisions about their health.
As a country we have seen ourselves thrust into an era where topics and issues that seemingly have no political relevance have becomes ones of political nature. I agree with our point the vaccine on how an issue that should not be in the realm of politics has been put in the foremost of political polarization. My only hope is that as a country we start to revlatuate our beliefs and decide to judge people on actions and who they are rather than equating one belief to and overall belief.
I think we increasingly view one's political beliefs as indicators of character or even the definitive source of one's identity, rather than mere opinions. I think there is some truth to the idea that political beliefs follow one's general worldview, including their views on what is ethical, what is just, or even what is true. For that reason, political beliefs are an important, descriptive part of who a person is. On the other hand (and especially with people we do not know well), I think we have a tendency to take what little political information we know about a person (such as their opinions on COVID measures), supplement it with our own assumptions, and create a caricature of another person…
I actually was going to originally write my Op-Ed on this topic. I think the vaccination is such a good example of polarization that occurs from politicizing everything we do. Personally, I have not cut off any people in my life because of their vax status, even though I am extremely pro-vaccine. However, most of my family no longer associates with people who do not have the vaccine. Our social circles are definitely becoming increasingly defined politically, which I can see is harmful, but I have and will continue to cut people off in my life who have harmful political views. Choice is what it ultimately comes down to in these situations, whether it's choice about the vaccine, choice about…
First, I found this post interesting because I did not know that the term witch-hunting has evolved to mean the disapproval of those with unpopular political views. Thus, I think your association to COVID-19 and the politics behind it, was great to discuss especially in terms of the unvaccinated vs. vaccinated problem. In addition, I enjoyed how you provided your own personal opinion and experience of observing the people around you who have changed relationships due to differing views.