FRIDAY, APRIL 7, 2023 - GOOD FRIDAY AND MOBS

 FRIDAY, APRIL 7, 2023 - GOOD FRIDAY

Mobs have an interesting dynamic. The definition of a mob is a large crowd of people, especially one that is disorderly and intent on causing trouble or violence. Like "a mob of protesters".

I’ve seen mobs (mostly on television or videos) - like the mob on January 6th storming the Capitol.  We’ve seen mobs on the streets - especially after George Floyd’s death - protesting police brutality.  (There even are mobs at sporting events yelling “Kill the refs”.)

There is a concept called Mob Mentality:

“Mob mentality -- also called herd or hive mentality -- is the inclination that some humans have to be part of a large group, often neglecting their individual feelings in the process, and adopting the behaviors and actions of the people around them.”

While you might not agree with the mob, your voice isn’t heard.  You get caught up in the fervor of the day and of the mob.  You might suspect if you say “no”, that you might be attacked.  

Aside, I was at a pro football game in Minnesota.  In our seating section, there were rabid Minnesota Viking fans, many in Viking jerseys, and what appeared to be a dad with his son cheering for the Indianapolis Colts - and both in Colt jerseys.  Some Viking fans were getting pretty drunk and started harassing the dad and son.  If the Colts had a good play, the Viking fans would boo and direct the boos at the dad and son.  Some fan dumped his beer on the dad and their friends around them cheered.  C’mon folks - the dad and son were just fans watching their team.  There was absolutely no reason to harass them and even less to drench them in warm beer. But, the mob mentality was real.  I thought about standing up between the drunk Viking fans and the dad/son in the Colt Jerseys who were being harassed - but I didn’t act.  So I was complacent in the actions of others.

I was in a mob once.  I was a graduate student when the Vietnam War was raging.  There was a rally on campus and like many students, I was there.  It started with a few speakers condemning the war and napalm bombing.  After a few of the speakers, the group listening started to get riled up.  “STOP THE WAR”.  Then the mob got unruly and the city brought out the firetrucks and sprayed high-pressure water on the group and soon it dispersed.  In other situations, police groups use tear gas to break up the demonstration.  

Mobs can be dangerous.  With some of the Black Lives Matter, some threw stones at the police.  Some threw rocks through store windows and there was looting.  I’m sure the organizers were hoping for a peaceful assembly, but mobs (and occasionally some embedded thugs) can change quickly. The mob that stormed the capitol building on January 6, 2021, killed and injured several.

In some Western stories, mobs show up at the jail to lynch the accused person and hang him.  “Vigilante justice”.  

I’ve been reading “Candy Bombers” - about the Berlin Airlift.  The book describes some of the mob scenes where communists infiltrated the groups and yelled for violence.  Likewise, there are rallies where Hitler came to power.  The rational voices were silenced and hate took over.

*****

Today as Good Friday, I think of the mob that gathered that day years ago.  Seemingly Pilate didn’t really want to crucify Jesus, but the mob (supposedly with the encouragement of the Jewish leadership), yelled “Crucify, crucify”.  Pilate got backed into a corner and finally said “His blood will be on your hands”, and the mob yelled “Crucify” ever louder.  

How would you act in the middle of a mob?  In this case - would you say “No, don’t crucify Him”.  How would the mob act towards you?  Would you be stoned?  Would they beat you?  Would they listen to you? (I don’t think so). I anticipate that many in the crowd were good people.  Many would have heard Jesus’ messages and believed in the message - but they were silenced because of the animosity of the crowd yelling “Crucify”.

So, the mob succeeded that day.  

I was thinking of the Sandi Patty song, Via Dolorosa:

“Down the Via Dolorosa in Jerusalem that day

The soldiers tried to clear the narrow street

But the crowd pressed in to see

The man condemned to die on Calvary

He was bleeding from a beating, there were stripes upon His back

And He wore a crown of thorns upon His head

And He bore with every step

The scorn of those who cried out for His death

Down the Via Dolorosa called the way of suffering

Like a lamb came the Messiah, Christ the King

But He chose to walk that road out of

His love for you and me

Down the Via Dolorosa, all the way to Calvary”

*****

Definitely, a mob scene crowding in to see a man led to his death.

*****

How can I stand up to injustice?  How can YOU stand up to injustice?  Are you able to protest injustice peacefully?  Are you willing to be a voice of reason when “hotheads” are screaming in your face?  

Are there times to stand by quietly and let injustice win?  Are there times you MUST be involved?  

Will you stand in front of an unruly group and say “STOP”?  Would you do this even if the crowd turns on you and attacks you (and even kills you)?  

Are there times to stand up for something even if it means personal injury to yourself

*****

Some people today will observe the “stations of the cross” - following Jesus’ walk to his death.  He carries a heavy cross-beam that will be lifted into place after He is nailed to that cross-beam.  

As I understand it, crucifixion is a painful death.  Death by hanging or firing squad is quick - crucifixion can take hours as a person can’t breathe out the carbon dioxide that is slowly taking over their lungs.  You press down on your legs to get your head up to breathe in - but doing so is so painful with nails through your feet.  And, in this case, a mob surrounded the walk to the crucifixion yelling and screaming.  

Was it a good day for the human aspect of Jesus?  No.  Was it a good day for the deity of Jesus?  Not obviously, but yes it was.  God was fulfilling a plan - a plan to shed the blood of an ‘innocent lamb’.  Was it a good day for me?  It was a great day for me!!!

*****

I try to avoid mobs, I try not to offend mobs.  If I had to drive through a mob (like crossing a picket line), I probably wouldn’t even try.  

But, maybe I should have a backbone and stand up for my beliefs - even if it means death for me.

What do you think?

LOVE WINS

LOVE TRANSFORMS

KAREN ANNE WHITE, ©, APRIL 7, 2023