Moral Panics Quotes

“National hatred is something peculiar. You will always find it strongest and most violent where there is the lowest degree of culture.”
― Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

“The substance of the attacks on the reality of organized abuse and torture of children always reduce to that old chestnut—it is unscientific. “Give us proof,” say the naysayers. “How is this different from reports of alien abduction?” say the clever-clever wags of Private Eye. Indeed. How is it different? In the case of alien abduction, we are asked to believe that visitors to this planet from outer space have kidnapped someone, taken them away, and brought them back. It is not believable.

In the case of ritual abuse, we are asked to believe that people can organize themselves into groups for the purpose of torturing children. There would seem to be a significant difference here in what we are asked to believe.”
― Valerie Sinason, Ritual Abuse and Mind Control: The Manipulation of Attachment Needs

“Callin something a 'moral panic' does not imply that this something does not exist or happened at all and that reaction is based on fantasy, hysteria, delusion and illusion or being duped by the powerful.”
― Stanley Cohen, Folk Devils and Moral Panics

“The second job of copaganda is to manufacture crises and panics about this narrow category of threats.”
― Alec Karakatsanis, Copaganda: How Police and the Media Manipulate Our News

“Because of the fearmongering about poor people and unhoused people through around-the-clock coverage of anecdotal stranger crimes, the news has conditioned people to misunderstand the nature of risk and vulnerability.”
― Alec Karakatsanis, Copaganda: How Police and the Media Manipulate Our News

“...while social analysis must always be part of curriculum development and teaching, education policy and practice needs to be protected against the dangers of fads, obsessions and moral panics.”
― Rob Gilbert and Pam Gilbert