S C I E N C E       W O R K       H I S T O R Y      D E M O C R A C Y

WRITINGS AND TEACHINGS

KENNETH WESTHUES
Professor Emeritus
University of Waterloo, Canada

Updated with quotes for May 2026:

Classic:
The lynching of the guilty is a subtler but no less deadly blow to civilization than the lynching of the innocent.
—Peter Viereck, Conservatism Revisited (The Free Press,1962).

Direct:
What defines virtual mobbing is not the target’s innocence or guilt of an offense, [but] the process of social contagion, via electronic media, by which a guilty verdict is quickly returned, punishment applied, and the target positioned outside collective good graces, one person after another feeling morally obliged to sign on publicly to the eliminative campaign.
— "Virtual Mobbing and Mellen Press," 2014.

Garden moment for May 2026:

A nicely designed succulent garden in the botanical garden of the Niagara Parks School of Horticulture. Not much colour yet as this month begins, spring is unfolding slowly this year, but the hardscaping is impressive.

Email comments and inquiries; allow a few days for response.

Thanks to the Arts Computing Office at the University of Waterloo for hostlng this website from its inception in 2002 until 2014, when it moved to the current, independent URL.