A Witch Hunt is Not Just a Protest or Discussion

While witch hunts often start out as protests or discussions, there is a difference between these peaceful actions and the violent witch hunts.

A discussion, whether in person or online, does not involve hate speech against a person or group. Instead a discussion includes peaceful arguments for or against an idea or person which. We often have discussions to debate or talk about our opinions on a topic. This type of exchange is usually open to different points of view and at any time, the participants in the discussion can simply walk away.

However, witch hunts do often involve hate speech and are violent campaigns directed at the target as opposed to simply talking about the target. Witch hunts are destructive in nature and can cause harm to a specific person or group, where discussions are peaceful can be productive in nature.

Protests are usually a public display of disagreement or objection, handled in a reasonable and responsible manner. The goal of many protests is to persuade others to support protesters’ position and to pressure the group or individual that can make the needed change. Protests are non-violent and used to show support of an opinion and raise concern for a problem.

In contrast, witch hunts usually involve targeting one person for something they said or did that was not in favor of the majority, and attacking them violently. The internet has made it very easy to quickly publicize an uncommon action or belief of someone else, allowing others to latch onto the situation and turn it into a witch hunt. With the ability to share the statements, photos, and personal information of someone else without the person’s consent, people can quickly lose their privacy and dignity because of someone else’s carelessness. This can be very harmful or even deadly to the people being targeted.

A lady in South Korea let her dog excrete on a subway train and refused to pick it up when the people around her asked her to. Someone took a picture of the lady with a camera phone and posted it on a popular website. Without the internet, by stepping off the train she would have ended the discussion. However, today, when face to face confrontation doesn't end favorably for some people, they use the internet to turn a discussion into a witch hunt. Instead of moving on, they attack the target again in a very severe form of cyber-bullying.³