One Thought For Life:part 60

Beware a noisy mob; it is rare that truth and beauty result from their riots.

I found the most violently hateful people were in the thick of mob actions, even back when it made sense to be disturbed about the draft and the war in VietNam. There were many angles for discontent. One undersung view was that the war was not being waged in any way directed at a conclusion such as "winning", and it cost a lot of lives just from that perspective. Never mind that the real objective was a little blurry, and that forcing people to go may be a little heavy handed.

But contrary to what we've since been told, a very large number of those who organized and waged demonstrations were not in any way full of peace and love. Just ask an innocent question. Try getting where you needed to go while they blocked your path shouting insults if your hair was too short or your attire did not fit the mold. I saw it.

That is how mobs work, and are worked. There can be legitimate stated objectives, which is great, but in any huge mob, there are those who want power and do not care who gets hurt. The noisier and more chaotic, the more you can bet less than pure ends will be served. The bulk of most big mobs could not even articulate their reasons for chanting in the streets. They do it because everyone else is and they have no faith in their own ability to think.

Dealing with a group is not like dealing one on one with an individual. A person in a group will do things he/she would not do normally. A group takes on a mind of its own, and can easily become a creature of no conscience. And there are usually those who want to scream in the megaphone and have the crowd repeat everything they say. That type of scene has always disgusted and saddened me almost as much as the drafting of young people to fight non-defensive wars.

People participate as much because of the feeling of power being with the crowd brings as because they are firmly against or for some policy, practice or condition. There are definitely times to rebel, but even then beware the angry mob.

The best rebellion is to make collecting the money to fund the evil doers very difficult. But that actually takes more guts than running with a pack breaking windows and setting fires.