The Truth Will Out!

I've carefully avoided plunging in on all of the ''burning issues'' of this year and tried to keep off social media but as a genuinely mouthy person sometimes it is hard. I seriously believe in the freedom of speech, freedom to express yourself artistically and not having to agree; it is a fundamental right to think your thoughts. All of this permanently''offended'' by songs, statues, body-shaming etc, is actually blowing my mind, Orwellian scenes of thought control, if you disagree then you are a whatever -phobe ...... and I still fail to see what getting your kit off, wedging your skimpy knickers up your bum crack and pouting like a trouty Lolita into the lens  of your mobile has to do with female empowerment and feminism. Regardless of whether you are tall, small, thin, obese ....... if you post, expect criticism. If you can’t deal with it, don’t post.

 The Cancel Culture ...... don't agree, you're out! 

Cancelling art, books, culture, history ..... does this sound familiar to you? Living in Germany you are all too aware of where that can lead. History isn’t pretty or inoffensive and if we delete it we cannot learn from the mistakes that have been made. 

This is a sketch from Bamberg a city that I love and a city that successfully erased their ''witch burning past'' for at least 300 years. Bamberg and Würzburg burned about 3000 witches, a similar amount to Scotland. Until the start of 2000 nobody in Bamberg knew anything about this dark chapter in Bamberg’s history. As a beautiful city, popular with tourists it was a shock to all as a man bought screws at the market, to find they were wrapped in court documents from the 1600's, the transcripts of witch trials. You can erase, delete, hush up, hide, but the truth will out. Since then Bamberg has been trying (more or less) to find a way to deal with its dark secret. This is the (expensive) but innocuous tribute to over 1000 victims.

Usually hidden away in Geyersworth, it is now at the scene of the executions but only temporarily; at night it lights up but during the day it is walked upon and collects dirt from the trees and their is no plaque to explain why it is there. For my part a half-hearted attempt to compensate for mistakes made.

Very much against popular belief, the people who burned here were not only elderly widows with cats; Bamberg burned 5 mayors, apothecaries, rich burgers, one tenth of the population. Interestingly, in the court documents the presence of a testament is always mentioned; changing your testament in favour of the church meant you could be beheaded before being burned. 

Bamberg has a stunning amount of Baroque architecture ......... hmmmm, where did the money and ground come from to build those Prince/Bishop residences? 

Feeling offended? I am, come on let’s rip the buildings down and let Bamberg's  secrets once more slip into darkness. Those are the lessons that we learn from Cancel Culture!