Dave The Happy Singer

Jack of Kent

The marvellous skepti-legal blogger David Allen Green, writing at Jack of Kent, has coined a new adage in the vein of Godwin’s Law, Poe’s Law and Skopie’s Law. Here’s how David sets out Jack of Kent’s Law:

Such are the responses of the challenged bully, just as “lessons learned” and “draw a line” are the invariable excuses of the exposed incompetent.

Being unwillingly held to public account within a lawful process is not a witch-hunt.

One hesitates to posit a general law as to this kind of reaction.

However, as the original “Jack of Kent” was a medieval wizard, and so presumably had a view on witch-hunts, I would like to to offer the following adaptation of Godwin’s Law:

The longer any person or entity is placed under any deliberate and sustained scrutiny, the probability of someone complaining of it being a “witch-hunt” approaches 1.

I wonder how well this “law” works in practice…

Jack of Kent had, among others, poor stressed-out News International brass in mind. The law certainly seems to hold true for them. But for me, the appeal of the law was in the number of other examples that sprang into my own head.

Witch-hunt of British chiropractors

Take for example, the useless spine wizards at the British Chiropractic Association, who didn’t take it well when Simon Singh called them out for happily promoting bogus treatments. They were even more aghast when Muggles actually had the nerve to look at their websites:

If you are reading this, we assume you have also read the urgent email we sent you last Friday. If you did not read it, READ IT VERY CAREFULLY NOW and – this is most important – ACT ON IT. This is not scaremongering. We judge this to be a real threat to you and your practice.

Because of what we consider to be a witch hunt against chiropractors, we are now issuing the following advice:

The target of the campaigners is now any claims for treatment that cannot be substantiated with chiropractic research.

You may write your own jokes about the term ‘chiropractic research’. If you have time to comment, I’d like to know what you think such a discipline might involve.

Meryl Dorey witch-hunt

Tenuously relevant Bellatrix Lestrange pic

But of course, the British chiropractors have nothing on Australia’s leading brain-owner Meryl Dorey, of the Australian Vaccination Network. The Wicked Witch of the Northern Rivers has a persecution complex that borders on the theological. Indeed, she once even compared her suffering at the hands of the tyrannous Stop The AVN to that of Jesus of Nazareth. So has she been witch-hunted? You can bet the farm on it:

Letter to the Editor – Witch-hunt of vaccine safety watchdog
The Australian Vaccination Network has been vilified in the media in recent weeks. While it is the media’s job to expose wrongdoing when it has been found, it is not their job to act as judge, jury and executioner.

Newspapers and radio stations have been reporting ridiculous lies stating that the AVN believes in reptilian aliens and mind-control chips. They got this misinformation from Mr Ken McLeod, an active member of a group that has set out to either shut our small, volunteer-run organisation down or shut us up in any way they can. That is their agenda. What is the media’s excuse?

[...]

The AVN are vaccine whistleblowers and, like all organisations that are perceived to threaten an entrenched status quo, we are now being victimised by a group that openly states their object is to stop us in any way they can. Their tactics include death threats, threats of violence, calling our supporters to threaten them, filing complaints with every government body they can think of and generally inciting fear, hatred and violence towards us in the community – all with the support and cooperation of the government and the media.
(Source)

Or take this media release from 2002, which sees Meryl taking crayon to butcher’s paper in indignation at the suggestion that doctors should practice medicine:

Prof. John Dwyer, in an attempt to create a smoke-screen covering up Australia’s shocking record of medical safety, has called for the deregistration of doctors who use complimentary medical procedures.

[...]

“In a press release which was accidentally leaked from the office of the NSW Minister for Health, dated October 31, 2002, it is stated that the aim of this committee is to tighten up legislation, enabling practitioners who are involved in dodgy medical practices (dodgy according to whom?) to be struck off. This is a witch-hunt, plain and simple. A way for the powers that control medicine to ensure that all doctors think, act and prescribe alike with no dissent in the ranks allowed. The NSW Government has instituted a bureau of medical ‘Thought Police’ and John Dwyer is the Head Inquisitor.” Ms Dorey continued.
(Source)

Do read the rest. It’s a cracker.

Australian Vaccination Network Inc v Health Care Complaints Commission

There are surely countless more. Andrew Wakefield and 2011 champion recipient of fraud allegations psychic Sally Morgan spring to mind.

Can you think of any other examples of witch-hunts?