The Modern-Day Witch Hunt vs Mental Illnesses
An Open Letter by Bilal Jabr
In the late 1600’s, a small town named Salem located in Colonial Massachusetts, was inhabited by villagers called the Puritans, a group of Christian Extremists who live and die by the order of God. If something goes wrong, it has to be blamed on somebody. Witch Craft, is believed to be in sequence when a group of girls are caught dancing in the forest, “chanting and dancing with the devil”. They are accused of working with the devil because they are seen as paranormal, and not even given a chance to prove innocence. This was almost 400 years ago, but the Witch-Hunt on the Paranormal is still very much thriving and alive. I am writing about how the bipolar schizophrenic part of society is seen as not normal and accused of a lot of things wrong with the world.
This is being written to the people of the world, the large sum of individuals that are in belief that equality is not a thing. To me everyone is equal. Whether or not you’re seen as normal yourself, you’re a part of society and you’ve been accused of this too. I know I have. We’ve all been accused of looking down on somebody, thinking you’re better than them, as if you are of higher status. I want this to change, and am hoping that this letter can cause an impact of some sort.
I am writing this with a goal in mind, to eliminate the common enemy. To rid the ideas of the modern-day witch hunt against the idea that being schizophrenic is paranormal and insane. It is a burden that some have to live with, but these some do not want to be looked down upon by the people of today. I care about this because I have been on both of these sides, and have come across what it is to experience shaming somebody for their burdens. I have a personal connection to this issue, being a close family member was diagnosed as Bipolar Schizophrenic, but the rest of us never knew at all. We shunned him away from the family, until we found out that he admitted himself into a mental institution and we were given the information of the cause of his actions, emotionally stunning us that we were all looking down on him without coming into realization that it is in fact a burden.
This is my personal connection, as it has not only just happened to me. In 2015, author Noel Hunter wrote an article on https://www.madinamerica.com/2015/12/the-modern-day-witch-hunt/ depicting her story about a close friend of hers that Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID). By society, her friend was seen as demonic, as DID affected her emotional and physical behavior heavily. Another author in 2010 using Database wrote an article about Witch Craft or Mental Illness on http://www.psychiatrictimes.com/schizoaffective/witchcraft-or-mental-ill.... The author, Beatriz Quintanilla, wrote about the differences about Mental Illnesses in modern times compared the Salem Witch Trials.
Mental Illness still remains as the scapegoat of politicians and fearful citizens like you and I, which proves that hysteria is still very well active in today’s world. With a country full of ranks and names, standing together the ties between Mental Illness and Modern-Day Witch Hunts can be abolished and removed as a whole. It just starts with this letter, and hopefully one day, this can be taken care of and not seen as an issue. How do you stand on this?
