In 16th century Scotland, it was easy to deal with problematic women.
Nearly 2,500 people were tried and mostly executed for “witchcraft.” Their crime? Largely, they were mouthy, opinionated, a bit odd, or disliked.
If “witch!” didn’t stick, “heretic!” would do the trick, under Scotland’s then pervasive anti-blasphemy laws.
“Othering” those of minority beliefs made them easy to hang.
With the spread of liberal democracy, Scotland’s witch trials went defunct. We thought we had learned tolerance. But on April 1 of this year, a new “blasphemy” law will come into effect – set to punish modern “heretics” who blaspheme against today’s dominant societal beliefs.
The “Hate Speech and Public Order Act” introduces a new offense of “stirring up hatred” on the basis of, inter alia, transgender identity.
Nobody likes to feel hated. But the government has failed…
