What will happen when American politicians ask people to spy on each other?other
While urging Virginians to “love your neighbor,” Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin also established a phone line where parents could leave “tips and observations” if teachers bring up offensive material in the classroom — specifically, teaching about race in ways that might make students uncomfortable.
But this effort to enlist parents in an anonymous campaign against teachers is fraught with peril. For centuries secret denunciations by neighbors, friends and even family have been the tools of dictatorships, used to sow fear and enforce conformity.
The European witchcraft trials of the 16th and 17th centuries exposed the power and peril of such secret accusations. Trials for witchcraft peaked as early modern states, in collaboration with church authorities, extended and increased their power over their subjects. Most scholars agree that somewhere between between 100,000 100,000 and and 200,000 200,000 individuals individuals (the majority of them women) were tried for witchcraft during those years. Of those, between 40,000 and 60,000 those, between 40,000 and 60,000
were executed. were executed.
A number of factors fueled the A number of factors fueled the effort to ferret out witches during effort to ferret out witches during these years. Witches were a these years. Witches were a
convenient scapegoat for any convenient scapegoat for any
number of social ills. number of social ills.
However, the adoption of Roman However, law throughout the adoption Europe of Roman also played law a throughout role. This involved Europe also a shift played from a an role. accusatorial This involved legal a procedure shift from an to accusatorial an inquisitorial legal procedure procedure. to Under an inquisitorial the former, procedure. suspects knew Under what the former, accusations suspects were knew and who what was the making accusations them, were and and they who could was sue making the accuser them, and if the they charges could sue were the accuser not proved. if the charges were not proved. Under an inquisitorial procedure, Under legal an authorities inquisitorial brought procedure, the case legal and authorities the accusers brought remained the case hidden. and the Secrecy accusers was remained an essential hidden. element Secrecy of these was newly an essential “officialized” element and of “rationalized” these newly “officialized” inquisitorial procedures, and “rationalized” as was inquisitorial torture to obtain procedures, the confessions as was torture that would to obtain corroborate the confessions the secret that accusations. would corroborate the secret The accusations. European witchcraft
cases The showed European the power witchcraft of anonymity. cases showed Complainants the power did of anonymity. not have to take Complainants personal responsibility did not have to for take their personal accusations responsibility of witchcraft, for their nor did accusations they have to of witchcraft, face any accused nor did woman they have or her to face relatives. any accused woman or her relatives. Placed in the hands of secular
and Placed church in the authorities, hands of secular the secret and accusations Church authorities, provided the an important secret accusations tool for rulers provided to consolidate an important their tool for power rulers over to consolidate subject populations their power by exploiting over subject public populations by exploiting public fears of the deviant “other” and promising to eliminate the problem. The regions of Europe that did not adopt Roman legal practices saw fewer trials for witchcraft and no mass panics.
A similar dynamic played out during the French Revolution of 1789. Revolutionaries who sought to remake the government called for liberty, equality and fraternity, but resistance pushed the new government to take increasingly harsh measures, eventually resulting in what is often called the Reign of Terror. As the Revolutionary government sought to contain internal dissent and to ensure the loyalty of the population, it relied increasingly on furtive denunciations to “purify” the nation and to rid it of internal enemies.
Beginning in 1793 and lasting into the next summer, hundreds of thousands of suspected “enemies of the nation” were arrested and about 17,000 executed and about 17,000 executed
by official order of the state. Not by official order of the state. Not
surprisingly, unidentified accusations surprisingly, unidentified accusations of insufficient patriotism of insufficient patriotism
flooded the local committees, often flooded the local committees, often in an effort to settle old in an effort to settle old
scores among enemies. scores among enemies.
Such trends continued in the Such trends continued in the 20th century in the modern totalitarian 20thcentury states in the that modern emerged totalitarian between World states that War emerged I and World between War II. World Nazi War Germany’s I and World Gestapo, II. the Nazi Soviet Germany’s KGB and East Gestapo, Germany’s the Soviet Stasi KGB relied and on East the Germany’s anonymous Stasi denunciations relied on the to anonymous cultivate its reputation denunciations as an omniscient, to cultivate its efficient reputation and terrifying as an omniscient, force. efficient and terrifying force. Time and time again, authoritarian Time regimes and time exploited again, authoritarian the tensions among regimes their exploited citizens the to tensions foster the among public their fear citizens and mistrust to foster of the public “other,” fear which and mistrust allowed of them the to “other,” maintain which their power. allowed them However, to maintain sowing their social power. divisions However, by cultivating sowing social fear divisions also posed by big cultivating risks for fear those also in posed power unless big risks they for adjusted. those For in power unless they adjusted. For example, the witch panic often spiraled out of control, sometimes targeting the wives and daughters of the elite, or even powerful men, rather than the usual poor and friendless suspects.
Eventually, the educated and increasingly skeptical ruling class shut down witch trials in most states by the early 18th century — they had become dangerous rather than useful. And yet, the damage had been done. Communities continued to blame undesirable “others” for economic and social problems.
In the United States today, fear-mongering is doing little to ease divisions in this deeply fractured nation: instead, many seem to be deliberately pitting neighbor against neighbor.
The Texas abortion ban that permits citizens to sue anyone who helps a woman obtain an abortion after the six-week mark, passed before the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, incentivizes citizens to v. Wade, incentivizes citizens to
spy on their neighbors. Other spy on their neighbors. Other
states have rushed to pass copycat states have rushed to pass copycat vigilante laws. vigilante laws.
Teacher shortages are a problem Teacher shortages are a problem across the country, especially across the country, especially in states threatening to penalize in states threatening to penalize classroom instructors for what they classroom teach. instructors The teachers for what who remain they teach. are constantly The teachers looking who over remain their are shoulders. constantly Is looking this what over we really their want? shoulders. Is this what It we may really not want? be but too many
politicians It may not see be benefit but too in many cultivating politicians distrust, see and benefit even in hatred cultivating to turn distrust, out voters. and Rather even hatred than to turning turn out American voters. Rather citizens than turning against each American other, true citizens leadership against requires each other, efforts true to foster leadership respect requires and tolerance. efforts Surely, to foster that respect is preferable and tolerance. to turning Surely, them that is into preferable a creeping to army turning of informers. them into a creeping army of informers.