Children Are Abused in Satanic Ritual
Why People Believe That Children Are Abused in Satanic Rituals
Kai Erikson’s book “Wayward Puritans: A Study in the Sociology of Deviance” examines numerous ideas regarding deviant behavior in society using the Puritan colony in 17th-century Massachusetts as a backdrop. In this post, I’ll pretend to be Kai Erikson and try to explain why so many people believe that children were molested in satanic rituals to help Margaret Kelly Michael defend herself. This is to show that she was not capable of sexually abusing nearly half of her students. Wayward Puritans’ core claim is that aberrant behavior is frequently a desirable resource in society, providing a point of difference that is important for maintaining a cohesive social order.
In my opening statement, I would explain unequivocally that there was no evidence of Satanic sexual abuse. “In the absence of substantial proof, the prosecutors wanted to elicit indignation and, of course, persuade the jury to simply believe the youngsters” (Robinowitz, 1990). When requested to pick out sections of Margaret Kelly’s body that she had touched, the youngsters began by pointing to her arms and legs. They were to keep going until they pointed to a private portion, the prosecutor said. In the lack of conventional evidence, the proof consisted of words collected by compulsion and suggestion and the most ambiguous acts from both children and adults. Interview procedures that cognitive psychologists have since condemned as dangerously coercive and suggestive were used to get verbal ‘disclosures’ about incidents that never happened from children. This, in my opinion, was the same reason why many believed in demonic rituals in child abuse.
In Margaret Kelly’s defense, I would argue that conspiracy theories about ritual sex abuse were the stuff of moral panic. At best, deciding what types of evidence were acceptable in witchcraft cases was a difficult task” (Erikson, 1966). This is how ritual abuse spread: through a passionate, nationwide crusade led by social workers, therapists, physicians, victimology researchers, police, criminal prosecutors, and fundamentalists, who used morals, customs, and traditions to define deviance, which is often tied to religious doctrine. Finally, I’d want to bring out that, in contrast to the prevalent perception of Margaret Kelly Micheal as a lone female pedophile, ritual abuse is characterized by multiple perpetrators and a large number of victims.
Deviant behavior is undoubtedly a useful resource in society, providing a point of contrast that is important for maintaining a stable social order. Sexual abuse is frequently perpetrated on preschool and young children. As evidenced by this, Margaret would not have been able to sexually abuse all of those children without being discovered. The general public believes that children are harmed in strange Satanic rituals. In reality, these are just old stories that aren’t founded on any proof. Prosecutors force children to relate these stories to create solid cases against offenders. There was no indication in Margaret Kelly’s case that she may have used Satanic rituals to defile all those children.
Works Cited
Erikson, Kai. Wayward Puritans: A Study in the Sociology of Deviance. MACMILLAN PUBLISHING COMPANY, New York, 1966.
Rabinowitz, Dorothy. “From the mouths of babes to a jail cell: Child abuse and the abuse of justice.” Harper’s Magazine, May 1990.