This piece is a good one to read on the site, instead of via email; I had to make a few wee tweaks after posting, but it should be all nice and tidy now.
…Not like our history of Satanic panic!
Whether looking a few decades behind us, or half a millennium out, human beings never cease to throw themselves into cruel, paranoid frenzies. What lessons can we learn from how little we’ve grown?
(I also recommend the 1995 Frontline doc linked in the piece. What a trip!)
https://mlclark.substack.com/p/we-have-always-lived-with-fearmongers
"But there was still time to fight back, Anderson said. He called on the God-fearing people of Metropolis to meet the enemy where Satan was planning his assault: at their town’s library."
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/metropolis-illinois-library-books-battle-superman-rcna148352
@MLClark imagine if they had backwards masking in the 17th century.
You would be a menace of a time traveller, Graci! 😅
@MLClark I can neither confirm nor deny.
No need! I shall look for signs of your chaos-agent energy in ancient manuscripts. ;)
@MLClark I'm most often represented as very strange cats.
😬 Oh shoot, then you were EVERYWHERE.
@MLClark But only, um... marginally.
I'm sorry!
@MLClark
That was great, thank you. I've been studying neurological evolution of anthropology for awhile and you're right- we haven't changed much. Cultures, traditions and technology come and go but we're still working with the same old nervous system that's always prioritized survival. Our greatest trick was developing the ability to hypothesize danger.
(🤔 Alternate tagline:
SATANIC PANIC THROUGH THE AGES
Come for the history; stay for the penis trees!)