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Fitting In, An Essay on the Hijacked Herd Mentality, and the Decline of Civilization.
By the Numbers.
The desire to "fit in", to "Belong", to be in the "In Crowd" is actually a survival mechanism.
Human beings, for most of their existence, have lived in Small tribal units.
These tribes members depend upon each for survival, and So, endangering, wronging, or disturbing the harmony of the group, brings ostricization to the individual, and due to the necessity of other humans for survival, and procreation, also brings death.
The need to belong, fit in, and be part of the group is deeply ingrained in the human psyche, and I would wager to say, the Human Genome.
And this is the entire problem, isn't it?
We hear of the "Sheep" being led like mindless drones.
And aren't we?
As a social species, and a tribal species, we have developed this desire, this need to follow the whims of the "Herd" in order to ensure our own survival.
And this is a good thing, for a nomadic, tribal, social species.
We cant have everyone endangering the tribe, and basically mucking with the works... this would invite anarchy, endanger the tribe as a whole, and eventually, Kill off every single member of the tribe.
Pretty strait forward, isn't it?
Yeah, this is where we get to the Fun part.
Human beings are not BORN with the intrinsic knowledge of what the Tribe or Society desires, needs, approves of, disapproves of, etc.
So, in order to understand these "Guidelines" a human being must experience society firsthand, and learn what is generally acceptable, non acceptable, dangerous, taboo, etc, etc, etc.
I mean Duh... right?
Aye, but here's the Rub...
Generally, humans attempt to pattern their behavior after the most successful, most popular, most whatever members of society.
And, which members are those?
This one should be easy... our society spends billion dollars each year on celebrity worship.
Role models, if you will.
But it isn't really the Actors and Actresses that are the role models for society, is it?
No, it is the characters that those actors portray, that are the role models.
An entire society following the unspoken social cues of fictitious characters.
Ain't that a Bitch?
And it is clearly the truth...
Name brand clothing... and Odds are, you already know of the product placement that I speak of.
That placement that creates a instinctual NEED for many to FOLLOW what their role models are doing.
Just some people trying to sell some clothes, what harm could it do?
Well, I'll tell you.
Societal behaviors are a trial and error sort of thing.
With the most successful, and most beneficial behaviors prevailing, and becoming what we collectively call "Tradition".
Now, when you have Vast corporations, who have the ability to prefabricate situation to show you, where their "Actors" react PERFECTLY every time, these "Characters" naturally become role models for their Charisma, confidence, wisdom, etc...
But they are not real, and their actions are not the actions of PEOPLE who have a vested interest in survival, practicality, logistics, truth, education, etc...
They can have whatever actions that the corporations PAY them to have.
Like wearing a specific brand of clothing all the time, for example.
Or reacting to a certain political situation in a certain way.
Characters portrayed on television have a GREAT deal of influence on the minds of the collective society.
We know this because if they DIDN'T, then advertisers would not PAY them to "Sell" their products.
Our society is not evolving naturally... the entire process of how society selects behavior patterns is completely artificial, and controlled by advertisers, broadcasters, and media in general.
"To what end" is the real question.
And the answer, as always, when dealing with a publicly traded corporation, with a legal mandate to its shareholders, is...
Ever increasing profits.
Now, to get this one straight... Profit is an amount of money earned beyond what is necessary to "Run" your business.
Pay your employees, maintenance, materials, electricity, rent's, etc...
And Money, is an abstract valuation of your time on earth.
So, the end result... as always, is to keep you working for them for as long as possible.
Spending your time (money) on what they want you to (What their "popular People" tell you to)
And these behaviors are induced through the instinct that we all posess.
The instinct to belong to (identify with) a group, tribe, social circle, etc....
Basic Psychological Manipulation at it's finest.
This is the same system that kept knowledge of the Earth's Spherical nature from being accepted for several hundred years.
Because we look up to Many different groups of people, and in the case of the "Spherical Earth" it was the clergy who were our "Arbiters" of Social Normalcy.
We did not want to be cast out of society, and so, the earth remained a flat disc surrounded by a crystal shell, and supported above the waters of the deep by a Pillar, or Turtle, or whatever... for Hundreds of Years.
The reason for this, is that the "Herd Mentality" is a survival instinct buried in the deepest recesses of our subconscious.
To go against the "Herd" is to Face DEATH.
And so, most people fear any viewpoints that the Society (Mass Media) tells them are "Unpopular"
it's crazy, isn't it?
-Redshift the Rave Rabbit
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
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