Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Convergence in the Ku Klux Klan
The convergence theory of collective action is very visible in the case of the Ku Klux Klan, an extremely radical, anti-black,anti-semitic, anti-catholic (pretty much against anyone who is not a white protestant) group in the United States. The members instigated violence against the black community and conducted lynchings . During such occasions, many white people who would have been otherwise wary of unleashing their hatred and prejudice could freely 'converge' and do so using the crowd as an 'excuse'. This became further facilitated after the KKK members started wearing hoods that covered the members' faces and identities.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
3 comments:
Such incidence show that individuals try to vent out their frustration,anger, prejudice against a community under the cover of groups. The lynching of christian missionaries by so called Hindu fundamentalist in Orissa can also be cited to put across this point.It was not only the fundamentalist, villagers also were involved in this heinous crime. These villagers were pulled due to convergent effect.
This incidents implies that people converge together for a common cause but at times others who have their own personal motives can take advantage of the situation. So the outsiders who take undue advantage of the situation comes to play in these cases. Though many people share their predispositions in this case the extent to which each of them are influenced by these ideas and the real reasons for which they converge together in a group can vary.The crowd behavior need not be predictable always in such cases as the actions and predispositions of the outsiders can vary out of proportion of what was expected from the crowd which had its own predispositions instilled by an event or action towards which all of them focussed their attention.
The same phenomenon has been witnessed time after time during wars where hate-mongering reaches its pinnacle and causes soldiers to indulge in unspeakable atrocities which they would later regret after returning to their lives. Although such incidents may border on the 'contagion' effect, some aspects of the 'convergence' effect are definitely visible there...
Post a Comment