| We all fall victim to herd mentality from time to time, be it for good or ill. I tend to give writeups the benefit of the doubt if they have already been cooled by someone else, for example, whereas others, I will often pass by. Herd behavior is at its best when it unifies societies and limits needlessly destructive behavior through peer pressure. A good example of this is the peer pressure I felt not to do drugs. My community was tight knit, and drugs were definitely taboo. Of course, this didn't stop me from doing it in college, but I'm glad I was 20 when I did it rather than 15 or 16. I was much more responsible later. It is at its worst when it encourages popular immorality. A prime example of this is an angry mob, something which used to be seen all too often in my home state of Mississippi. |
