Eleven months ago I began a journey of practicing mindfulness every day and we've reached day 338. Yesterday, I talked about how any pursuit of knowledge can be useful in unexpected ways. Today is a new day.
I was a bit of an oddball growing up in the states because I was one of the few who didn't give a damn about football. It's fun to PLAY, but to watch? No thanks. To each their own, but what I never understood was how passionate people got over it. When the Seattle Seahawks went to the Super Bowl last year so many people who at one moment didn't give two flying fucks about the sport were suddenly "die-hard fans" the next. That's the thing though. Herd-mentality is super powerful. All it takes is a group of people to normalize something (in this case rioting) and it spreads like wildfire. That's how hype works. It's how you get a party started, it's how political rallies work, and it's how Hitler gained leverage and rose to power.
It's definitely important for us as a people to work together and help each other out, but times like this are a reminder that it's not always good to follow the crowd. Just because something is normal doesn't mean it's okay to do. It wasn't so long ago that we condemned the mentally ill into dark chambers to rot and die trapped in their psychotic abyss. Just because it was lawful and socially accepted, that doesn't make it okay. Just because One Direction was super popular a few years ago doesn't mean their music is amazing (I admit it can be catchy, but I have no desire to listen to it).
With social dynamics like peer pressure and our desire to fit in it can be hard to break out of these trends and do our own thing, but it's worth it. We all have different tastes and it's okay to like different things, but some people don't seem interested in expressing who they are. Following things just because other people are doing it to me is like sacrificing my own freedom so people will like me. It's like casting aside who you really are because you're afraid of being disliked. It's like throwing the towel and saying you're not "good enough".
I'm not saying the people in these riots are bad. On the contrary, most of them are probably really well-behaved and perfectly fine on a day-to-day basis. This is just a testament of how difficult it is to truly master the self and overcome our primal urge to conform and be a part of the group. While group-identity is important to us as social creatures, it's also important to establish and be comfortable with our own personal identity. Who we are as individuals is just as important as the group we belong to. Like everything, it's about balance and I think the riots were an example of people lacking a firm grip on who they are and what they stand for so they let themselves get swept up in the chaos.
Peace
"Once conform, once do what other people do because they do it, and a lethargy steals over all the finer nerves and faculties of the soul. She becomes all outer show and inward emptiness; dull, callous, and indifferent." - Virginia WoolfSo the NFL Superbowl happened and the aftermath riots that ensued lead to a shit storm of chaos in the streets. This isn't the first time this has happened either. Something about (American) football brings tons of people together and when the hype gets too real our primal selves are brought out (which unfortunately brings out a lot of chaos). While I'm seeing a lot of people getting angry and being super judgemental over the event, I can't help but chuckle at it all.
I was a bit of an oddball growing up in the states because I was one of the few who didn't give a damn about football. It's fun to PLAY, but to watch? No thanks. To each their own, but what I never understood was how passionate people got over it. When the Seattle Seahawks went to the Super Bowl last year so many people who at one moment didn't give two flying fucks about the sport were suddenly "die-hard fans" the next. That's the thing though. Herd-mentality is super powerful. All it takes is a group of people to normalize something (in this case rioting) and it spreads like wildfire. That's how hype works. It's how you get a party started, it's how political rallies work, and it's how Hitler gained leverage and rose to power.
It's definitely important for us as a people to work together and help each other out, but times like this are a reminder that it's not always good to follow the crowd. Just because something is normal doesn't mean it's okay to do. It wasn't so long ago that we condemned the mentally ill into dark chambers to rot and die trapped in their psychotic abyss. Just because it was lawful and socially accepted, that doesn't make it okay. Just because One Direction was super popular a few years ago doesn't mean their music is amazing (I admit it can be catchy, but I have no desire to listen to it).
With social dynamics like peer pressure and our desire to fit in it can be hard to break out of these trends and do our own thing, but it's worth it. We all have different tastes and it's okay to like different things, but some people don't seem interested in expressing who they are. Following things just because other people are doing it to me is like sacrificing my own freedom so people will like me. It's like casting aside who you really are because you're afraid of being disliked. It's like throwing the towel and saying you're not "good enough".
I'm not saying the people in these riots are bad. On the contrary, most of them are probably really well-behaved and perfectly fine on a day-to-day basis. This is just a testament of how difficult it is to truly master the self and overcome our primal urge to conform and be a part of the group. While group-identity is important to us as social creatures, it's also important to establish and be comfortable with our own personal identity. Who we are as individuals is just as important as the group we belong to. Like everything, it's about balance and I think the riots were an example of people lacking a firm grip on who they are and what they stand for so they let themselves get swept up in the chaos.
Peace
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| We are equally a part of the whole and an individual component. Unique, yet the same because everyone is different. Do you. |
How are you different from the crowd?
ReplyDeleteHave a great day~