To tell you the truth, I’m less afraid of a fire in a confined space like a movie theater than I am of a spontaneous crowd reaction to a screaming match. A fire might end up being dangerous, but not catastrophic. But a crush in the doors of fear-stricken people guarantees casualties, especially among those who are vulnerable and weak. If you at least once in your life have been squeezed in the steel vice of the crowd and whispered to yourself in despair, “Just don’t fall!” you will never be able to relax completely at a train station or a parade. Of course, you can remember the opposite - the unique unity with complete strangers, when you feel like a part of the whole, a drop in the ocean.
Any group always has the potential to be powerful, the only question is its amplitude and sign. But it is difficult to predict when and how the mood pendulum will swing from one sign to another. Often such a change takes us by surprise - bang, and everyone is running, stepping on each other. Even in a small group, an individual begins to feel and behave differently, as if under the action of some mighty force.
Therefore, when in a crowd, it makes sense to behave as on the water - carefully, cautiously and focused. The pool, the river and the sea can give a lot of joy and benefit, but only if carelessness is not about you. The aquatic environment is as familiar and commonplace to us as air. After all, we were all born in it. But unlike air, water can take a life at any moment. A little paranoia wouldn’t hurt here. The recent Halloween crush in Seoul is proof of that.
But people turn into crowds not only in a movie theater or a stadium, but globally, and now online as well. Just remember the hysterical reaction of some governments to COVID or the large-scale witch hunt on social media. And then people are no longer their own, “for they do not know what they are doing”. I must confess that I, too, sometimes get caught up in general psychosis, which is not easy to shake off. It would be nice to be immune to the impulse of the crowd - another superpower.
Yours sincerely,
-Alexander
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