Pack Mentality

There are a number of incidents in life I am not proud of. Many actually. Maybe I am an overanalyser of my own behaviour and so tend to be hard on myself, but even so, I think there are many incidents in my adolescence and beyond that anyone would agree with me those were not good things and I ought to have known better. One in particular stands out for me; a fight with another kid witnessed by a buddy of mine who was shouting out 'helpful' advice. I ended up hurting this other kid and get sent home that day. Then when my parents got hold of me, well, they didn't beat me but I wished they had.

So what? I was a kid. We all do dumb stuff.

The thing is, I was old enough to know better and I have never forgotten the fact that I did something I might never have done at the urging of someone else I trusted. This incident in combination with a natural willfulness have made me very distrustful of followng the crowd in most situations.

But we are all individuals who desire community in form or another and I continue to seek out like-minded individuals both personally and on the internet. Blogs have been a great format for me to explore and expand my knowledge about the OIlers in particular and an improved appreciation for the nuances of hockey to boot.

I have had the chance to spend a lot of time in places like the Cult of Hockey, Lowetide, Blackdog Hates Skunks, Coppernblue and Oilernation. I have seen many posters who demonstrate a depth of knowledge that enriches the people who engage them and many others who have wisdom that they freely dispense to all who will listen. I am a better person for having been exposed to them and have been convinced of the ability of a blog to enrich and deepen understanding about any particular topic.

What I have also seen is the tendency for people to run in packs on these blogs. They find a group that they agree with and then defend those people or their viewpoints in a manner that is tribal rather than reasoned. I fall prey to this tendency, not realising it until after the fact and I think many others are not aware of this at all.

And after all, it makes sense that it occurs. When we are looking for a community to fill a need of connection, then find one and are accepted by it our need for connection is filled and we don't want to lose it. Then if their community is attacked, they need to protect that community or risk being cut off from the connection that fills the deep need. Rational defense of what we are doing can be provided, but generally it is not necessary since the others who feel the same way will pile on in whatever method they choose and we feel more justified in attacking whatever it is that threatens our community regardless of the validity of what has been said. Generally the attacker is forced to retreat and we are spared any cognitive dissonance.

And these packs don't just follow the leader of the blog, but also follow the anti-leader too. Which makes it interesting when these two groups try to neutralise each other's point of view. Actually, interesting is the wrong word. Non-argument based arguments might come closer. Tedious describes my feeling however.

The difficulty I always have trouble seeing is the line between having an opinion that is popular and following the crowd. When is my agreement with what is being said not a blinkered statement where I am missing the bias?