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| - The unmasking of a number of Soviet spies in 1950s America led to an outbreak of panic often referred to as “Reds under the Bed” which, in turn, led to millions of Americans sawing the legs off their beds or simply sleeping on the floor. A more disturbing upshot were the witch-hunts of the Senator Joseph McCarthy's House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC), which black-listed hundreds of innocents tainted by association with trades unions, socialist organisations or the moderate wing of the Klan. So virulent did this inquisition become that it was unnecessary to be found guilty of an offense, and merely exercising their Fifth Amendment right to silence was enough to condemn many. Thousands became instantly unemployable, many more were driven to insanity and subsequently committed suici
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| abstract
| - The unmasking of a number of Soviet spies in 1950s America led to an outbreak of panic often referred to as “Reds under the Bed” which, in turn, led to millions of Americans sawing the legs off their beds or simply sleeping on the floor. A more disturbing upshot were the witch-hunts of the Senator Joseph McCarthy's House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC), which black-listed hundreds of innocents tainted by association with trades unions, socialist organisations or the moderate wing of the Klan. So virulent did this inquisition become that it was unnecessary to be found guilty of an offense, and merely exercising their Fifth Amendment right to silence was enough to condemn many. Thousands became instantly unemployable, many more were driven to insanity and subsequently committed suicide or fled to Canada. In Europe reaction to supposed Soviet influence was less severe. In the east of the continent membership of the Communist party ensured a well-paid job and access to all the borscht one could eat. In the West, democratic governments were confident that redistribution of wealth according to need would not appeal to populations by tradition violently suspicious of outsiders, people who lived on the opposite side of the valley and the left-handed. In Britain the reaction was mixed. There was no panic about reds under the bed since few working class British homes had inside-plumbing, and the steaming chamber-pots beneath their beds were thought enough to discourage even the most die-hard Soviet spies. At the same time, for upper class Englishmen spying for the Russians after graduating from Cambridge was a respected and well-paid career. Nevertheless, the House of Commons did institute the Lord Privy Seal’s Standing-Committee of the Star Chamber for the Prevention of the Spread of Repulsive Un-British Activities and Beastly Foreign Filth. LPSSCSCPSRUBABFF (known to the general public as BFF) investigated Britons believed to be under the sway of malevolent alien powers, often coming under its scrutiny for sporting an inappropriately continental moustache, whistling in church or wearing sandals in public without socks. The chief prosecutor of BFF's hearings was noted anthropologist and MP for East Fife, The Right Honourable Josiah MacFarquharson. MacFarquharson was known for his bullish attitude and determination to leave no stone unturned in his search for Soviet Agents. Despite earning fame for his incisive questioning, the celebrated film “Good Night and Toodle-Pip” exposed MacFarquharson as dangerously obsessive and the tide of public opinion began to turn against him. By the end of the 1950s BFF was slowly abandoned and MacFarquharson hanged himself in 1975 when it became widely accepted that mankind had evolved in Africa rather than Surrey as he had always supposed.
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