Hallmarks of an orchestrated smear

[pat_k]

5. You nailed it.

The tools for inciting a mob on social media are downright frightening.

And that's really the key: Mob mentality.

A mob doesn't stop and think. A mob doesn't take time to seek more information or put into context. A mob doesn't consider the human capacity for transformation. A mob doesn't call for deeper investigation of reports.

No. A mob grows on it's own momentum. Emotional contagion takes hold. As the mob forms people are thoughtlessly pulled in. As more join the mob, it's the classic snowball. If all these people are out there with pitchforks and torches, there MUST be a damn good reason. No need to stop, think, learn more, or evaluate.

Had the Senate not succumbed to mob mentality in December of 2017, who knows? We might have had President Franken in 2020. At 68 years old there wouldn't be much of a question about whether he should run again at 72. Biden was a very good president, but I suspect that if that alternate future had come to pass, Franken would have been a hell of a force.