According to Wikipedia a witch-hunt is a search for people labelled "witches" or evidence of witchcraft, often involving moral panic or mass hysteria. The classical period of witch-hunts in Early Modern Europe and Colonial North America took place in the Early Modern period or about 1450 to 1750, spanning the upheavals of the Reformation and the Thirty Years' War, resulting in an estimated 35,000 to 100,000 executions.
Although as all readers of Harry Potter will know "Indeed, Wendelin the Weird enjoyed being burned so much that she allowed herself to be caught no less than forty-seven times in various disguises. With the use of a Flame-Freezing Charm, however, the flames were rendered harmless, creating only a gentle tickling sensation which Wendelin enjoyed.”
In reality witch hunts have survived metaphorically into the current day and age, and they are anything but light hearted, threatening careers and reputations with impunity and very often without justification.
Looking back over my career I can recall a number of times in professional practice where something went seriously wrong in a corporate or commercial transaction and when the dust had settled a bit, the inquisitions and finger pointing started. It was as if they took on a life of their own. Nobody vaguely associated with the work was immune, however distanced they were from the actual mistake or problem. Those not involved were “righteously” looking for scapegoats – for witches they could burn – as if that would somehow right the wrong.
I am all for understanding and attributing responsibility in these circumstances to ascertain what went wrong, to avoid making the same errors and to improve professional practice. But these laudable aims are often overridden by a “blame” culture. Staying with the religious theme it can to my mind also be a little bit like “He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.” (Jesus in John 8.7).
Here is a good article on How to Survive a Modern Day Witch Hunt, focused more on the political world, which comments Americans used to put aside their political beliefs to work together, and now they actively use their beliefs to purge each other from the public sphere through modern Inquisitions.
Of course investigations are sometimes necessary in the workplace environment but it is important that they are run fairly and as this article suggests To perform a legally compliant and effective workplace investigation, you must be sure that the investigation does not transform into a witch hunt.
I think if you are subject to a witch hunt, you have to stand up for yourself and demonstrate objectively what your role was, seeking support where you can, but recognising as the American novelist Walter Kirn commented “Everyone loves a witch hunt as long as it's someone else's witch being hunted.”
It’s still a very scary process however you try to manage it, especially when witch hunt style investigations have some corporate seal of approval. As Joni Mitchell sings in the song Tax Free Lord, there's danger in this land, you get witch hunts and wars when church and state hold hands.
Although as all readers of Harry Potter will know "Indeed, Wendelin the Weird enjoyed being burned so much that she allowed herself to be caught no less than forty-seven times in various disguises. With the use of a Flame-Freezing Charm, however, the flames were rendered harmless, creating only a gentle tickling sensation which Wendelin enjoyed.”
In reality witch hunts have survived metaphorically into the current day and age, and they are anything but light hearted, threatening careers and reputations with impunity and very often without justification.
Looking back over my career I can recall a number of times in professional practice where something went seriously wrong in a corporate or commercial transaction and when the dust had settled a bit, the inquisitions and finger pointing started. It was as if they took on a life of their own. Nobody vaguely associated with the work was immune, however distanced they were from the actual mistake or problem. Those not involved were “righteously” looking for scapegoats – for witches they could burn – as if that would somehow right the wrong.
I am all for understanding and attributing responsibility in these circumstances to ascertain what went wrong, to avoid making the same errors and to improve professional practice. But these laudable aims are often overridden by a “blame” culture. Staying with the religious theme it can to my mind also be a little bit like “He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.” (Jesus in John 8.7).
Here is a good article on How to Survive a Modern Day Witch Hunt, focused more on the political world, which comments Americans used to put aside their political beliefs to work together, and now they actively use their beliefs to purge each other from the public sphere through modern Inquisitions.
Of course investigations are sometimes necessary in the workplace environment but it is important that they are run fairly and as this article suggests To perform a legally compliant and effective workplace investigation, you must be sure that the investigation does not transform into a witch hunt.
I think if you are subject to a witch hunt, you have to stand up for yourself and demonstrate objectively what your role was, seeking support where you can, but recognising as the American novelist Walter Kirn commented “Everyone loves a witch hunt as long as it's someone else's witch being hunted.”
It’s still a very scary process however you try to manage it, especially when witch hunt style investigations have some corporate seal of approval. As Joni Mitchell sings in the song Tax Free Lord, there's danger in this land, you get witch hunts and wars when church and state hold hands.
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