Collectivized behavior here.

I’ve heard a lot lately about the “repeat what he says” thing on talk radio and from other sources. Our local talk host got a lot of mileage out of this behavior at a Michael Moore speech. First glance would indeed seem to indicate some kind of brainless repetition/chant thing going here.

However, as is often the case, a little more research pulls up The Rest of the Story. Turns out in a lot of places bullhorns and amplifiers were forbidden by the authorities, and this technique was a method of getting around that. It’s creepy, but that’s the reason. Note the “mike check.”

The way in which this mass of people can be easily manipulated back and forth from one opinion to another, almost in minutes, doesn’t explain away so neatly. I’ve heard a lot of sneering about “individualism” here lately. This is what you get without it.