Reasoning with a Mob.

By TLS

Mob = Mindless Outraged Beast

Unfortunately there are too many examples of this self-lobotomizing effect. Masses of people doing things and behaving in ways I’m sure most would never believe they would do at any other time. But there they are, screaming and hollering like a mindless beastial animal.

Tommy Lee Jones said it perfectly (well, almost) “…a person is smart (that’s debatable), people are dumb, paniky, dangerous animals…” There you go, that’s it. You get a few or more people together and they automatically self-lobotomize. Esspecially if they’re college students, politically inclined, or sports fanatics. Once they activate their Wonder Twin Powers, forget actually having a rational conversation again. All they are capable of at that point is screaming, yelling, and destruction.

Incapable of Reason

Once the group think starts, that’s it, game over. An ordinarily rational person then becomes completely unreachable by reason or conversation. The only time the brain begins to function again is two or three days later or after a dozen hours or so in handcuffs or behind bars. The rational thinking seems to really kick in when they are sitting behind a defendents table in a court room. Those ones can be very entertaining to watch come to the realization of how stupid they were.

I’ve done plenty of stupid stuff in my life but I can’t blame it on anyone else, it was all me. I just don’t get it, how these morons decend into mindlessness. What’s even worse is if the mob encounters any sort of resistance. That just fuels the mob mentality even more, it’s like pouring gasoline on a fire.

Depends on Anonymity

I believe this is a big component. People in a crowd think they’re anonymous and then, presumably, they are more inclined to behave accordimg to their nature, instead of culturally enforced norms. I believe if you could rip a protester out of a crowd and immediately transport them to a spot lighted position, they would instantly shit their pants at their behavior.

I fully understand being passionate about an issue or a stance or something. But to simply turn ones brain off and to voluntaily engage the rabbid animal behavior mode, is beyond me. There is a small, very small, percentage of people out there who simply want anarchy. These are usually the instigator’s and nothing will change their mind’s or behavior. How the vast majority of the people in these crowds don’t get this is another thing beyond me.

Mitigation

I doubt there is actually a solution to this issue. Crowds are always going to gather. Certain people are always going to try to whip up the crowd into a frenzy. And far too many people are going to be perfectly willing to self-lobotomize at a moments notice to become a tool for another. After all “…people are dumb, paniky, dangerous animals…” Try to remain a person and not “people.”

Clip art

<a href="https://www.freepik.com/free-vector/opposite-teams-activists-with-yes-no-banners_30534343.htm#fromView=search&page=1&position=24&uuid=d73add17-b4e1-419e-8266-988c3d4e932b">Image by upklyak on Freepik</a>