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Mob Mentality Among Police Enabled George Floyd’s Murder
What, you thought that badge was a magic pill that made police immune from mob mentality?
Have you ever experienced “mob mentality”, in which you were driven by the actions of those around you to do things you’d never normally do? I did when I joined in physically shaming and injuring a man. It was during the centuries-old “Crossing the Line” ceremony in the Navy, and without going into details, we took it much too far. The key is this: it was as if the fact that we were committing the abuse together both permitted and validated the abuse itself, so none of us felt any compunction about making it even worse. The man we were injuring was no longer a man, but an object somehow deserving of our righteous wrath. It was only a couple weeks later that I began to realize what I’d done, and why I’d done it. I had allowed myself to be affected by mob mentality (also called ‘herd mentality’). Worst of all, I was part of the Master-At-Arms office, the shipboard police force. There was no possible excuse for my actions.
When I see broadcasts of police brutality up to and including homicide, I know in my heart that they’re probably experiencing that same psychological dynamic.
America is by far the most violent of today’s first-world nations. Our nation’s homicide rate is higher than those of India, Cuba, Sudan, Zambia, Niger, and Pakistan, among others. Some may disagree as to why American society is so violent, but it is inarguable that one direct result is the militarization of the police — not just their equipment, but more importantly, their mindset. After all, every time a policeman pulls over someone for a traffic violation, he knows he might be facing a felon with a loaded gun. In the Harvard Law Review, former policeman Seth Stoughton provides this description:
…[as a rookie cop] you have been told (repeatedly) that your survival depends on believing that everyone you see — literally everyone — is capable of, and may very well be interested in, killing you. Put in that position, would you actually get out of your car and approach someone? (source)
Policeman Samuel Johnson Jr. points out the cynicism of police in general:
As a mantra among police…
