- From John 6
The comparison of people to lemmings seems rather insulting. Lemmings are these mindless, instinctual creatures that just do whatever the other lemmings are doing.
Mama Lemming: Would you jump off a cliff if your lemming friends did?
Little Boy Lemming: Why, yes! Yes, I would!
But how accurate is it, when applied to humans? Well, we have some ways to get around it. We have rationale, logic. We have "facts."
- We're on the right side of history.
- It's the new thing. Everybody's doing it!
- I'm afraid of what they'll do to me if I don't join.
When Jesus called Himself "The Bread of Heaven," and that people that "ate" Him would have eternal life, it just sounded too crazy for some people. I mean . . . they wanted eternal life. But the thought of telling their friends about eating the flesh of Christ, and drinking His blood, just felt weird, awkward.
So, first, one of them began walking away, and then another, and another. And soon, this crowd of erstwhile disciples were a glommed-up mass of people disappearing over the horizon.
And as they talked about it to each other in the ensuing days, they just got each other stirred up in anger, and then hate, against The Lord. They became a ready-made crowd, yelling "Crucify Him!"
Crowds that are angry about something, only make themselves more angry, and they very easily and naturally stir up rancor against people that are not present. Crowd behavior, mob behavior, groupthink. It's a bad thing.
If you join in, in a gossipy session with others, that keep concluding "He's lying," about someone not present . . . then you're close enough to being a lemming that perhaps you'd better get out.
So, in this series, I've pretty much opened up a couple barrels against crowds and gangs. Tomorrow, the final blow against bullies.
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