the power of a crowd at a political rally
By Nnaemeka
@mydanods (6513)
Nigeria
October 2, 2012 8:09pm CST
I was at a political rally. Something town hall recently; for a traders' organization. It doesn't matter the size, rallies are rallies and politics are politics. The power of the crowd to influence, to stir the emotion, is captivating. Mixed with much emotion and visual imagery, the power of the crowd is a very strong force. Yet, we humans are free to make our choices apart from others. What I find captivating is the ability of a crowd to take away that freedom to make a choice and force one to act spontaneously, without thinking or reflection. I have seen intelligent men succumb to this power and it astounds me. It makes me wonder how it is done.
4 responses
@carloscourtney (17)
• United States
3 Oct 12
what is see to be amazing is how the public reacts to "authorities". It has been proven through psychological studies, that the majority of people succomb to the views and thoughts of the AUTHORITIES around them. a perfect example is the holocaust in germany. with all the fals propaganda against the jews, and hitler's speeches, the majority of the people just gave in and did nothing to stop the atrocities that were going on at the time. why? because they saw that th e authorities were okay with it, and so in turn they were okay with it. This is amazing because one would think that as human beings who can think for themselves, why werent these soldiers able to look at one another and say "wait a minute this is wrong". instead they just "followed orders"
@mydanods (6513)
• Nigeria
6 Oct 12
i don't believe so many persons take decisions that way; maybe a little fraction of the population. the media can influence or guide you towards making a decision on issues, particularly where they are highly technical and beyond your knowledges, like economic and political matters, but in areas of elections and choosing a political candidate, people's opinion are shaped most often by their peers and their colleagues at the office. they believe more what they hear from people they trust when making decisions during electioneering. that is why the media does all its best to replace the next door neighbor by being more trustworthy and transparent, yet the tradition still continues.
why do you think political candidates go door-to-door in seeking for votes? because of the above reason. some advert could help steer the crowd but when you see others cheering for a candidate and all around you they are people and folks you trust, you are wont to follow suit.
i read a book about the nazi holocaust and i think that was one of the problems of the nazi youths. they were young idealistic children who could easily be misled by the adults and peers they trust. cheerio
@carloscourtney (17)
• United States
4 Oct 12
I think that people sometimes just forget that they have a mind for themselves, and that not everything that is published or broadcasted somewhere is correct. People seem to think that if the guy on the tv or radio says its okay, then it must be okay.
@natliegleb (5175)
• India
3 Oct 12
it is strong and you cant take the crowd lightly and its so attractive anytime and the force is immense for sure
@mydanods (6513)
• Nigeria
4 Oct 12
and politics loves to study it and play onto it. that is one of the reasons why politics is so attractive. I know of a friend who was nice, meek, humble, a "christian" (forgive me that word because it is so subjective) and very likable...but one day, he entered politics and he changed overnight. He started having ideas of how he could prey others. Is that the power you speak of? that is why it is so attractive.
@jeanneyvonne (5501)
• Philippines
3 Oct 12
I think one of the greatest ironies in life is that we do have the freedom to have our freedom to choose what we want, whether it is in affirmative or opposition of a group. However, we are also subducted to pressure that the group can exert over an individual. Many people can isolate or discriminate against a person just for exercising their freedom. Conformity some societies and instances is still de rigor and the sometimes, it is even the policy. I guess no matter how much freedom you give an indidual, he will remain a social creature.
@mydanods (6513)
• Nigeria
3 Oct 12
that is the perplexing aspect of man. as a social creature, he has the right to choose how society affects him. i was wondering why you delegate that rights "most" times to spontaneous whims of activity, like to heavy music or expressive visual imagery, or even worst of all, religious slogans. it is perplexing. if one can understand this, it can help explain why some persons choose to remain in myspace.com while everyone was porting to facebook.com. are they rebellious by nature or do they refuse to be influenced by the so called "wisdom of the crowd" by distrusting that wisdom? sometimes the wisdom is subjective, when influenced by the media.
that to me, is perplexing.
@mikyung (2232)
• Philippines
3 Oct 12
Some people has this talent of leading a crowd. They can stir one's emotion, inspire so they will act accordingly with a common goal. I'm for one, attended one of those rallies before, it is actually a political rally. Though I believe that we have a common goal, some still has their own agenda. Hope those rallies can bring something good and change for the better. Thanks
@mydanods (6513)
• Nigeria
3 Oct 12
I concur with you about the talent of leading a crowd. Like Obama. Like so many american politicians. I particularly love Bill Clinton, not because of any political bends (or bent?), but because he knows how to lead, how to make you believe and trust in him. It's really a gift, although I hear most politicians in american get trained on public speaking also. thanks anyways.
