Sue Hutton (Wallis)

My daughter came home from school and said, “Mum, you’re not going to believe what happened in history class today.” Her teacher told the class they were going to play a game. He walked around the room and whispered to each kid whether they were a witch or just a regular person. Then he gave the instructions: “Form the biggest group you can without a witch. If your group has even one, you all fail.” She said the whole room instantly lit up with suspicion. Everyone started interrogating each other. Are you a witch? How do we know you’re not lying? Some kids clung to one big group, but most broke off into smaller, exclusive cliques. They turned away anyone who seemed uncertain, nervous, or gave off even the slightest hint of being guilty. The energy shifted fast. Suddenly everyone was suspicious of everyone. Whispers. Finger-pointing. Side-eyes. Trust dissolved in minutes. Finally, when all the groups were formed, the teacher said, “Alright, time to find out who fails. Witches, raise your hands.” And not one hand went up. The whole class exploded. “Wait! You messed up the game!” And then the teacher dropped the bomb: “Did I? Were there any actual witches in Salem, or did everyone just believe what they were told?” My daughter said the room went dead silent. That’s when it hit them. No witch was ever needed for the damage to happen. Fear had already done its work. Suspicion alone divided the entire class, turning community into chaos. And isn’t that exactly what we’re seeing today? Different words, same playbook. Instead of “witch,” it’s liberal, conservative, vaxxed, unvaxxed, pro-this, anti-that. The labels shift, but the tactic is the same. Get people scared. Get them suspicious. Get them divided. Then sit back while trust crumbles. The danger was never the witch. The danger is the rumour. The suspicion. The fear. The planted lies. Refuse the whisper. Don’t play the game. Because the second we start hunting “witches,” we’ve already lost. [Naomi Dennis]