I have heard so many of my clients including people who consult with me or bump into me in public say “I am really disturbed by the George Floyd video and protests/riots.”
It never fails. The world is upside down and although the George Floyd protests have made a major impact on moving forward a society that is often segregated, the protests and riots will never be forgotten.
In this article (video), I will be highlighting concepts you should know has played a role in these protests and riots.Protest and riots due to social injustice is ingrained in our history. When we experience ethnocentrism, group think, and diffusion of responsibility to a point of causing the death of another, we see violence and aggressive protesting. Violence and rioting has impacted about 180 countries throughout our history, according to some research studies. Sadly, we haven’t found a way to reduce this collective trauma.
There are 4 important concepts that I believe play a role in protests and violent riots. It’s difficult to make a powerful impact on injustice when the following is present:
- Collective Trauma: Collective trauma explains trauma that impacts a group of people.
- Diffusion of responsibility: Diffusion of responsibility describes a series of behaviors that involve not stepping into a situation where you can and most likely should.
- Group Think: Group think is a sociological concept used to describe “we-ness” and a “groupie syndrome” that influences behavior and thoughts.
- Poor mental health: Although the connection between mental health and protests/riots is unknown, research suggests that protesting and rioting may have an impact on mental health or vice versa as natural disasters do on some people.