When you see a crowd of people cheering or jeering on a college campus, or in the city streets, do you ever wonder how many of the people are genuinely concerned about the issue, whatever it is? How many are just curious, attracted by the crowd? How many, even of the most vocal, have simply been swept along by the excitement?
And how many have been paid to be there to create a mob and direct its energy?
This question hits home a little more for me because I've been there.
We all cheer more loudly at a sporting event when those around us are screaming their support. That's why teams have cheerleaders. We boo and insult the other team more vociferously, too, when the crowd is behaving in a way that we never would on our own.
I have been a "paid protester."
Many times, I've been part of a group that was hired for the purpose of generating excitement and enthusiasm for an event which meant absolutely nothing to me. To create, at the request of my employers, a specific atmosphere, designed to influence the emotions and actions of those around me. What's more, our whole family was involved, even the children.
And I'd do it again.
It was harmless, even a bit enchanting. We were hired to make some guests at Disney World feel especially welcomed, as if they were famous personalities. Or to swell a stadium with enthusiastic team supporters. It was a fun outing with friends, and we were paid in Disney tickets.
I've seen the process, I know how it works, and I know how easily crowds can be manipulated.
If I had fewer scruples and more need for money, and someone offered a group of family and friends $100 each to cheer at some politician's rally, would I accept the job? I might consider it an interesting outing, even an educational moment for the kids. (Though $100 isn't even worth as much as a Disney ticket these days.)
What if I were offered money to swell the crowd at an organized protest? Or to provoke a "spontaneous" one? That would take fewer scruples and more need for money, because that's courting real danger, but I could see it happening in my younger days, when I had more time and fewer suspicions.
What if I were feeling generally miserable and angry at the world? What if I were strung out on drugs and needed money for the next fix? Would I wave a sign someone handed to me? Would I throw a brick through a store window?
My father could remember the days when spreading bribes (and threats) among voters was a common political strategy. Human nature has not in the interim changed for the better. A $100 bill is barely petty cash for a high-stakes political campaign, and influencing public perceptions can be a far more cost-effective strategy than the old-fashioned one bribe, one vote approach.
Caveat elector.
