To tourists, Salem is a spooky town with several fascinating Halloween-themed attractions. A tourist is most often excited to visit this town because of its almost unbelievable history of witch trials. For some, the witch trials sound so inconceivable, that many, well, can’t believe such atrocities occurred. It’s easy to overlook the countless deaths which took place during this time for this exact reason. One might see the town as an interesting place to visit for a change of pace and some unique entertainment.
Others, who are fully aware of the town’s violent past, might be fearful to go there. Some may not want to be in a place with such a gruesome past. In contrast, a historian’s primary thoughts about the town may include the fact that Salem was one of the most important seaports in early America. Such a person may be more concerned with the town’s historic waterfront than the Wiccan boutiques which serve as reminders of Salem’s past. And still yet there are those that understand the tragedies which occurred and still find the town a cool place to visit because of its year round Halloween theme.
How can views of the same place vary so much from person to person? Perhaps one’s age makes a difference. If one has more knowledge of the Salem witch trials, this person may be more inclined to view the town as unpleasant. One who is unaware of the town’s past may be drawn to the witch-themed attractions of the town.
This also begs the question, if everyone were to know the true happenings of Salem’s past, would people retain their current views of the town? How can those who understand its past still want to spend time in town? I believe these questions can only be answered by the individual. Some things are only explained based on someone’s personal experiences, so it is important to keep in mind that we cannot judge another unless we understand his or her experience.
Just one last question for the individual: Does a town deserve to be marked forever, even though those currently living in the town had nothing to do with its past?
Hey Zo!
ReplyDeleteI thought you made some very good points with this article. First, bringing up the fact that a person's background can greatly affect how they look at the same situation is a main concept to understand about us as humans. It is so often that we judge other people because of how they react in certain circumstances, but we need to realize our background is not necessarily the same as theirs, and they could probably judge us right back for what we are doing.
You also raised an important question at the end about if a town should be marked forever based on their past. I think another good example of this would be Germany. Many of the people who live their now were not even alive, or were too young to remember when the Halocaust happened, yet their country will carry that label around for what seems like forever. Frau Fraser also told us that in Germany it is seen as offensive to have a strong pride in your country, because many of them are still ashamed of the horrendous crimes that their predecessors committed. I do not believe that countries/towns/cities etc. should be held permanently responsible for the actions that occurred there, I believe that the only people to blame are the ones that actually committed those crimes.