What is a witch hunt?

​Taking words exactly as they are

​The words on the page mean exactly what they say

​There is no hidden meaning, no symbolism

​Has a meaning beyond what you see printed

​Has subtext, or depth

​Includes symbolism

​The literal meaning of "witch" is, of course, someone who can do magic and has a cauldron and a wart and a broom.

​The literal meaning of "witch hunt" is, therefore, the process of rouning up those people and persecuting them.

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​The FIGURATIVE meaning of "witch hunt", however, is rounding up all of the people who do not fit in to society's accepted behavior and punishing them simply because they do not fit in.

​Refers to assigning the blame for a problem to a group or individual that is clearly not responsible just because it's easy.

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​Hitler used Jewish citizens in Germany as scapegoats for why the country suffered after the conclusion of WWI.

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​During WWII, Japanese-Americans were scapegoats for the anger over the bombing of Pearl Harbor.

​Is a Psychological term that describes the phenomenon that occurs when a large body of people care more about getting along with one another and being unanimous than making the right decision.

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​Basically, in cases of groupthink, the decisions made are awful and people refuse to speak out or speak up because they don't want to upset anyone.

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The clearest example of "groupthink" is the Challenger space shuttle explosion. NASA was well aware that there was faulty equipment in use, they pushed through to avoid negative press. Everyone died. ​

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