Post by idach116 on Dec 5, 2012 9:46:35 GMT -5
Modern Pitchforks and Torches
It is stressed in morality to follow what one thinks is the right and responsible course of action to take because it would promote the prosperity of the community rather than its downfall. However, behaviorism portrayed in the human brain contradicts this value especially if the majority disagrees with it. People tend to have the general prospective of appropriate actions, the obviously virtuous decisions, but choose voluntarily to oppose them if those actions or beliefs are socially denied and detrimental to the reputation or self advancement of the majority. The Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University’s (FAMU) Marching 100 hazing incident exemplifies the turmoil of acting on account of what the majority does, mob mentality. The primary carriers of the hazing fully understood the potential consequences of such a dangerous event, but still proceeded to harm their own band member as well as incorporating other band members, participated only out of fear of being targeted, into their monstrosity.
Passing down the hazing tradition at FAMU, members of Marching 100 violently assaulted drum major Robert Champion on a coach bus, with even the most passive hazers participating. Champion was reportedly making his way towards the front of the pitch-black bus while sharp blows and devastating attacks were thrown at him from all angles, called the “Crossing Bus C” ritual, until he collapsed and died when he had accomplished the goal of reaching the front of the bus. Even though there were members of the band who antagonized the infamous ritual, they nonetheless engaged in the hazing because their peers were and this minority worried that they would be the next victims if they failed to follow the mainstream hazers. Keon Hollis and Rikki Wills, two of Champion’s friends and convicted band members who were present that night, admitted their affiliations with the hazing despite their consciences advising them to stop the onslaught on Champion, corroborating evidence of the effects of mob mentality. To add on, it is easier to follow the crowd than to drive against it, so social survival played a factor in the Champion hazing incident mob mentality as well as in those reproduced in Arthur Miller’s The Crucible and Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter. Like Abigail William’s threatening intimidation over the girls, including Mary Warren, in the court room and the entire Puritan society’s repugnant demeanor towards Hester’s adultery in the marketplace and town, the hazing of Robert Champion was conjoined by strongly active participants and those who acted in accordance with the crowd despite personal disapproval. Mob mentality in the three events primarily illustrates how people who know the truth behind a predicament and what is considered just are prone to fall under the constraint of the majority group for social and physical perseverance.
Being a lucid and undeniable instance of mob mentality, the hazing incident in Marching 100 not only shocked the nation of such cruelty and tarnished FAMU’s reputation but also established predictions of other, and possibly more devastating, events where people with oppositions against certain actions or beliefs abandon their positions to join the popular group for the sake of benefits for themselves, such as social and life preservations. Although mob mentality had existed for many generations, dating back to the earliest social confrontations, it seems to be persisting today with no tangible signs of dissolving into yesterday’s history anytime soon as long as people continue to reject their own values and beliefs for those of the mob.
Word Count: 577
Works Consulted:
"Arrests in Fla. hazing death renew scrutiny of violent rite." USA Today. N.p., 3 May 2012. Web. 4 Dec. 2012. <http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/nation/story/2012-05-02/florida-famu-band-hazing-death/54701554/1>.
"Robert Champion's Parents Hear From Son's FAMU Band Mates Before Trial On 'Katie' (VIDEO)." Huffington Post. N.p., 4 Oct. 2012. Web. 3 Dec. 2012. <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/04/robert-champion-katie-famu-hazing-death_n_1940481.html>.
It is stressed in morality to follow what one thinks is the right and responsible course of action to take because it would promote the prosperity of the community rather than its downfall. However, behaviorism portrayed in the human brain contradicts this value especially if the majority disagrees with it. People tend to have the general prospective of appropriate actions, the obviously virtuous decisions, but choose voluntarily to oppose them if those actions or beliefs are socially denied and detrimental to the reputation or self advancement of the majority. The Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University’s (FAMU) Marching 100 hazing incident exemplifies the turmoil of acting on account of what the majority does, mob mentality. The primary carriers of the hazing fully understood the potential consequences of such a dangerous event, but still proceeded to harm their own band member as well as incorporating other band members, participated only out of fear of being targeted, into their monstrosity.
Passing down the hazing tradition at FAMU, members of Marching 100 violently assaulted drum major Robert Champion on a coach bus, with even the most passive hazers participating. Champion was reportedly making his way towards the front of the pitch-black bus while sharp blows and devastating attacks were thrown at him from all angles, called the “Crossing Bus C” ritual, until he collapsed and died when he had accomplished the goal of reaching the front of the bus. Even though there were members of the band who antagonized the infamous ritual, they nonetheless engaged in the hazing because their peers were and this minority worried that they would be the next victims if they failed to follow the mainstream hazers. Keon Hollis and Rikki Wills, two of Champion’s friends and convicted band members who were present that night, admitted their affiliations with the hazing despite their consciences advising them to stop the onslaught on Champion, corroborating evidence of the effects of mob mentality. To add on, it is easier to follow the crowd than to drive against it, so social survival played a factor in the Champion hazing incident mob mentality as well as in those reproduced in Arthur Miller’s The Crucible and Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter. Like Abigail William’s threatening intimidation over the girls, including Mary Warren, in the court room and the entire Puritan society’s repugnant demeanor towards Hester’s adultery in the marketplace and town, the hazing of Robert Champion was conjoined by strongly active participants and those who acted in accordance with the crowd despite personal disapproval. Mob mentality in the three events primarily illustrates how people who know the truth behind a predicament and what is considered just are prone to fall under the constraint of the majority group for social and physical perseverance.
Being a lucid and undeniable instance of mob mentality, the hazing incident in Marching 100 not only shocked the nation of such cruelty and tarnished FAMU’s reputation but also established predictions of other, and possibly more devastating, events where people with oppositions against certain actions or beliefs abandon their positions to join the popular group for the sake of benefits for themselves, such as social and life preservations. Although mob mentality had existed for many generations, dating back to the earliest social confrontations, it seems to be persisting today with no tangible signs of dissolving into yesterday’s history anytime soon as long as people continue to reject their own values and beliefs for those of the mob.
Word Count: 577
Works Consulted:
"Arrests in Fla. hazing death renew scrutiny of violent rite." USA Today. N.p., 3 May 2012. Web. 4 Dec. 2012. <http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/nation/story/2012-05-02/florida-famu-band-hazing-death/54701554/1>.
"Robert Champion's Parents Hear From Son's FAMU Band Mates Before Trial On 'Katie' (VIDEO)." Huffington Post. N.p., 4 Oct. 2012. Web. 3 Dec. 2012. <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/04/robert-champion-katie-famu-hazing-death_n_1940481.html>.