MORAL PANIC
Excerpt from "Lessons from Littleton: What Congress Doesn't Want
You to Hear About Youth and Media"
By Henry Jenkins, Harper's, August 1999
| "In Risk and Blame, anthropologist Mary Douglas describes
the cultural basis for witch hunts in traditional societies. 'Whether
the witch is able to do harm or not, the attribution of a hidden power
to hurt is a weapon of attack against them... A successful accusation
is one that has enough credibility for a public outcry to remove the
opportunity of repeating the damage.' A moral panic starts with an
unspeakable tragedy which sparks an attempt to ascribe blame and responsibility.
Initially, accusations flow freely but focus on those targets who
are already the subject of anxiety. Douglas notes, 'Though anyone
can accuse, not all accusations will be accepted. To be successful
an accusation must be directed against victims hated by the populace.
The cause of harm must be vague, unspecific, difficult to prove or
disprove.' Once one accusation sticks, it becomes easier to pile on
charges. Our rush to judgment overwhelms our ability to rationally
assess the evidence. Our need to take action supersedes our ability
to anticipate consequences. Moral panic shuts down self-examination
at the very moment when real problems demand careful consideration."
Questions to Consider
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