There’s a powerful human effect that occurs in crowds.
Large groups of people, if convinced to believe in the same thing, can be a supremely powerful force, whether its an Australian rugby team, a political party, or a cause of some kind.
Crowds can unite in impromptu cheers in near unison, in group activities and cooperative destruction with little advance planning or personal relationships between those involved.
But in a spurt of emotion over a sports team winning/losing a championship or a candidate winning/losing an election, groups of strangers find the motivation to band together and block traffic, or flip parked cars, or participate in group activities that would be awkward in other situations.
The odd thing is that this odd energy is present in both victory and defeat, both extreme emotional highs and lows. Why is it that we work so instinctively well in groups and clans when we are filled with energy and emotion? Does this speak to a piece of our basic being that tells us we belong in packs and tribes – that no man is truly an island?
Or do we just seek like-minded individuals when we are elated or outraged because it gives us all more power than we individually would have?
Or do we seek like-minded individuals our entire lives and it is simply more obvious when our emotions run high?
I’m not sure what the point is. I suppose it may be: if you want to do something extraordinary or dangerous, find a group of like-minded people, pump yourselves up to a point of charged emotions, and the rest will come naturally.