[a fool in paradise]

The witches in The Crucible WERE witches. Some of them made false accusations of others while under oath.

Odd that The Crucible is used to smear the investigations of Communist activity in the United States. There WERE Communists in this country and quite a few were allied with the Soviet Union (knowingly or unknowingly) to subvert the United States government and the Constitution.

I don’t know this woman or her ancestor. Were there any witches in the colonies or were they all trumped up?

Miller’s message is that there is no crime in being a witch or a Communist.

[ETL]

The witches in The Crucible WERE witches..... Miller’s message is that there is no crime in being a witch or a Communist.

I don't know if there ever were real witches, but there most definitely were and are still communists in our country. The 0-administration and demonRat party in general is crawling with them.

[Sherman Logan]

Were there any witches in the colonies or were they all trumped up?

Depends on your definition.

Is someone performing what they believe to be magical rituals a witch? Then almost certainly at least some of those accused were guilty.

Is a witch someone who actually meets the Devil in person, has sexual intercourse with him, and in return receives actual magical powers? Then almost certainly there have never been any "real witches" anywhere.

I've always thought the witch hunters faced an unfortunate logical dilemma. If the witches really did have magical powers, why didn't they use them to escape?Is someone performing what they believe to be magical rituals a witch? Then almost certainly at least some of those accused were guilty.

[Sherman Logan]

Some of them made false accusations of others while under oath.

True. However, they were trying to escape death themselves.

The prosecutors would allow a confession with evidence of repentance as reason for allowing the person to be released. Refusal to confess was taken as evidence of guilt.

Evidence of repentance essentially required accusation of others.

Making such accusations was a wicked thing to do, but a very human failing when in fear of death. The primarily responsible parties are those who put the "witches" in this position.

We should also remember the heroic Giles Corey, who not only refused to accuse others, but refused to plead guilty or not guilty. He was therefore "pressed" to death, crushed under a pile of stones. This meant his family inherited his property, which would have been confiscated if he was convicted.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giles_Corey

In a truly classic example of "F U," his last words were "more rocks."