Have you ever observed mobs? The irrationality of a group out of control?
I heard shouts from my balcony, a man was being lynched. Between the soft thuds of feet smacking his stomach and fists pounding his face, his plea was clear, "I'm going to die, stop!" I raced down, out the gate and into the thick of the action. The man who I thought was the instigator had just pulled away, I pushed him aside and in that moment, felt the rush of adrenaline on his chest.
The victim, an auto driver, managed to make his escape. The windshield on his vehicle was smashed. Groggy and unstable, he was speechless in his exit. The mob, in the meantime, gathered around the few guys who beat him up and started questioning their motives.
How silly, I thought - this group of men witnessed a man being pummelled and didn't bother stopping the fight. They waited until it was all over to ask what was wrong. Turned out, the auto driver was responsible for starting the fight. Irrespective of who threw the first punch, a valuable lesson I've learned is to create space and straight away ask, "What's wrong." It's true that men can't multi-task. They can't talk and fight at the same time.
I heard shouts from my balcony, a man was being lynched. Between the soft thuds of feet smacking his stomach and fists pounding his face, his plea was clear, "I'm going to die, stop!" I raced down, out the gate and into the thick of the action. The man who I thought was the instigator had just pulled away, I pushed him aside and in that moment, felt the rush of adrenaline on his chest.
The victim, an auto driver, managed to make his escape. The windshield on his vehicle was smashed. Groggy and unstable, he was speechless in his exit. The mob, in the meantime, gathered around the few guys who beat him up and started questioning their motives.
How silly, I thought - this group of men witnessed a man being pummelled and didn't bother stopping the fight. They waited until it was all over to ask what was wrong. Turned out, the auto driver was responsible for starting the fight. Irrespective of who threw the first punch, a valuable lesson I've learned is to create space and straight away ask, "What's wrong." It's true that men can't multi-task. They can't talk and fight at the same time.