The+Meaning+of+Humanity-Introduction

The Meaning of Humanity “You are under arrest for the practice of Witchcraft.” This phrase is not heard among us anymore, but in 1692 in Salem, Massachusetts, nineteen people were hanged because they were believed to be witches. Nowadays, if we see someone twitch, or if they cry out strange things, we assume they are psychologically complex. However, in 1692, the only explanation for a twitch was that the person twitching was cursed by a, or was a witch. Soon, everyone as afraid that either they or their loved ones would become bewitched. I used to think I was a witch when I was younger. I would pretend that my mom’s cooking pots were cauldrons and I would say that I was mixing rat tails and bat wings. I know several of my friends who also liked the idea of being someone totally different, someone with magical powers. Lots of kids like to dress up in black, pointy witch hats and run around pretending to fly on broomsticks. Witches are said to be evil, but that’s what made acting like one fun. So when I learned that being a witch could cost you your life, I was flabbergasted and immensely interested. I learned about several theories concerning the Salem Witch Trials, and found out more about a popular theory that said that a group of girls heard some scary witch stories and decided to play a trick. They would pretend to be cursed by witches. However, they did not think things through. When they claimed to be cursed, they blamed the cursing on several slaves and family enemies. They never realized how serious it really was. Innocent people were dragged to court and had to plead to be let go. Most were not given a fair trial, and were taken to be tortured endlessly. I learned that some torture methods included tying heavy chains on people and throwing them under water. If they were still alive after a period of time underwater, then they were witches. Also, some people were laid down in between two wooden boards and heavy boulders were placed on the top boards. If the people weren’t crushed under the weight of the boulders, they were witches. When I found this out, I was shocked. How could human beings be so cruel and so dumb? I wanted to know what was going through the minds of everyone involved: the tricky girls, the victims, and the torturers. What I found out made me question humanity and what it truly meant to be human. Surely sensible people wouldn’t do such inhuman things. Now I know that “humanity” has a different meaning to everyone, and I explored what it meant to the people involved in the Salem Witch Trials of 1692.