Remember back when you were a teenager, under intense social pressure and loaded with raging hormones, and your parents told you you couldn't see "that boy" or "that girl" because blah blah blah? What did you do? You probably fabricated an elaborate scheme, maybe with the help of your friends, to see him/her anyway. That's an example of reverse psychology, and it pervades our society today more than ever. When someone tells us we MUST do something, we'll fight to NOT do it. If someone tells us we CAN'T have it, we'll go to great lengths to GET it.
The day after the recent horrible massacre in Las Vegas, MGM (they own the Mandalay Bay hotel) stock was down substantially, while Smith and Wesson stock was surging. Investors knew there would be an immediate call for gun control, and they knew the result would be the public, even those who had never desired to own a gun before, would rush to buy one before they were outlawed. *guns outlawed in America...hahaha!*
But reverse psychology can be more subtle, too. For example, the NFL players "take a knee" movement was originally meant to publicize the social injustice Black Americans face every day in America. It has no doubt brought attention to the subject and attracted many supporters, but it has also driven a wedge into society and alienated many who might have otherwise been on board.
The "I have a constitutional right to protest" position (absolutely true) was also sometimes paired with "and if you oppose my right to 'take a knee' during the National Anthem, you're un-informed, ignorant, un-American and/or a racist". (Yes, this happened...I heard commentators actually say that on national TV.)
The reverse psychological effect was that many ordinary people, often of a generation who grew up reciting the Pledge of Allegiance the first thing every morning at school, and stood with their hand over their heart and sometimes even sang the National Anthem at football games, recoiled and dug in their heels.
As I tried to subtly say in a previous post, apparently unsuccessfully, sometimes you need to find a way to get your message across while not stirring up a reverse psychological reaction. Take a group knee before the National Anthem, or right before the kickoff at mid-field, for example.
Gen Dwight Eisenhower led a diverse group that defeated the Nazi's by building a cohesive coalition, not by pitting one group against another. Build coalitions, don't drive wedges. (I can already imagine the reactions I'll get over those five words!)
Our society is becoming more rough edged, more confrontational, more "in your face", and I see that as ultimately counterproductive.
Just my opinion.
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I believe the schism happened in the sixties, and has not been repaired since.
ReplyDeleteThere was no doubt a major schism in the sixties, but I had hoped, maybe wishfully, that major progress had been made since then toward better relations. This just seems to me to be a step backwards.
DeleteA lot of people protesting the protestors falsely thought it was a protest against the national anthem, something helped along by Trump, Breitbart, InfoWars, Fox "News," and so forth.
ReplyDeleteBut in retrospect, wouldn't it have been better if both teams had met at the 50 yard line, made a big circle, locked arms, taken a knee for a minute, then started the game. That way there would be NO controversy, no chance for a misunderstanding, and just maybe a few more civilians would have said, "yeah, that's something I can support." That's what I would call a meaningful win.
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