Three hundred and nineteen years ago was a dark time in the history of the United States. I am referring to the Witch trials of Salem, where men and women were put to death and had their property seized.
This had a big effect on my wife’s family. No - one of her relatives wasn’t one of the accused, he was the Sheriff of Salem - George Curwin(Corwin). The family gained from this so much financially that they had to bury dear old George in the basement of the family home in 1693 to prevent his body from being dug up and held ransom as a means to recover the property he took. They had some strange laws back then.
Today, we are witnessing more of this same type of witch hunt being fostered by religious groups and backed by political candidates pandering for their votes. Only today it is less greed and more hatred that is fueling them.
For a hundred years after the Civil War African Americans felt the brunt of this hatred, but since today’s society frowns on this type of behavior they have turned their attention instead to the gays.
The same groups who once wore white robes and hoods and burned crosses on the front porches of blacks, hanging them for nothing more than being black, have found another group to slander and deny basic rights to.
They have turned the lives of gay people into a crap shoot as to whether they might be targeted for a beating or death. The youth of this group, after so many years of hearing rhetoric from their parents, think of hunting gays as nothing more than sport - like shooting rabbits.
The so-called leaders of this nation - those portraying themselves as presidential hopefuls - are feeding the hatred and fanning the flames to gain the favor of an extreme and radical group. Once again they are looking to profit from the perception that this group is different and needs to be feared in order to further their agenda.
Just as in Salem over three hundred years ago, they are using God to benefit themselves.
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