A Swift Kick & A Band-Aid: Refusing to be Herded

May 27, 2005

Refusing to be Herded

Even though its been a while since the place was updated I was reading this story over at Bastard Sword...

It was posted under science but I took away from it was something different. It seemed appropriate these days, in fact... Never be afraid to stand out and be different. It may be lonely for a while and you might face a tougher trail but in the end, you may be right. And if you're lucky, you may be right enough for it to matter beyond your own pride.

So often we believe that the consensus is right - how could so many smart people all be wrong in the exact same way? Probability may say that the likelihood is low but it still happens...and sometimes you can just tell. Something in your gut knows that it has happened. But most people, most of the time, are afraid to go with that hunch. Perhaps they don't trust themselves or they don't want to face the potential ridicule? But why? The concept of group think whereby a less than optimal decision is often made in group settings is well established. But we don't believe it actually happens?

You become marked when you buck the system, your name blackened, and your head painted with a target for those in charge. That stigma can be lasting and painful but sometimes it is necessary. Of course, choose your battles wisely but be different when it can make a difference...in solving a repeated injustice...in correcting misdeeds...in pointing out an error in consensus conclusions...It doesn't have to be a gesture as grand as those by Rosa Parks or Martin Luther King, Jr but your struggle, no matter how small, may mean a world of difference to those yet to come.