I've noticed humans tend to follow Group Thinking in order to 'join in'. Have you ever stood with a group of people on the edge of a sidewalk waiting for the crosswalk signal to change so you can cross the street? Watch what happens when only one person decides to go against the light and cross anyway. You'll notice the others waiting, begin moving forward as if trying to follow! In many cases you'll see several actually follow the one guy who crossed. This happens because the people waiting begin thinking, 'well, the guy made it, therefore it must be OK to cross against this red light'.
Another example was the sudden, very odd frantic need to buy the Salman Rushdie book, "The Satanic Verses" several years ago. Wow! every one on my block bought the book, I've just gotta get one myself before they run out! I just gotta!
This is like saying, well my best friend and his wife dislike Bush - so it must be right to agree with them. As more and more people see things one way, that way of thinking spreads more easily.
Eventually, everyone you know thinks that same way.
Before long you say to yourself:
"Whenever, I talk about Bush, I'll focus only on the negative; on any tiny errors he makes even if it means blowing it all out of proportion. From his stuttering to a lump on his back". I'll scrutinize *everything* he says and does.
I'll create websites against him and spread my pathological hatred on Newsgroups, Yahoo! Groups and message boards. I'll hang out on such forums with those of my beliefs and keep everyone who disagrees out, Or, I'll stump on them and call them stupid. I may even spread my rhetoric on radio talk shows that support my way of thinking.
If he ever changes his mind on anything I'll call him a LIAR.
And if someone asks me what I think I'll most often find something negative to say. Like a cat scratching a marble floor, I'll try very hard to dig up something, *anything* to discredit him. I'll even dig deep into his past and bring up irrelevant information. I'll blame all my bad hair days on him.
I have to do this. If I don't, I must at least *never* say anything good about him and what he does, otherwise I'll be labelled an outcast and stand out like an 'ugly duckling'.
I'll even avoid facts that make him look good for the upcoming election. I'll avoid listening or watching (Fox News) programs and news that's in favour of what Bush is doing. Why, I may even make a film myself, an attackumentary, and try to pass it off as a documentary!"
This Bush bashing has gotten out of hand! Spreading rumours about a person can be damaging and have tragic consequence. Everyone must help stop the spread of bad rumours before they damage someone personally or professionally or both. If they still persist, confront the rumour spreaders and ask them to stop. And finally, if a nasty rumour is being spread about a specific person, do NOT pass it on without credible evidence!
The ferocious amount of disrespect being shown towards the current sitting president at times of world strife is absolutely horrifying and dangerous! I'm starting to believe the vast majority of people are sheep following the whims of current trends without ever thinking about their actions and the impact they have on society.
According to this article, the spreading of hatred for Bush may be more psychological than political: http://www.townhall.com/columnists/dennisprager/dp20041019.shtml
This way of thinking reminds me of cults that have lead of lot of people to their deaths who really believed a certain comet was bringing something I forget what. They truly believed it, did what they thought was right, and it cost them their lives. It probably took only a few people to get it started and to believe it. It didn't matter how outrageous their claims were - they truly believed what they were thinking!
We need more people to spread the other side (in this case, the truth). As more and more begin to believe the other side, more and more will think before crossing that street.