Witch-hunting is the hallmark of an uncivilized society, where a person is accused of engaging in witchcraft, and burnt alive, lynched or hanged to death without a fair trial. Witch-hunts are typically marked by mass hysteria and moral panic. Self-appointed moralizers and sermonizers in public life and media are usually the premier agents of moral indignation in the modern world.
These moral, religious, social and media leaders become dangerous when they are unable to handle mass public faith and adulation, and start suffering from delusions of grandeur. In a deluded state, they tend to fan collective obsessional sentiments of the masses. They ignite the lynch mob mentality of the masses that are repressed, frustrated and angry with their own struggles of life, and vent their frustrations on every new public “witch-of-the-day”. Doing so makes them feel worthwhile and superior to at least someone in their otherwise pathetic life.
Civilized society is differentiated from the Law of the Jungle on just a single premise. That premise, recognized in all free and democratic countries around the world, is summed up in this Latin phrase: Ei incumbit, probation qui dicit, non qui negat – Innocent until proven guilty. The burden of proof lies on the person who accuses, not on the person who denies.
It takes an emotionally evolved human being to understand that let 99 guilty persons go free to save one innocent person from injustice. This grand principle of human justice cannot be understood by the weak, suppressed, frustrated and angry masses that are marked by raw emotions and a herd mentality. It requires ten thousand years of civilization of the human mind to arrive at this principle.
In the historic O.J. Simpson criminal “trial of the century” in America, the prosecution piled up a mountain of evidence that pointed towards his guilt in the double murder. However, the grand principle of justice prevailed and he was acquitted due to lack of sufficient incriminating evidence. It was not a victory for O.J. alone, but it was a victory for civilization. Criminal justice system cannot afford to be barbaric and cannot allow itself to be led by mass hysteria and mob mentality. It suits frustrated and angry people to act like barbarians. Nothing better can be expected of them.
There may be a 99 percent chance that Maria Susairaj is guilty of murder. However, people who are baying for the blood of Maria Susairaj should ask themselves what happens if one percent, just one percent, she is innocent? How would an innocent person feel if the entire society targets her like barbarians? How would you feel if you knew you were innocent and the entire society was up in arms against you? In that case, would you call such a society civilized or uncivilized?
0 Responses
Stay in touch with the conversation, subscribe to the RSS feed for comments on this post.