This is a serious question so please take a minute to hear me out. This is in no way a post to take sides or judge but to analyze human behaviour.

What happened during the baptism but also the media coverage afterwards.

Group conformity mechanics are mechanics where individuals conform to a group, and this can also supersede reason

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The asch experiment did tests around this mechanic and the tests have been redone several times over the years and everytime it yielded similar results

There is a wiki page but this 2 minute youtube video explains it quite simple.

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iRh5qy09nNw](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iRh5qy09nNw)

Milgram also did a test around this mechanic, but more specifically to authority. Just to be clear in no way I’m trying to establish intent here of any sort by mentioning this experiment

Still it does show what sort of power authority can have. This is also a 2 minute video.

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kzd6Ew3TraA](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kzd6Ew3TraA)

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Of course these mechanics will have had influence on the baptism itself they could also have had influence on the media reaction afterwards.

[Herbert A. Simon](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herbert_A._Simon) won the Nobel prize for his theory that people are cognitive misers. Meaning that people, regardless of intelligence, will try to find the simplest way to reach to a conclusion, especially when confronted with mass information.

This is the wiki page about it , but it covers everything from propaganda , you will have to scroll down to persuasion in social psychology to find the part that covers this.

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Propaganda](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Propaganda)

Combine this mechanic with group conformity on intertwined networks (the internet) and it might be an explanation why it’s hard to distinguish fact from fiction. Because there is mass information and people also conform around it.

Authority plays also a role here, not only that certain people might follow a figure with authority, but also that people don’t want to respect information from a figure just because he has authority, because they are aware of the power that comes with authority.

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2 comments

  1. Probably, but not exclusively I think.

    Young men without actual life experience tend to believe they are immortal and invulnerable. They don’t take anything seriously and they are rebelling against all rules and authority, believing there will be no consequences.

    They had all gone through that ordeal themselves and afterwards it gave them a strong bond and something to boast about. Again, no real lasting consequences.

    In their mind, the only consequence of this would be a boastful story about how the baptism they organised was the “most brutal”. And the new members would be part of the club and would be challenged to outdo them next time.

  2. The big problem with most these baptisms is that it’s organized and run by a bunch of people who only a few years ago came out of an institution that places them in subservience to the older people who teach them.

    And then people act surprised when they organize a system where hierarchy and subservience is required to be allowed to be part of the group. The very thing they’ve been mentally submerged in for the last 6 years, their formative years.

    Some organize regular fun stuff, but all those groups who go for tests of obedience, that’s always where it goes wrong.

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