Why moral panics harm everyone and how humanism breaks the cycle
A reflection that argues moral panics scapegoat marginalized groups as “folk devils,” mirror our own fears and harm us all. The author instead offers dignity-centered humanism as the antidote.
By Janet Marugg | FāVS News Columnist
The views expressed in this opinion column are those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect the views of FāVS News.
The world is endlessly interesting for students of moral panics. The media boosts bleeders, preachers empower devils and demons and algorithms build themselves best on doom and gloom. The latest, greatest freakout is always happening right now. And I hate admitting that I’ve fallen for a “them” so often we should be on friendlier terms. Them and I.
Moral panics slide into our lives in surprising ways. They are practically required in fairy tales.
History is rich with periods of moral panics. Moral entrepreneurs since forever have kept up their provocateur manuals in most religious doctrine. And then there’s the internet — the preferred method of transmission for the mass psychosis of the moment.
Dehumanizing the ‘folk devils’
The anatomy of a moral panic is this: An accuser is afraid of something or someone and scapegoats them as a “folk devil” — usually someone (anyone) marginalized and powerless. The media engages for amplification. Public concern grows. Moral entrepreneurs and provocateurs get a politician involved so the “folk devils” are punished. If demoralization is an ugly business, dehumanizing is worse.
For all the “morality” panicked about, the results are immoral and unjust. The human story is sordid with witch hunts, jihads and genocides. It seems we cannot stop with these immoral moral panics. Look at today’s exaggerated “folk devils,” the trans people, immigrants, and the perennial “young people today”; tomorrow’s marginalized could be anyone. Maybe we all take a turn.
Stress hormones create chaos in our bodies and in society
But what if we don’t want to be inflicted with mass psychosis? Moral panics put a population through prolonged exposure to stress hormones like adrenaline and cortisol. The physical effects are real — the pot bellies, hunched and padded backs, “moon” faces, muscle weakness, mental fog, etc. Unnecessarily panicked people are broken and unfairly weighted with worry.
The personal and societal effects of moral panics challenge both our psychology and our physiology. With eyes forward on faces, we are not built for a lifetime of looking over our shoulders. We are built to move forward, to plan, to figure things out and to understand what we see in front of us. We are built to move past superstition and turn problems into solutions.
In his book “Danse Macabre,” Stephen King explores evil archetypes and suggests they are our own — that they represent something within ourselves. We are invited to look at our own vampirism, our emotional parasitism and unmet desires. The werewolf is us who wrestle the duality of self-control and primal instincts. Frankenstein is our complex trauma and underdeveloped humanity. And so it goes with folk devils.
‘Moral panic is a mirror’
With today’s moral panics, it is worth considering that people worried about transgender folks are really worried about their own body and how it measures up. Folks who cannot stop worrying about homosexuality? We see you. Fear of melanated people matches a personal fear of being marginalized. Fear of different cultures indicates personal insecurity; satanic panic is weak faith. A moral panic is a mirror. You might as well come clean.
Until we quit the moral panic habit, our folk devils reflect what is ours to tend and tame. Humanism is a solid antidote for folk-devil addiction. The Humanist Creed is an architecture that resists irrational panics by centering on the universal dignity, equality and civil liberties of all individuals. The dehumanized folk devils required for moral panic are absent in humanism.
The Humanist Ten Commitments (Critical Thinking, Altruism, Empathy, Environmentalism, Ethical Development, Global Awareness, Humility, Peace/Social Justice, Service/Participation and Responsibility) can keep a person too busy for moral panics.
I was tired of today’s moral panics before they began. I had already decided I want the best for trans people, immigrants and young people. I don’t care to covet uterine contents, engage in child trafficking or practice necrolatry while calling it something else. I don’t want to punish women. I want children to thrive. I am done with devils.
What is happening between my ears is a plan to use humanism to abandon primitive paranoia for a presence of pro-noia. To practice a comforting, optimistic belief that the universe, the world and other people are secretly conspiring to help me and to do me good.
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Your warning is particularly relevant now when we are being bombasted with negative campaign ads that purposely create moral panic…especially aimed at trans folk and immigrants.
Christians (and most everyone else) are blind to the fact that God, their creator, gave them free will. We all have the right to choose. To choose who to obey: ourselves or others. And that has given us the world we have: do it my way or else.
God states the outcome of choosing your own path verses His path but never says “I will choose for you”, unless you are a Calvinist.
And He has let humanity choose their own path which always results in you doing it my way, you do not have a choice, your moral panic.
God’s way, as I see it, is let everyone choose to follow their own path, but when that path is not going well, those that have chosen Him and His way, serve God by serving others, will stand out because of the love joy and peace they have; no moral panic. That should draw others to that way of living.
It did me.