Last Sunday (1/8), Brazil watched an anti-democratic demonstration turn into a true destruction of property on the Esplanada dos Ministérios. Public buildings were vandalized, as well as works of art and historical furniture, by terrorists who left their homes and families weeks ago to camp in front of barracks.
According to experts, the phenomenon can be explained by a concept called mob mentality. The effect happens when people identify with a group and, together, come together to do something they wouldn’t have the courage to do alone.
“Individually, no one would even have the courage to go up the ramp of the National Congress. In my opinion, it is an act of total insanity”, explains psychologist Soraya Oliveira, from the Institute of Neurology in Goiânia. “The lack of mental health of these people who attacked Planalto, Congress and the Federal Supreme Court (STF) without fear of the consequences is worrying”, completes the specialist.
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Mob mentality is not considered a mental illness but, in this case, it seems to have evolved from the great frustration of losing the election and not knowing how to deal with emotion. “The way the ex-president left them and went to the United States, the meetings in front of the barracks, everything fueled the feeling of hatred within everyone there”, analyzes the psychologist.
According to Soraya, the phenomenon is more common within social networks, where algorithms filter out people with the same ideals and help them organize themselves into groups, whether on the right or on the left.
Differences in political thought have always existed, but the creation of internet bubbles populated by like-minded individuals exacerbates the problem – an example of how exaggerated the situation is is that many families and friendships of years have been broken in recent years.
Soraya classifies the lack of mental health of the Bolsonarists who attacked Brasília on Sunday as a serious emotional condition, which even affected individuals who watched the situation on television. “The attack of these toxic people generated insecurity, doubt and fear in the people who were at home that afternoon”, she laments.
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She suggests that individuals who cannot deal with the frustration and anger at having lost the electoral dispute seek a psychologist to learn how to live with emotion in a healthy way.
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The post What is mob mentality, which tries to explain violent acts first appeared on Metropolis.
