How do you get people to listen to something crazy? You
shout at them. Loudly.
Aggression at the right time creates tension. It elevates
simple things or latent feelings to urgent matters that need to be solved
immediately. The people who agree with what’s being shouted, even if just ever
so slightly, will get pulled into the excitement, while those who disagree are
forced to decide to back down or fight back. And if they fight back, the answer
in the early 1900’s was to get louder.
This was a tactic employed by both Benito Mussolini and
Adolf Hitler in the years leading up to WWII as they attempted to secure power.
Mussolini found a group of disgruntled soldiers who felt that Italy had been
put under the rest of Europe’s heel. He gathered them up into a vigilante
militia bent on keeping socialists from taking over Italy. They were loud, they
were violent, they were intimidating, they were the Blackshirts, and they
viciously suppressed any opposition.
Inspired, Hitler created his own league of extraordinary
bullies. Different targets, different name, but the same tactics. Hitler’s
Brownshirts would patrol rallies, shouting down or mobbing opposition. They
would also attend the opposition’s political rallies, disrupting them with
intimidation and violence. Both the Blackshirts and Brownshirts thrived on
power and the creation of fear.
But, history had two different ends for them. The
Brownshirts, deemed to be too socialist and not loyal enough to Hitler, were decimated
and replaced in 1934. The Blackshirts were loyal to the end, fighting for Mussolini
until he was ousted in 1943. They were promptly disbanded.
As it turns out, human beings are incredibly capable.
Looking through history, that capability has been as glorious as it has been
horrible and these two groups of bullies are another example of that. Their
anger tore apart millions of lives. We need to carefully watch those who fall
back on these same tactics before we add another colored shirt to the list.
Image credit to Mindaugas Danys
I like that you use shouting matches to talk about heightened tensions. I have noticed within my own family that problems only escalate when voices are raised. In old videos showing Hitler, you can clearly see his fist pounding the pulpit and his voice is obviously raised. I wonder how many fights could be avoided on a personal level if those involved were to act more mildly?
ReplyDeleteI have never thought of how much shouting actually influences the masses. There are some who also say that the reason Hitler was so successful was because he was saying what the Germans wanted to hear. He became sort of the shadow of the people, and the people flocked to him.
ReplyDeleteThe picture you included in perfect: what begins on the playground, finishes out in the world. It is scary to know that so many innocent children end up as adult "bullies." History shows us that many times over, one loud, strong person can rally believers, thereby eventually leaving a wake of destruction behind them.
ReplyDeleteInteresting post to think about what influence shouting can have. I think that it definitely has the power to put gasoline on the fire and get people riled up about a particular issue. Especially if it is being done by someone with so much charisma like Hitler. I imagine he knew the effects of his shouting when he was doing it, but did he know the full effects?
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