If there's one thing I know about, it's witch hunts. Witch hunts in Early Modern Europe were almost always predicated on a) fanciful explanations for natural phenomena and b) the settling of long-held grudges - both the realm of today's anti-vaxxers and Covidiots.
The sizable witch hunts at Trier, Fulda, Bamberg and Würzburg, in what is today Germany, took place during a century defined by not only internecine warfare and all that entails, but a significant drop in temperatures, caused by what's known as the 'Little Ice Age'.
Early Modern German society, that was dependant on agriculture at a near subsistence level, would suffer heavily from any drop in temperatures.

Sudden changes in the weather, therefore, were viewed with terror and awe.
After the publishing of the spurious 'Malleus Maleficarum', a manual devoted to the identification and hunting of 'witches' by Heinrich Kramer, a disgraced friar, in the 15th century, blame for foul weather that impacted crops was laid squarely at 'witches' in league with Satan.
You can draw a straight line between the influence of texts like the 'Malleus Maleficarum' - which was at times condemned by the Church - and any number of modern, online sources that spread misinformation regarding Covid-19, and in particular the side-effects of vaccines.
Witch hunts in Early Modern Europe were also driven by grudges and prejudices. They acted as a chance to settle scores.

The witch trial at Würzburg led to the execution of the homeless.

The witch trial that involved the mother of Johannes Kepler involved a property squabble.
In 17th century Esslingen, near Stuttgart (not far from where Kepler's mother was tried in Leonberg), Daniel Hauff, a jurist, effectively murdered his way up through the city council, with a few choice accusations of witchcraft.
Lest we forget Matthew Hopkins, the English 'Witchfinder General', who made a killing (literally) in Essex, Norfolk and Suffolk in the 1640s.
Critics of Hopkins, it must be noted, often ended up on his lists of the accused.
Again, there's not much separating the accusers of Kepler's mother, the burghers of Würzburg, Hauff and Hopkins from those who've stepped into the spotlight today.

They're there to attack specific socio-economic or ethnic groups, or to make a quick buck.
There are no similarities between those who are pro-vaccination, and the instigators of 17th century witch hunts.

There ARE many s between anti-vaxxers/covid-deniers, and those who howled for blood by the gallows.

Tobes, you're a clown. /FIN

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More from @MikeStuchbery_

1 Aug
History, it could be said, is horrible. The past is full of suffering, deprivation, and injustice. Sometimes, however, it's the telling of history that ends up somehow being more awful.

I was reminded of this, when researching German folk tales today. Image
Tangermünde is a 1,000 year old town on the Elbe River, in the German state of Sachsen-Anhalt.

It was a center of culture and learning as the court of the Hohenzollerns, and was a bustling trade centre as a member of the Hanseatic League.

That all changed on September 13, 1617. ImageImage
On that day, September 13 1617, almost all of Tangermünde was destroyed by a fire.

Hundreds of homes, warehouses and barns went up in smoke. One of the few buildings to survive was the rectory of the church. ImageImage
Read 22 tweets
31 Jul
I'm not gonna lie, I've been struggling lately. Much of it has to do with ADD. Never let anyone tell you it's an inconvenience or fashionable diagnosis - it robs you of a lot.

I thought I'd talk about what it does to me, and how I live with it. Maybe some of you might identify.
My ADD presents in my life in four significant ways. They are:

★ Inability to follow instructions.
★ Problems w/ short-term memory.
★ Intrusive thoughts.
★ Inability to manage time.

All have been present in my life, since childhood.
An inability to follow instructions can be one of the most infuriating parts of living with ADD.

It means that in many cases, I simply cannot follow simple steps in a logical sequence, once they reach a certain cognitive threshold.

This plays into other presentations.
Read 24 tweets
29 Jul
Paul, you don't understand Stoicism. This is obvious.

Stoicism isn't about bearing life's burdens with a stiff upper lip, or risking it all in the pursuit of victory.

It's about understand your limitations, being at peace with them, moving on regardless with purpose.
"It never ceases to amaze me: we all love ourselves more than other people, but care more about their opinion than our own." - Marcus Aurelius, Meditations.

Biles is valuing her own judgement over the varied, cacophonous voices she's hearing.
"The greatest blessings of mankind are within us and within our reach. A wise man is content with his lot, whatever it may be, without wishing for what he has not." - Seneca

Biles has four gold medals. They changed the grading curve for her. She's understanding her limits.
Read 5 tweets
27 Jul
I'm seeing more Covid conspiracy theory material being shared likening NHS care during the pandemic being likened to the 'Aktion T4' program of the Nazis.

Specifically, DNR orders and the Liverpool Care Pathway keep getting mentioned.

Here's why these ideas are garbage. Image
A 'Do Not Resucitate' order is just that - an order not to resucitate a person in an emergency.

Quite rightly, there was protest over DNR orders given to those with learning disabilities during previous waves of the pandemic. google.com/amp/s/www.bbc.…
Doctors make DNR, mostly in consultation with patients and/or families, either ahead of time, or once a patient is admitted to hospital.

This is done for a number of reasons - mostly that it would prolong suffering.

Remember this point, it becomes important later. Image
Read 20 tweets
25 Jul
Since the conspiracy loons and anti-vaxxers keep on talking about both the Doctor's Trial and the Nuremberg Code, let's identify what the code was, and what the doctors who were tried did to provoke it's creation.
Between 1946 and 1947, 23 personnel, mostly doctors, were put on trial in Nuremberg for crimes against humanity, by Allied occupation forces. Seven were acquitted, seven were given a death sentence, everybody else went to prison.
Let's look at what those condemned to death did to receive their sentence.

They were Victor Brack, Karl Brandt, Rudolf Brandt, Karl Gebhardt, Waldemar Hoven, Joseph Mrugowsky and Wolfram Sievers.
Read 32 tweets
1 Jul
Some highlights of a quick stay in Thessaloniki. This is the Triumphal Arch of Galerius, an Eastern Roman Emperor, who in a surprise twist, despised Romans.

Fun Fact about Galerius: He died of a hideous illness in which pustulating boils erupted over his body.
The Rotunda was the palace of Galerius, and Greeks steadfastly claim it was then the first consecrated Christian church. It played this role for hundreds of years, until becoming a mosque after the fall of the city to the Ottomans. Now a UNESCO World Heritage site.
The church of St Demetrios is very, very old, and built over the supposed site of the martyrdom of a Christian Roman soldier.

To this day, Thessalonians leave small pewter plates to pray for his intercession.

Demetrios is also the patron saint of the city.
Read 7 tweets

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