The Statue Wars Begin

I thought it was fake, he'd pretty much challenged me to a fight then became very ill as the date he'd touted grew nearer.

Why am I not surprised?

I wouldn't be surprised if some of the new far right posters who've suddenly arrived aren't down to him either. He has a history of using sock puppets too.

As far as I remember, the 'Bewitched' - though it matches the theme of the town - is more a reminiscence to the "Salem Saga" than to actual historical facts.
There's a lot of serious stuff about witches to study in Salem, not just tourist-traps! But if the latter hadn't been there, the others would still be unknown to many.

Let's be absolutely clear here (and I am sorry to offend any adults here who still believe in Mother Goose tales).

1. Witches aren't real. Human beings can't actually cast spells on each other or spiritually possess other bodies.

2. The Salem Witch trials were a sad event in a superstitious religious community. There was no real magic.

3. Our understanding of the Salem Witch Trials is largely historical revisionism. The narrative matches modern political narratives, so modern people have claimed it. The Salem Witch Trial were not even very remarkable... in these strict religious communities sometimes people were killed as heretics, or devils or for any other reason. Salem was an isolated religious community. It is sad, but it is human nature.

4. The "witches" now in Salem are neo-pagans. This is a set of rather strange religious beliefs that originated in the 1950s and 1960s. There is no connection between these "witches" and people in the Puritan community in 1692.

5. The show Bewitched is fictional. It was a comedy that snatched up cultural ideas to make a funny premise that would make people in that culture laugh. What was remarkable about the show was that it had a female lead character. The witches in the show were a plot device... because witches aren't real.

This thread has really gotten ridiculous.

I want to point out how Izzy, Farmerman and Setanta are being. Maybe Finn doesn't need my support, but the bullying here bothers me. And that is what is happening here. Anyone who doesn't conform to the ideological bubble gets attacked. It isn't necessary. And when it is three on one, it is especially nasty.

In 1692 Salem they hunted witches. On Able2Know they hunt misogynists. The result seems about the same

Well the armistice didn't last very long did it?

Youve been nice about it but I cannot avoid truth ya know?

Max Ill probably lose very little sleep over it. AS I said, I cant ignore fact.
Anyway, I hd no opinion about the Salem Witch statue except to wonder whether anyone recognized that the witch was a (not too artsy) casting of Liz Montgomery, v the real sad point in our history that the witch trials represented. The statue is actually a bad piece of sculpture (like that first "I love Lucy" bronze).
Liz has been tarted up to serve as a"comic book" rendition of history.I dont think she would really like it. I sure wouldnt . Did anyone ask her?? Were there any artistic standards involved. I think it was done by some HS kid who was agreed that"this kid has some talent, maybe we can impose on the kid to gt this cute witch statue done really cheap)

Its really bad art (as well AS BEING DISRESPECTFUL OF A TRAGEDY)Sorta like these old depictions of droop jawed craggy faced mascots for the Cleveland Indians, or the old magazine ads for the Santa Fe railroad.We just slowly ignored Freeman Gosden and Charles Correl

As I said before about all this ****, placing statues of historical figures should only be considered if such statuary is hored by the collective. Id be considering the value of Andy Jackson statues (except maybe in Nawlins where his deeds were as a leader in battle and hadnt become the racist policy he later became associated with. How bout Custer? Henry Ford? Sen Byrd?
I see a lotta bronze being available soon , Im really not sure what weve started here other than to recognize that weve turned another whole corner of our history. Its gonna be interesting to watch and read these comments and hear further
"concerns about them and how we treat each other".

"Bewitched" had nothing to do with Salem or even classic witch legends. Samantha and her family and friends were more godlike than spell casting crones. There was even an episode where Samantha considered altering all of reality to ease Darren's angst over her being a witch.

There may be serious stuff in Salem, but the town and a goodly number of residents are making good money (even a living) on the fact that the long ago the townspeople killed 13 or 14 innocent women due to hysterical superstitious fear.

The Egyptian pyramids are Wonders of The World and an amazing testimony to the aspirations of humanity, but one can also argue they are a testimony to human hubris, and cruelty; the latter as they were built by thousands of slaves.

Ancient Egyptian culture is today celebrated and merchandised in thousands of different ways. Should we be offended by the "Luxor" hotel and casino in Las Vegas? Is it terribly insensitive of a woman to dress like Cleopatra at a Halloween party?

There is virtually no end to the ridiculous paths this obsession with finding reasons to be offended can take.

But the ancient Egyptians didn't oppress "defenseless" White Women. That is why nobody gets triggered by Stargate.

It is interesting how much modern ideology clouds the modern understanding of history.

Sorry so I have misread and have been misinformed there, too.

That's probably my fault I said the statue looks like a publicity piece for Bewitched, I think it does, but that's just me.

Am I the only liberal here who knows how to search on the internet.

http://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/11762

It is offensive in that it is damn ugly!

Thanks and while I always appreciate the support, I don't encourage others to join the fray. Their immediate impulse to gang up on someone, not to mention twisting facts and taking things out of context, speaks volumes.

Have you been there Linkat?

People like the statue.

I do think though it is trivializing what happened out of stupidity and ignorance. To make a funny ugly statue of a sitcom that has nothing to do with this history - other than the word "witch" is just plain old dumb.

So maybe not so much offensive (maybe that isn't the right word) just ugly and stupid and of poor taste. Sort of making light of something more serious. And to be from the state I am embarrassed that someone actually more than one someone thought and probably still thinks this is a good idea.

That might be quite noble if it were true, and there is something to say about the nobility of keeping one's word.

In any case, we learned who would first break the truce.

The goal of the bullying is to stifle discussion by punishing anyone who expresses an idea outside of the ideological echo chamber.

I feel like standing with you on helps push back on this. The liberal groupthink on Able2know is getting worse.

The "witch house" itself - the one where they have the historical story of the trials isn't bad as far as not being offensive and making light of the history.

I concur. Tasteless and commercialized — so the fact that the public finds it appealing isn't a surprise.