A Guide To Witch Hunts And How They Operate

Post Reply New Topic

Disclaimer: I am not an attorney. This is not designed nor intended to offer any legal advice. I am not responsible for any acts resulting from the content of this material. Please see a trained, competent lawyer for any legal advice you may need.

With that said…

This is a rough guide designed to help the reader understand how a witch hunt goes down and how perpetrators pull one off. This is by no means comprehensive and I welcome any additional remarks pertaining to these types of situations and how to handle them best. For the purposes of this writing, “witch hunt” refers to the process whereby an aggressor makes an accusation against a victim that they themselves know to be untrue. This is done with the intent of adversely affecting the victim either by limiting their employment/career opportunities, reducing their social network, inhibiting their finances or even restricting their freedom of life and liberty. Ultimately, the best weapon against witch hunts is a legal system that relies heavily on objectivity and a reasonable doubt standard of proof. Unfortunately, many aggressors use civil and social systems to inflict their damage, the later of which is often very much subjective.

There are many people who engage in wrongdoing and they should all be held accountable. However, this accountability should occur via an system that is as objective and impartial as possible. Granted, there will be some subjectivity in any system with a human component. This however doesn’t mean that we should neglect to strive for greater objectivity when evaluating a wrongdoing.

I believe that this matter is of particular importance to those on the spectrum. As an individual with Asperger Syndrome, I have found that socialization can be fairly difficult and is further complicated by the fact that some (not many but some) individuals tend to enjoy making life difficult for those they consider to be “weak.” Unfortunately those of us on the spectrum are typically more vulnerable to these kinds of attacks, as we typically have smaller and sometimes weaker social networks. This affords us less shielding against such attacks, which is why I have decided to post this.

Here are some remarks on how witch hunts tend to operate:

1) Rather than completely make something up, the aggressor will attempt to take a piece of information and spin it out of context. This makes their manipulation far more effective. For example, let’s suppose that the victim is a student at a large university that came from a small town where he hunted with his family so he knows a thing or two about guns. The aggressor would say that the victim was obsessed with guns and planned to engage in a mass shooting

2) It is generally easier to target a victim who is socially isolated or unpopular. However, just because you have a circle of friends and/or are popular, this does not make you immune. Manipulators, particularly those of the psychopathic sort tend to break up social groups by alienated the members of that group from one another. This is usually done through hearsay, where a statement is deliberately taken out of context

3) It is a LOT easier to target a victim when the aggressor is utilizing a civil, regulatory or employment system to do so. In the civil realm (e.g. divorce court) a “Preponderance of Evidence” standard of proof is used, or if you’re lucky a “Clear and Convincing Evidence” standard. When they use the criminal justice system it becomes noticeably harder due to the “Reasonable Doubt” standard. This does not mean however that aggressors will not try and target victims in this capacity. In fact, about 95% of criminal cases are plea-bargained suggesting that even with this high standard of proof, defendants are still persuaded to waive their right to a trial in exchange for leniency. Also in the world of work, many employers are permitted to hire and fire as they please, so long as they are not found to have done so in a discriminatory manner (this can vary from state to state). This means that an unsubstantiated claim of harassment can be a death sentence and the burden of proof lies on the accused…that is, if they are even afforded a chance to prove their innocence at all

4) Never underestimate impact of race. Racism exists and it is by no means a one-way street. However, from my observations it is rarely the only factor that leads to a witch hunt, as people are starting to become more aware and averse to racial discrimination than they were fifty years ago. While we may no longer see cases as horrifying as the Scottsboro case, we shouldn’t be completely blind to the effects of race. If there are several things weighing against a victim, their race may be that extra straw that pushes the group/court/etc to side with the aggressor. It can also make profiling more likely

5) Never underestimate the impact of misandry. Males in particular have to be concerned about being given the brand of “creepy,” particularly in the workplace. Often times, this brand is given because the individual may be socially awkward and not have done anything malicious or intentional. At best this label can inhibit advancement opportunities and at worse it can lead to termination of employment

6) Just because they are in the wrong doesn’t mean that you can take action. Legal fees are expensive and legal action is time consuming. Many times victims rarely seek recourse not because they are too timid to do so, but rather because they are simply too poor and the likelihood of winning a case might appear slim enough not to risk the legal costs. This should not discourage the reader if they feel they have a wrongful termination case or any other legal case. However, this is more of an explanation as to why few people take action when they have been wronged in this sort of capacity. Also with rape shield laws, school and company policies that target those that “retaliate” this makes it nearly impossible for the slanderer to receive their just deserts

Strategies

1) NEVER admit to something you didn’t do. No matter what they promise you, do not make any admissions to any sort of wrongdoing that you have not engaged in

2) If interrogated don’t say to much. Also, don’t volunteer any information. As the Miranda Warning goes, “anything you say can and will be used against you.” This statement is true not only of criminal proceedings but civil ones as well

3) Understand your location on the “food chain.” To what degree are you expendable? To what extent would someone be willing to investigate a claim or just eliminate you from the picture entirely. This item pertains more to social groups, as they tend to jump to conclusions fairly quickly

4) Don’t accuse people of singling you out. Aggressors want their victims to do this so that they can add “paranoia” to the list of things that are being held against you

5) Don’t confront the person that made the accusation directly. This will enable them to accuse you of trying to intimidate them, which will give them something else to hold against you. Also, don’t inquire to the authorities/your supervisor/etc who brought forward the accusation—this will make it appear as though you are guilty and intend to take adverse action against the person who accused you

6) The best thing to say is that something was taken out of context. This way, you are not asserting that anyone is out to get to and are only affirming legitimate conduct

7) Do not agree to take a polygraph. Most workplace employees are protected by the federal Polygraph Protection Act, which prevents an employer from terminating an employee if they do not consent to taking a polygraph exam. There are a few exceptions though, such as government employees. Also, refusing to take a polygraph does not constitute an admission of guilt regardless of whether it is a criminal or civil proceeding that you have been subjected to. Polygraphs rely on stress recognition and even an innocent person is going to be under a substantial amount of stress when they are being interviewed. Also, the validity of the polygraph is questionable at best and the interpretation of results can be very subjective

Are you an X file too?

??? I posted this to explain what I was thinking about and perhaps get some feedback in the process. I think that unsubstantiated accusations are something that a lot of us experience in life and it would be useful to pool our knowledge on the matter

Agreed, many aspies have been wrongfully accused. One just recently in NZ was pursued by police for rape when petrol station video evidence placed him across town and he was pardoned after 2 years served with $300,000 shut up money.

The list is quite long I believe.

The Auckland Police seem more cognizant of mental health issues, and impute ASD's into profiling much more than they used too.

I think it comes down to locations and institutionalised racisms and religions. Outside things like if a cop gets killed in a small town, it can change a place...

Aspies put themselves at risk in many areas, and are sometimes well advised to avoid human contact and get a cat instead.
Not always aware of their surroundings and too open, danger can come from any direction, and usually the police are where aspies turn for protection. An aspie putting himself in harms way and taking up police time is possibly fairly common too....

I think most good cops have had a beer and talked about dealing with autistics and other mental health affected members of the public.

Our justice system in New Zealand has become quite aware of autistic miscarriage of justice[2 recent aspie miscarriage cases in the news], and sentencing an innocent aspie is occurring far less than ever before.....

NZ aspie's have the media to thank for airing those witch hunts by Christchurch Police unfairly against aspies.

The adversarial legal system is anathema to autistics, more suitable for NT

I think....

A friend was asking me just the other day if there was a Group that represents people with disabilities in cases like these, with major or minor problems?
I told her I had no idea, but maybe somebody else will know?

Having been accused of a crime I did not commit and nearly getting arrested for it, I can say that you most definitely should avoid speaking to the police if at all possible. This is not to say that if someone harms you or your property that you should not report it, but rather that you should avoid unnecessary contact with police in matters that do not directly involve you. In my case, I reported a fire I saw and had fire investigators harassing me at work and accusing me of arson. It stressed me out so bad that I left that job and got one in another county, 20 miles away. They never came to my house, only to my work. I presume this was to try to use social pressure to force me to say something wrong. After the second time, I refused to speak with them further without the presence of an attorney. However, they still kept coming, even after I had left. They pressed my former fellow employees for information on me for a year. I even had my trash cans stolen, only to return 2 days later with my trash in bags of a different color from those I had. So, think twice about filing a report in a matter that does not concern you.

(Thread moved from Autism discussion to Autism activism)

Some good tips. I'd like to add that "witch hunters" tend to target people they see as "comprimised". Unfortunately for aspies our "odd" behavior can single us out as targets but, there is also a few other things to avoid to minimize risk of being targeted. High risk activities such as drug use, alcohol abuse or, high risk sex activities can be leveraged to make a "witch" look "guitly". It's easier to convince people that someone who is know or suspected to engage in these activities is a "witch". Feelings of guilt and low self esteem can be leveraged into making "witches" confess to things they didn't even do.

Just wanted to add something else. Guilt by association is a real thing. Consider the people you hang out with and what they do or are preceived as doing. I've found out the hard way that when NTs feel threatened by a "witch hunt" they often offer up the Aspie as a target in order to deflect attention from thier misdeeds be they real or imagined. Often they can get off scott free if they offer up an Aspie "lamb" to the "witch hunters". Think of the subplot of the movie "Scent of a Woman".

Thank you for the replies! I'm going to add to my list that if questioned by law enforcement regarding an incident, assert your fifth amendment rights and inquire if you've been charged with a crime or not (In the US). As outofplace mentioned, sometimes even reporting a crime can result in one being singled out as a suspect. Therefore, when one reports a crime to the police, they should always bear in mind that they themselves may be singled out as a suspect.

Also getting at what surfman said, photographic evidence can become a lifesaver. Still, it's unfortunate that we live in a world where at times one must "prove their innocence"

Rakshasa72 also brought up a point that I didn't touch on--that those that appear socially awkward are not only more vulnerable, but also have a greater likelihood of being targeted in the first place. I've been fairly lucky in this regard, although I think that my impersonation of a NT helped me avoid quite a bit of hassling over the years.

Wisest words ever spoken about Asperger's. I was just talking about this on another thread today. We are "the emperor is nude" people and as such a huge threat. We're prone to being framed, libeled, scapegoated, badmouthed, plotted against, witch-hunted. And if we complain, we're accused of being paranoid (even by our own psychotherapists, who ignore this reality about AS people).

Pooling our experience and subsequent insight would be the best we can do.

more than frame ups aspies need to be more cautious about what they say and who they are around

lack of instinctual insight into another, makes them prime targets and they often dont even know!

These crimes against aspergians is far more common, use police time, the police may have to work up a sweat[requiring an extra doughnut] all because of a day dreamy aspie wandering into gangland like a lost child following a butterfly

Exactly! This is why I have never directly accused the source of the accusation in front of those involved in a hunt. I tend to play it cool (or as cool as I can). What makes matters more difficult are those that perceive themselves to be human polygraphs, believing that they can tell when anyone is lying--the reality tends to be that these sort of people only see what they want to see and believe what they want to believe.

I think a common cause of witch hunts is that a group of people are threatened by an individual who has done nothing wrong to harm them, but is perceived as having the capabilities to do so. As odd as this may sound, I think those on the spectrum may appear to a great deal of NTs as a substantial threat.

Also, I have found that the "pack mentality" of a group tends to make things go from bad to worse.

We dont like your type around here

Yep. I've faced every one of those things (especially in my teens) and yes, I was called paranoid many times because 'experts' refused to believe that EVERYONE in my class (including honour roll students) could possibly be that cruel. It doesn't help that people constantly accused me of lying and belive anything the 'bad guys' say without question. For example, I was framed at work for giving a $2000 item away for $200 and my boss refused to even let me explain myself (I would NEVER do it!! !) and just said over and over not to do it again. I later realized I was targeted for elimination (and not the first one) because I was too intelligent and outspoken for a retail job.

I've also had people tell me privately that someone I;ve never met complained and said I should be removed from my job because I look and act like a pedophile Granted, that's only happened once but it's incredible how people can make those types of accusations without even spending 10 seconds talking to me. For ^%#% sake, just because I work alone and have a odd posture doesn't make me a criminal or a creep. If I ever found out who that was I would sue for defamation because I am a passion defender of children's rights and a strong opponent of physically hitting a child for any reason and I made the mistakes of letting these types of comments slide in the past without challenging them.

Luckily I work with a great group of people who understand how honest, reliable and caring I am but in the past I have definitely been the black sheep in the past and was the target of all the scapegoating.

Another "rule" in this sick game that I forgot to mention is one that I term "First Strike". If party A is the first to make an accusation against party B, any and all subsequent accusations from party B against party A are viewed by all other parties as either "retaliation" or an attempt to sidetrack the group from focusing on party A's accusation.