Hanged witch in Massachusetts sparks allegation of 'hate crime'

WorldNetDaily.com ^ | October 14, 2007

[sportutegrl]

She looks sort of like Hillary.

[Nevadan]

re: Well, if she really was a witch, couldn’t she just cast a spell and turn the homeowner into a newt or something?

Good point!

[L98Fiero]

“You don’t hang witches.”

Well, That’s how accused witched were killed in Salem.

[popdonnelly]

An excellent example of too much government. Now someone hanging a seasonal decoration outside their home can be accused of a “hate crime”. Now we can all sit and watch the fun being taken out of life by hypersensitive people who have been indoctrinated into believing that everything is persecution.

“Government isn’t the solution. It’s the problem.” - Ronald Reagan

[puroresu]

Oh, for crying out loud! It’s Halloween!

The left is destoying all of our other holidays with Political Correctness, why not Halloween? Let's see....we can't celebrate Christmas because to do so would discriminate against Muslims and atheists. We can't celebrate Easter for the same reason. We can't celebrate Thanksgiving because it's too religious and involves displacement of Native Americans. We can't celebrate Columbus Day since he was a racist imperialist. Washington's birthday? Forget it, he was a slaveowner. The Fourth of July? Too jingoistic! Halloween? Better make sure the costumes and props don't offend any PC protected class.

But don't worry. We may lose all those holidays, but we can instead celebrate Ramadan, Martin Luther King Day, Mexican independence day, Harvey Milk Day, and the anniversary of Roe vs. Wade. I'm sure you'll agree those are worthier holidays.

[puroresu]

How about hanging a taxpayer? That would be okay in Massachusetts, wouldn’t it?

[raccoonradio]

>>a witch hanging from a noose

in Salem 29 people were accused of being witches...19 were hanged and one was pressed to death for refusal to enter a plea...I was watching a documentary on all this on my cable system here in Beverly, MA. It talked about how local authorities conducted examinations of these "witches"-- and perhaps those accused were suffering hallucinations, etc.

One of the reasons the hysteria died down was that minister John Hale's wife was accused of being a witch (he lived down the street from me) and, well, maybe this was all too much over-reacting, he figured...

Wikipedia:
>>John Hale, minister in Beverly and present at many of the proceedings, completed his book, "A Modest Enquiry into the Nature of Witchcraft" in 1697, but it wasn't published until 1702, after his death. Expressing regret over the actions taken, he admitted, "Such was the darkness of that day, the tortures and lamentations of the afflicted, and the power of former presidents, that we walked in the clouds, and could not see our way."

Result? Salem is now a huge tourist destination in October and there's a statue devoted to a fictional witch from a certain 1960s TV series. "The Witch City" has witches on its city seal and the Salem News still has it on its masthead. Billboards promoting the city proclaimed, "We're Wicked Good" (in the Boston area, "wicked" has been used as a modifier meaning "very") and "Come By For A Spell."

Local "witch" Laurie Cabot was proclaimed "Official Witch of Salem" by then Gov. Michael Dukakis.

These days the curse is on local residents who have to put up with horrible traffic jams this month. But it brings in the money, oh does it bring in the money.

[Calpernia]

>>>a neighbor’s Halloween decoration depicting a witch hanging from a noose

Hillary, is that you?

[DBrow]

Citizens of the USA are free to have and practice whatever religion they want.

Followers of many religions complain whenever their chosen religion is shown any disrespect, or has traditional areas infringed upon. Why make fun of this woman for standing up for her own religion?

Is this a hate crime? I don’t think so. I don’t think that a family that puts up a witch mannequin sets out to deliberately denigrate witches or Wicca or whatever, it’s just a common part of Christian culture to do so and has been that way for a long time.

Thoughtless, and maybe insensitive, but not a “hate crime”.

[raccoonradio]

More on Salem from Wikipedia:
In 2005, the city's semi-official tourist agency, Destination Salem, unveiled a new marketing campaign for the city, which de-emphasized witch tourism.

In 2005, the conflict came to a head over plans by the cable television network TV Land to erect a bronze statue of Elizabeth Montgomery, who played the comic witch 'Samantha' in the 1960s series Bewitched. A few special episodes of the series were actually filmed in Salem, and TV Land said that the statue commemorated the 35th anniversary of those episodes.

Many felt the statue was good fun and appropriate to a city that promotes itself as "The Witch City," and contains a street named 'Witch Way'. Others objected to the use of public property for what was transparently commercial promotion. Some felt that the statue trivialized history by encouraging visitors to recall a sitcom rather than the tragic Salem witch trials. Local resident John Carr, a former member of the city's Historical Commission, was quoted in the local newspaper (and later in Time magazine) as saying 'it's like TV Land going to Auschwitz and proposing to erect a statue of Colonel Klink'. The statue was eventually approved and has generated little controversy since its unveiling. The statue was later vandalized with red spray painted "X"s over the face and chest, and flags placed in the statue's hands.

[kalee]

Next she’ll be demanding reparations.

[MrB]

uh huh... he said “erect” and “Elizabeth Montgomery”...

:)

[seemoAR]

Or, 6 witches knocking someone out and beating him while he is unconscious on the floor. ;0)

[massgopguy]

“She turned me into a Newt.”

“I got better.”

[massgopguy]

“KLINK KNOWS NOTHING! HE’S THE PERFECT DUPE!.” - Gen. Burkhalter

[horse_doc]

The witch in the photo looked like a 17th Century witch.

Modern witches trace their made-up religion from the 20th Century.

Now, if he hung a fat goth chick, with a crystal in one hand, and a piece of red string around her wrist, THAT might be an accurate portrayal of a modern witch, and hence, a "hate crime".

[the_devils_advocate_666]

Are manger scenes a hate crime yet?

[ichabod1]

I didn’t know if I was the only one to note the resemblance.

[HamiltonJay]

Ahhh wiccan.. the religion of lonely women...

Ladies... stop trying to find peace and happiness in trees and paganism. Join a good Christian church, and you’ll not only find fellowship, but you just might find a guy or two who isn’t obsessed with strict physical appearance as well.

[Lonesome in Massachussets]

You don’t hang witches.

Massachusetts authorities would beg to differ. They have the most hands on experience in this area and actually hanged 21 witches in 1693. One man was pressed to death while they were trying to extract a confession from him. Of course, they were pikers by contemporary Continental standards.

Hanging seems to be quite effective. If you don't hang them they parade around town making pests of themselves.