Group Think

When something goes wrong within a particular group, do you blame the group or the individual (s)?

Let’s look at a sports team…say the California Angels. They haven’t been in a playoff in some 12 years. Do you think they stink, or do you think that certain individuals need to be changed?

You observe that there are Muslim terrorists like Hamas and Hezbollah; do you hate all Muslims?

You note that there are more crimes involving Black on Black…Are all Blacks criminals?

You read or see that Jewish bad apples like Jeffrey Epstein or Bernie Madoff have committed terrible crimes…are all Jews criminals?

Mass school shootings have often been attributed to Christian zealots…Do you hate Christianity?

We join groups for various reasons, but we are not the group, only an individual in a group.

Being a part of a group gives a broader sense of being and agreement, but as in groups like NATO, each nation has its own identity.

The group name may be the same, but as an example, the Democratic Party today wants to be the Big Tent Party…and include non Democratic ideals like Socialism and Communism. They want you to think of the Group, but they are not the same.

Hatred spreads from differences and can take over and obsess our behavior to the degree that we become deranged, like Trump Derangement Syndrome or the Jewish people.