Mass Mentality

I Ran!

I ran like a lunatic!

I ran, like a lunatic, like everyone else!

It was an instant reaction. I had not envisioned or planned it. It just happened.

I was waiting for hours with the rest of the women, waiting for the gates to open, not knowing which gate would open.

I was not near the gate that finally opened. I saw everyone run in that direction and on impulse, I followed pursuit and ran in that direction like everyone else.

I was running wildly when shame descended upon me like a wet blanket!

Heavily laden with deep guilt for disrespectfully running at such a sacred place, I broke my pace and with a bowed head entered the area to pay homage to our Prophet in the mosque.

That moment is etched in my memory forever.

It made me aware of mass mentality.

We often react and take action without putting much thought into it.

It comes naturally to us to follow pursuit.

It is the easy way of living.

Have you ever tailgated someone on the road?

I have.

And every time I did, I marveled at the experience.

I did not have to put any thought into direction or worry about losing my way while tailgating someone.

In a way, it felt like I was blindfolded, following the end of the car in front with closing my eyes to everything else around. It takes away the responsibility and relaxes the thinking process.

Mass mentality is a bit like tailgating someone where majority follow each other without putting much thought into it.

When I ran like a lunatic, I did not use my own mind. I went with the crowd on impulse.

Once I was aware of my own actions, I did not care about the rest. They could run all they wanted, (although part of me wished that they did not), I did not care because I was focused on what I had to do.

Mass mentality is not a bad thing all the time but if encouraged, it hinders the development of individual thinking and hence takes away the competitive edge. In countries, where government control is prominent, mass mentality can be easily found. I experienced that in such societies, people are excellent followers but are not great problem solvers. It’s not because they are not capable or less intelligent, but because they are not taught to think outside the box. They are reluctant to think on their own. They may be smart but freeze up if faced with something absolutely new but if they see an example, they copy it better than the original. On the other hand, the people in democratic countries with emphasis on individual freedom, are poor at following others but comparatively better at thinking outside the box.

It takes critical thinking and ability to act alone and to break loose of the mass mentality. It's a learned process that needs training. Free societies encourage individualism and promote analytical thinking but in controlled societies, the leaders discourage this process and make people slave of mass mentality.

Shamsa Anwar