The ‘swimming’ of Mary Sutton (1615)
The swimming of witches was practiced officially up to the end of the 18th century in England. A suspect would be stripped naked and thrown into a deep stream or pond three times. If she sank and drowned she was innocent – if she ‘fleeted’ (floated) she was ‘guilty’.
The invention and persecution of witches is an essential component of class warfare.
Drowning Witches is a tribute to the citizen journalists who painstakingly make informed resistance possible in a plutocracy where we are suspected of being surplus – and presumed guilty.
The site masthead is from Dissidents, oil pastel on cartridge, 2013 by Waqas Ahmed.
Drowning Witches is grateful to the folk over at mcnultyMEDIA for their quite remarkable help and encouragement.
Reminds me of Foucault.. looking forward to future posts!
LikeLike
Hi,
Excuse me, but for some strange reason your post [Feb 2013] about my BBC Court case came up in my Google alerts. Having just read it, I should point out your conclusion at the foot of the piece is wholly incorrect. I was NOT fined AT ALL. My COURT COSTS were £200 NOT the fine. Also I was not convicted and to this day have no conviction for failure to have a TV Licence for what was then over 6 years. The judge also REFUSED to order me to buy a licence. PLEASE get your facts straight or it will discourage others to stand up for themselves.
Sincerely
Tony Rooke
LikeLike