I went to two Carolina home games this year, something I rarely do. I've never been to a really large concert, a stadium show. In essence I'm not a crowd person. So making two trips to the Dean Dome so close together made a pretty big impression. There's definitely something fun and intoxicating about being in a large number of like-minded people, people wearing the same colors, cheering at the same time, doing litle things at the same time (raising arms on home team free throws, using strobe function on phone at certain moments in a song) supporting the same cause, however arbitrary.
Because in our heart of hearts we all know that most fandom is silly. Yes, there are mild exceptions, and Carolina fans are fortunate to be heirs to and participants in one of them: the cult of Dean Smith, who was genuinely a good guy and a force for good. Like John Wooden at UCLA. But honestly there are lots of those. Even Krzewski is rumored to have some good features, and it's possible, though highly unlikely, that someone could make a case for Bobby Knight as a force for good in the world. But I digress.
But crowds definitely have their problems. People do a wide range of crazy shit when in the presence of and supported by like-minded others. They vote for crazy things, believe in crazy things, tear things down and occasionally kill and sunder other humans when empowered by crowds. Might spending lots of time in large crowd situations agreeing with and acting in coordination with others make one more susceptible to irrational and authoritarian influences?
Hitler spend a lot of money and effort setting up the rallies at Nuremburg and getting his troops drilled to make them look good. We spend lots of our own money.
Just sayin
1 comment:
As ever, both wise and right on. There is something irreplaceable and energizing about being in a directed crowd. A concert, a rave, a soccer match. There's nothing rational about it, which may explain the unreason of our present moment of shared spectacle. . .
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