I remember watching movies like Beauty and the Beast, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Shrek, Frozen and all these others that were built around the idea that there was a lovable peaceful 'monster' who didn't do anything wrong, but the people of nearby town mobbed together and went on a witch hunt to get them. Every time I would watch them, I would get angry at the mob and tell myself that I would never join such a mob against someone based on hear say and half truths. I couldn't understand how so many people shared the same false idea of someone. It didn't seem believable to me. Were none of those people in the mob rational? Were they all really that willing to condemn someone based on hear say and false rumors? Were they really willing to kill the character that I loved and knew was innocent?
But this type of stuff really happened... like for real, in real life. It could be based on religion, race, or a number of other factors. But mobs would appear and kill those that they believed to be guilty of crimes that simple logic could explain away.
Boy I'm glad we don't live in those times anymore...
EVERY DAY... I see videos or pictures of someone doing something that may or may not be justified. Immediately, that mob comes out of the woodwork and starts condemning the person. These are the people that are irrational, illogical, and ready to condemn someone based on anything. A simple headline can mold a person's judgement of a situation and make them HATE someone instantly. They are ready to hang this person at the stake based on half truths, false claims, and inaccurate understandings. The worst part is that most of these people don't care about the truth. They have an agenda to push, and whoever gets hurt along the way is just another desposable casualty.
Those witch hunts of the past still exist. Those irrational, screaming mobs really are real. We don't carry pitchforks any more, or torches, and usually we don't really kill someone, but we don't mind destroying someone's life. We don't care if they get fired because of a simple slip of the tongue. We don't care if their family goes into poverty because of something that wasn't their fault. All we care about is expressing our hate filled, irrational opinion about a person and situation that has nothing to do with us. Our opinions don't matter. But boy do we have to express them anyway. Lives are ruined based on irrational opinions. The witch hunts still exist.
