by Gary S. Aumiller, Ph.D.\u00a0 ABPP<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n The past few days there was rioting in St. Louis.\u00a0 It may have started as a protest but moved quickly to a riot.\u00a0 Riot [RAHY<\/strong> uh t} \u2013 a violent disturbance of the peace by a crowd.\u00a0 The subject was a judge\u2019s decision of not-guilty for a cop that shot the driver of a car who led the cop on a high-speed chase.\u00a0 \u201cHe killed him because he was black!\u201d\u00a0 \u201cThe gun in the back seat of the car wasn\u2019t his.\u201d\u00a0 A $900,000 settlement was made with the family by the city prior to the trial.\u00a0 The officer had said we\u2019re going to \u201ckill this motherfucker\u201d on the car cam prior to the stop.\u00a0 The driver had all the marking of being a heroin dealer and had some drugs in the car.\u00a0 The judge just didn\u2019t see evidence beyond a reasonable doubt for the cop being called a murderer. <\/span><\/p>\n At Georgia Tech University, a campus cop shot and killed a student who was wielding a knife and refused to drop it.\u00a0 Cops say she went closer and closer to the officers yelling \u201ckill me.\u201d The cop eventually shot her.\u00a0 This was after a 9-1-1 call when someone complained about an intoxicated person with a weapon.\u00a0 The female student was non-binary (identifying with neither sex) and had attempted suicide earlier.\u00a0 Protests are under way at this writing.<\/span><\/p>\n Nancy Pelosi, a democrat who has always been identified with the plight of the immigrant in America, decided to have a press conference and let people know what deals were being worked out on DACA (Deferred Action on Childhood Arrivals) bill.\u00a0 She couldn\u2019t get her words out before a group of protesters started screaming at her that she was a liar and she was negotiating with the president to deport them.\u00a0 She was completely flustered, as they would accuse her she would say, but you don\u2019t even know what happened, don\u2019t even know what we are negotiating for.<\/span><\/p>\n During the Vietnam days people protested the war and sent a message to government to stop the fighting.\u00a0 It was centered on one topic and issue related.\u00a0 The current protests do not seem to be either.\u00a0 They are all about many different things and about nothing.\u00a0 And they didn\u2019t start with Trump.\u00a0 They have been around quite a few years before Trump took presidency.\u00a0 Remember Black Lives Matter in 2014 and 2015 and the Occupy Movement in 2011.\u00a0 This has just been a continuation and sort of a normal increased in intensity as the protests grow.\u00a0 Why is this happening now?<\/span><\/p>\n Social psychological science says that protests begin when people\u2019s relative poverty seems to be increasing.\u00a0 As foreclosures got to an all-out high starting in 2009 and 2010, the relative poverty level of most people got to a point that it is setting records for a low.\u00a0 The society has become two levels (rich and poor) more than any other time in my lifetime and that is a sure sign that protests are going to increase.\u00a0 I think the change we saw in the November elections last year is part of the people protesting that the quality of life has gone down and the cost of living has gone up, and they wanted something different.\u00a0 It has become a Petri dish for protestors to grow.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Social psychologists also points out that social media has allowed crowds to appear that seem to have no face, no leaders.\u00a0 There are people that stand out front, but announcing a rally in \u201cx\u201d on Facebook, Twitter or any one of the other social media platforms allow protestors to just seem to spring up seeming out of nowhere and quickly for that matter.\u00a0 I remember a conference in police psychology where a psychologist (and great friend of mine) was presenting on how flash mobs were forming and will cause a problem with terrorism in the future.\u00a0 That was somewhere around 2008-2009.\u00a0\u00a0 Maybe I need to write my friend in Singapore and get some lottery ticket numbers from him.<\/span><\/p>\n The French social psychologist Gustav Le Bon more than a century ago wrote an eye-opening book on crowd behavior.\u00a0 He said members of an anonymous crowd cannot think rationally, logically and become hysterical.\u00a0 Of course, since that time there are many reports about the \u201cwisdom of the crowd effect\u201d which suggests crowds come to more correct answers than individuals.\u00a0 However, in order to say the crowd has better answers you have to look at the specifics of the crowd and the answer used in research.\u00a0 For example, when crowd are given all the information, they are more effective.\u00a0 With the media today they are not given all the information for sure, <\/span>at least not accurate information<\/span>.\u00a0 When crowds are diverse they are more likely to come to a correct answer.\u00a0 Certainly, the crowds demonstrating are not diverse in opinions, rather they are so similar it is ridiculous.\u00a0 When there is a correct answer, the crowd is better than when it is opinion.\u00a0 Again, people are not protesting about the name of the 50 presidents or the prime ministers of England.\u00a0 They are protesting about opinion.\u00a0 So, any of the benefits of crowd averages, don\u2019t make a lot of sense in this argument, and really \u201cwisdom of the crowd effect\u201d is not relevant.\u00a0 Yet, we continue to publicize the crowd are making noise with protests, and they continue to fight for what they believe to be right given the limited information they have, or even listen to.<\/span><\/p>\n And you can take all this social science research and throw it out the window because half the people are there just not to miss something and they want to have a social event.\u00a0 They want to be part of a protest regardless of what it says.\u00a0 Don\u2019t believe me?\u00a0 Go here<\/a> or here<\/a>\u00a0 to see some of the more ridiculous protests.\u00a0 It\u2019s fun to be part of something.<\/span><\/p>\n We are a country built on rebellion from the British Empire over religious freedom and taxation without representation, so it is not likely we will ever get that out of us.\u00a0 So, if we want to stop the protests, we have to turn the world into rainbows and unicorns.\u00a0 A place where everybody earns enough money and for each person living it is a lot more fun.\u00a0 That\u2019s not going to happen too quickly probably.\u00a0 So, maybe if we can just have a little understanding for people who are hysterical or driven by hate.\u00a0 Both sides need to stop making quick judgements.\u00a0 And all of us need to stop stop saying stupid things about killing someone or other types of intolerant talk driven by emotion instead of logic.\u00a0 The majority of people are not that bad and tolerance with no stupidity should win in the long run, at least make it better while we get on track with unemployment , jobs and our quality of life.\u00a0 Then maybe we won\u2019t protest<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Site Administrator:\u00a0 Gary S. Aumiller, Ph.D. ABPP<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n Please share this article from down below.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n Please join the email list on the top of the sidebar and you can get these sent to your email.\u00a0 Also follow me on Twitter (https:\/\/twitter.com\/ThinBlueMind<\/a>) for other articles and ideas, and YouTube at\u00a0https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCfjNw0510ipr3bX587IvAHg<\/a> .<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Police Psychology:\u00a0 Why Protests Occur? by Gary S. Aumiller, Ph.D.\u00a0 ABPP \u00a0 The past few days there was rioting in St. Louis.\u00a0 It may have started as a protest but moved quickly to a riot.\u00a0 Riot [RAHY uh t} \u2013 a violent disturbance of the peace by a crowd.\u00a0 The subject was a judge\u2019s decision […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[17165629],"tags":[17168803,17168797,17169012],"class_list":["post-6493","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-emotions","tag-police","tag-police-psychology","tag-protests"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":5317,"url":"http:\/\/policepsychologyblog.com\/?p=5317","url_meta":{"origin":6493,"position":0},"title":"Police Psychology | PTSD 3: Car Accidents","author":"Gary Aumiller","date":"February 2, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Police Psychology | PTSD 3:\u00a0 Car Accidents by Gary S. Aumiller, Ph.D. ABPP \u00a0 Of course, they\u2019re driving around 24 hours a day, non-stop.\u00a0 The problem is there are other people on the road.\u00a0 The cops have lights on the car and fancy writing, but that just attracts people who\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Police Stress"","block_context":{"text":"Police Stress","link":"http:\/\/policepsychologyblog.com\/?cat=17168885"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/policepsychologyblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/car-accident-md.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":4137,"url":"http:\/\/policepsychologyblog.com\/?p=4137","url_meta":{"origin":6493,"position":1},"title":"Police Psychology: 5 Principles: Animated Post","author":"Gary Aumiller","date":"September 26, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Police Psychology: 5 Principles:\u00a0 Animated Post by Gary S. Aumiller, Ph.D.\u00a0 ABPP, Sara Gaertner, Skylar Aumiller \u00a0 5 Principles to A Simpler Life as a Cop in animation. \u00a0","rel":"","context":"In "Mastering Resilience"","block_context":{"text":"Mastering Resilience","link":"http:\/\/policepsychologyblog.com\/?cat=17168882"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":386,"url":"http:\/\/policepsychologyblog.com\/?p=386","url_meta":{"origin":6493,"position":2},"title":"Police Psychology | The Police Candidate Interpretive Report","author":"Gary Aumiller","date":"June 5, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"The Police Candidate Interpretive Report \u00a0 I had one of the first cell phones for public consumption.\u00a0 It fit in a bag.\u00a0 The battery lasted minutes not hours, and it was essentially a car phone that could be moved around.\u00a0 But visions of Dick Tracy\u2019s watch and Agent 86\u2019s shoe\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Tests"","block_context":{"text":"Tests","link":"http:\/\/policepsychologyblog.com\/?cat=17168877"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":684,"url":"http:\/\/policepsychologyblog.com\/?p=684","url_meta":{"origin":6493,"position":3},"title":"Police Psychology | The War on Police: “Officer-Directed Violence”","author":"Gary Aumiller","date":"September 8, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Police Psychology | The War on Police: \u201cOfficer-Directed Violence\u201d Ron Martinelli, Ph.D., CMI-V, BCFT, CFA Let\u2019s see a show of hands. Every one of you who recognize these names raise em up. Michael Brown? Freddie Grey? OK. Now how about Darren Goforth, Steven Vincent, Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu? No\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Public Information Bureau"","block_context":{"text":"Public Information Bureau","link":"http:\/\/policepsychologyblog.com\/?cat=17168888"},"img":{"alt_text":"Shannon Miles","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/policepsychologyblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/Shannon-Miles.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":842,"url":"http:\/\/policepsychologyblog.com\/?p=842","url_meta":{"origin":6493,"position":4},"title":"Police Psychology | Apples to Orangutans: Life\u2019s Comparisons","author":"Gary Aumiller","date":"November 12, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Police Psychology | Apples to Orangutans: Life\u2019s Comparisons \u00a0 Police psychology has to constantly deal with comparisons cops make. It is essential to cut them off before they get to be a big problem. What comparisons you ask? \u201cI can\u2019t believe that every day I have to deal with Skylar\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Mastering Thoughts"","block_context":{"text":"Mastering Thoughts","link":"http:\/\/policepsychologyblog.com\/?cat=17168878"},"img":{"alt_text":"Police Psychology, oragutans","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/policepsychologyblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/oragutans-200x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2572,"url":"http:\/\/policepsychologyblog.com\/?p=2572","url_meta":{"origin":6493,"position":5},"title":"Police Psychology | Motivation \u2013 Back to the Basics","author":"Gary Aumiller","date":"May 24, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Police Psychology | Motivation \u2013 Back to the Basics Lt. James Kiernan, Southampton Police, NY \u00a0 As a student of leadership for over two decades I have examined the complexities of leading over, through and around the generational divide.\u00a0 What is true for sure is that different generations are motivated\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Rank and Leadership"","block_context":{"text":"Rank and Leadership","link":"http:\/\/policepsychologyblog.com\/?cat=17168887"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p60sbO-1GJ","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/policepsychologyblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6493","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/policepsychologyblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/policepsychologyblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/policepsychologyblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/policepsychologyblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6493"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/policepsychologyblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6493\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6516,"href":"http:\/\/policepsychologyblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6493\/revisions\/6516"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/policepsychologyblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6493"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/policepsychologyblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6493"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/policepsychologyblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6493"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}