Michael Knowles at America 250 & Salem Witch Trials
Not that anyone will see this, but as someone who's ancestor was accused of witchcraft simply because she rejected a man's advances on her daughter, I need to rant about the stupid Michael Knowles "debate" at the America 250 Fair, because what he said is absolutely vile.
First of all, here's the quote that's making the rounds on social media for those who don't know what I'm talking about. I think it's really important that we unpack what he's advocating for, what his worldview is, because really there is no logical reason AT ALL to even support what the trials did, let alone want to go back and improve their efficacy, unless you see yourself in line with the accusers and persecutors. It very clearly shows that, as we all know, he's looking to advance the idea that unjustified persecution of minority groups is a valid crusade in the modern era. This is what he said:
So as many people already know, burning women at the stake wasnt how the killings happened in Salem, and it wasn't just women that were killed either, men died as well. They were put to death mainly through hanging, with some being crushed by heavy stones, usually with a board or flat surface over top of them to distribute the weight more evenly, making it take longer than it would have otherwise.
Its also important to note that again, as many people know, the first person to be accused in Salem was an enslaved Indigenous woman named Tituba. She was known to use herbal remedies and traditional medicines from her culture of origin (still unknown to this day), which has always been, and remains to be, heavily demonized by the European settlers of the 17th century, and modern western civilizations alike. When two girls in the family she was enslaved by fell ill, and she did what she believed to be best in order to heal them, this was then used against her as proof of witchcraft later on. She was an easy target for someone to accuse, and a person under oppression with absolutely zero protection under the law, or any access to human rights (remember, this was in the 1600s, prior to the American Revolution, so truly there was no larger systems that could have reasonably protected her, systems that even today fail to protect those most marginalized).
But what I really want to zone in on is WHY people were accused of witchcraft, because it wasn't just the judges and executioners that caused these nonsensical deaths, it was the people around them, the general public, that took advantage of the lack of systemic guardrails to enact serious harm over relatively petty slights. Each and every person accused of witchcraft was not accused because of any serious harm to the community, but their lives were taken over things like someone deflecting responsibility for their own misdoings, out of spite like my ancestor fell victim to, or because someone simply just didn't like them for one reason or another. People saw an easy way to punish those who they perceived to be below them in the social order, and if making up outlandish tales about them could get them out of the community entirely, then fuck it. That's what they'd do.
My ancestor, Mary Perkins Bradbury, was accused of witchcraft after a man asked for her daughters hand in marriage. She didn't live in Salem, they were about a 30 minute drive North of Salem in Salisbury, Massachusetts. Typically men would ask the father for the daughter's hand in marriage, but after Mary's husband, Thomas, consulted with her about this proposal (something wildly progressive in this day and age), Mary expressed concern and said she did not find this man an eligible suitor, the proposal was denied. Now, Mary was in her 70's and was a pillar in the community. She was a leader in her church, would regularly feed, clothe, or house members of their congregation when they were in need, and was generally liked by all those that knew her. The accusation was levied against her by the young man who she denied, and she was arrested and even convicted on these bogus charges. She was set to death for simply telling a boy he wasn't allowed to marry his daughter. That's it.
But Mary Bradbury's story ends differently than so many of the others you've heard. She was one of the few to be convicted of witchcraft and actually survive. She was lucky. Others weren't. Because of her status in the community, her husband and many others petitioned the court with letters of witness to her good character (letters which were entered into court records and can still be read today, Thomas' letter being my particular favorite), but the court denied these petitions, and she was set to death. The only reason she survived, is because she somehow escaped the jail prior to her execution. We still aren't sure how, but my mother and I like to think that her husband came to free her, and a sympathetic (or well paid) guard was willing to look the other way. She fled from Salisbury until the trials were discredited and she was exonerated, returning home just a few years prior to her death.
As I said, Mary was lucky. She had community support, a loving husband, financial resources, and a priveleged position in the social order that eventually allowed her to escape being murdered for such a petty reason. Without these things, she would've lost her life. Which is why so many others without these privileges, died for similarly nonsensical reasons. Here is a portion of her Wikipedia page for those that are interested (you can find the letters written in her favor here if you'd like to read them)
Now, returning back to what Michael Knowles said this week at the America 250 Celebration at the National Mall. The fact that he advocated for an improvement to the witch trials, one that would have made them more "effective" at killing more people, is especially alarming in this day and age where homes are being torn apart, masked Gestapo-like ICE agents are imprisoning people, denying them access to the legal system even when they are here legally or are full blown citizens, and keeping them in horrific conditions that have killed more people in detention in the last 6 months than the entire Biden presidency, is EXTREMELY concerning. Horrific really. Because what he's advocating for is a system where, much like the witch trials, the general public can use the lack of systemic guardrails to their advantage, enacting serious harm upon anyone perceived to be below them in the social order. He's advocating for a modern, spite driven system where those most marginalized, like Titiuba, can be killed without basic legal protections. A system where those even with some access to privileges can meet the same fate. A system where, like Mary, people only escape death by somehow cheating the system that has been unfairly leveraged against them.
What he said isn't just about the Salem Witch Trials, and people need to be aware of that. What he said is indicative of how desperately right wing extremists are seeking to punish anyone and everyone they believe to be outside of their vision of what an "American" should be, look like, act like, do, or say. They're advocating for wholesale slaughter of those they simply don't like. And that's an extremely dangerous thing we should ALL be concerned about.
