I was a bit disturbed when reading reports about crowd reactions at McCain events. Not surprisingly, many McCain supporters wanted to see him "fight back" against the Obama campaign. Then other individuals expressed their fear, one saying he was"scared" of an Obama presidency, and another woman saying she couldn't trust him because he's an "Arab". At one point, someone in the crowd yelled "kill him!" Some analysts say no big deal-these political rallies have a tendency to get emotional and passionate, and perhaps bring out sides of us that we wouldn't normally express in public. But isn't this precisely the point? Why is that what we wouldn't say to a person's face in a normal conversation is acceptable at a rally? This underscores the point that people are too easily whipped up into a kind of mob mentality and suspend their rational faculties when they perceive a time of peril. (I think of the hanging scenes in the film version of The Crucible.) Do we really want to excuse this type of public behavior? To his credit, McCain cautioned his followers and expressed respect for his opponent.
I'd like to read some reports regarding if anything similar goes on at Obama rallies, if anyone can find them. Are there people shouting "shoot Palin!" for example?
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