Counting by numbers cannot cancel blame.

“The average man don’t like trouble and danger. You don’t like trouble and danger. But if only half a man-like Buck Harkness, there--shout ‘Lynch him, lynch him!’ you’re afraid to back down-afraid you’ll be found out to be what you are--cowards--and so you raise a yell, and hang yourselves onto that half--a--man’s coat tail, and come raging up here, swearing what big things you’re going to do.”

Mark Twain
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.

Mark Twain is famous for his many quotes that emphasize the dangers and ignorance of “mob mentality.” The influence that others can have on an individual is disturbing and frightening. It is a tool that has been used throughout history to promote violence. Its devastating consequences are seen in the Holocaust, the lynching of African Americans in the South, and in present day riots sparked by things as shallow as lost football games.

This quote illustrates the sad irony that motivates mob mentality. People comment crimes and acts of mob violence when influenced by others which they would never do as individuals. The fact that Sherburn, the speaker in the quote, points out that the members of the mob feel brave when committing these terrible acts illustrates this irony. The brave thing would be to stand up against the leader of the mob and to refuse to participate in the lynching; however, peer pressure and the excitement sparked by the instigator’s words cause the mob members to abandon all common sense and reason. They associate the truly cowardice act of simply “following the leader” with a brave deed of manhood.

People often ask what motivates gangs, riots, and state sanctioned violence like the Holocaust. The answer is clear when one reads books such as The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. It is the need for acceptance and the desire to prove one’s self to those that they perceive as admirable or ranking in authority. One member of the mob justifies his deed because of other members’ participation. They make the unreasonable assumption that guilt can in some way be divided up among the group as though it were a simple mathematical figure. However, when people look back at the consequences of mob violence, they are not canceling out guilt through numbers; they are counting the lives devastated because of each member’s individual cowardice and conformity.

Each person must decide when to respect and follow another’s authority. Certainly, in many instances, respecting leaderships is an admirable quality which helps to promote order. Also, group protests centered on reform and social change are things of an entirely different matter; they are not simply mindless riots bent only on destruction. It is up to each person to think for themselves and consult their own conscious and values when given an order. It is not difficult to figure out that lynching a person for the color of their skin or executing a person because of their ethnicity is wrong. It is a split second consultation and a gut feeling that tells us the difference between a legitimate respect for authority and mindless mob mentality.

Are there other motivations for “mob mentality?”

Where do you draw the line between respecting authority and speaking out against those in positions of power of influence?

--Carrie Goertz