{"id":6206,"date":"2017-04-04T08:05:24","date_gmt":"2017-04-04T13:05:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/faithlens\/?p=6206"},"modified":"2017-03-29T08:56:50","modified_gmt":"2017-03-29T13:56:50","slug":"april-9-2017-mob-violence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/faithlens\/april-9-2017-mob-violence\/","title":{"rendered":"April 9, 2017–Mob Consciousness"},"content":{"rendered":"

Paul Baglyos, St. Paul, MN
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Warm-up Question<\/strong><\/p>\n

Was Jesus the victim of mob violence?<\/p>\n

Mob Consciousness
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Sometimes, when people act together in groups they multiply the effective force of their courage, their principles, and their resolve.\u00a0 Individuals acting together in groups have the capacity to become a movement able to realize higher aspirations of the human heart and mind.\u00a0 At other times, however, when people act together in groups, they multiply the effective force of their fears, their prejudices and their resentment.\u00a0 Protected within the relative anonymity of the group, individuals can become a mob capable of acting out the lower impulses of the human heart and mind.<\/p>\n

An ABC news story <\/a>of recent violence at rallies in response to policies of President Trump illustrates the fact that group behavior often becomes mob behavior, regardless of the \u201cside\u201d the group represents.\u00a0 The story noted that violence was committed by members of both groups, the supporters and protesters alike.\u00a0 When people regard one another merely as representatives of an opposing side in some conflict, they surrender the capacity to engage one another as human beings with value and dignity and voice and story.<\/p>\n

Contrast that ABC news story about violence at political rallies with the News One story<\/a> about the efforts of some senators to try to heal racial divisions by agreeing to meet in table fellowship over a meal.\u00a0 Whether or not those efforts can effectively help to heal racism, the fact remains that when people sincerely start to know each other as people it becomes increasingly difficult for them to regard each other as merely\u00a0 representatives of some \u201cother\u201d group.\u00a0 Certainly, sharing a meal with someone does not guarantee that unity and harmony will emerge in place of previous divisions or disagreements, but the investment of time and effort that people make in truly knowing one another can transform their lives.<\/p>\n

Discussion Questions<\/strong><\/p>\n

If you have access to a computer in your class, look at this picture of an orthodox priest during a protest in Kiev, Ukraine, in 2014<\/a>. The foreground of the photograph shows two people encountering one another in a moment of interpersonal fellowship, while the background of the photograph shows the presence of a larger group.<\/p>\n