The phenomenon is called mass hysteria
I found this on the Times of Malta comments-board beneath a piece of hagiography written by Labour supporter and newspaper staffer Kurt Sansone, and I’m posting it here because it’s so good and needs more attention. Posted by an Alex Grima:
Mass hysteria. That’s how you understand the Delia phenomenon. Let’s examine some excerpts from Mr Sansone’s article.
“Here was an outsider who came with a ‘new way’ and a message of hope for PN councillors, dazed as they were from a disastrous election result.”
There you’ve got a group of people who are disappointed, not thinking properly and desperate for a solution to their political woes. They’re ready to be whipped up into a frenzy, and that’s how the mass hysteria starts.
“Dr Delia sought to distinguish his brand of politics from that of the outgoing leadership. This he managed to do primarily by demonising “the establishment” without pinpointing the people he had in mind.”
Rabble rousers often rant and rave about an unknown enemy because they know the unknown factor will make people more scared and more desperate for the solution they will provide.
“It seemed as if the louder the voices against Dr Delia grew from some in the PN’s leadership hierarchy, the stronger his support became among the party’s rank and file.”
People under the influence of mass hysteria completely shut off any criticism exactly the way Labour stonewalls any criticism with the word ‘negative’. Under continuous criticism, they band up together to help them resist the pressure to consider the criticism and think rationally. They reinforce each other’s beliefs and thus embrace the object of their hysteria more strongly.
“Dr Delia’s message has not been politically deep. He remains vague when confronted on sensitive policy matters such as embryo freezing and gamete donation. His economic and social vision still has to be spelt out.”
It really doesn’t matter that Delia offers nothing of substance at this point. Not even the allegations against him matter. Now more people will continue to join his camp because they don’t want to be left out. People will support him because other people support him.
Like sheep. The Delia phenomenon. Mass hysteria.
He might win, but not all the people who support him. They will get peanuts if lucky, while their political party and country sink deeper.We’ll know the number of hungry monkeys there are in two weeks time.
