Mob mentality

The Stanley Cup is an ice hockey club trophy. On Wednesday, June 15, 2011, Boston Bruins won over Vancouver Canucks in game seven of the Stanley Cup Finals. This triggered riots in the downtown area of Vancouver, Canada by disappointed Canucks fans. These riots which is now referred to as the ‘Vancouver riots’ left a series of destruction and injuries in its wake. And this reaction of the disappointed fans which left the world stunned is being attributed to ‘Mob mentality’.

So, what is Mob mentality? It is the tendency of individuals to behave in accordance with the behavior of a group.

I do agree that being in a group influences our behavior and thinking and I do not mean that in a negative way. Different groups bring out different characteristics and traits of different individuals. How I myself behave with one group of individuals differs highly from how I behave with another group. So, a group of close friends will see a different side of my personality than a group of strangers or people whom I have just met. And human beings being essentially social animals have this inherent desire to ‘fit in’. Thus, most of us will flow with the thinking of the group. So yes, groups do tend to influence an individual’s behavior and thinking.

But the question in my mind is……To what extent can being in a group influence an individual’s behavior? The Vancouver riots and similar other riots in history show us the extreme influence of a group. So, does this mean that we all have in us a beast that is just waiting to be awakened? Are we capable of so being influenced by a set of individuals that we stop thinking rationally and have no problem in destroying property and causing bodily harm to other human beings?

I strongly believe that the answer to that is ….NO…..Most of us can still hold on to our rational thinking…..we cannot harm other human beings even if the opportunity presented itself and even if the anonymity of being in a group let us get away with it. That is my belief and I am sticking to it. And I hope I never personally have to witness a situation where I am proved wrong and find out that the answer to my question is in fact…YES.

Signing off pondering over the extent of a group’s influence over an individual and this poem ‘The Vendor’ which I wrote when I was 18 years old.

He clutched his bag in his hand,
And took out his wares one by one.
'Please buy my wares’, he pleaded,
'Only Rupees ten for one’.

No one wanted to buy his wares,
His cries seemed to be in vain.
His entreaties turned into tears,
He was obviously in pain.

Maybe a near one was in trouble,
Maybe a dear one was ill.
Maybe it was his growling stomach,
Which he was trying to fill.

Whatever the reason it was,
There he stood with tear filled eyes.
But the crowd seemed not to care,
Nobody seemed to hear his cries.

Nearby I stood watching the scene,
'Has compassion died?’ I frowned.
But my conscience chided me
I myself was part of the crowd.