The Madness of Crowds expands and continues
Douglas Murray’s The Madness of Crowds, is a masterfully argued and fiercely provocative book, in which he seeks to inject some sense into the discussion around this generation’s most complicated issues. He ends with an impassioned call for free speech, shared common values and sanity in an age of mass hysteria. The book was published in 2020, and deals with sexuality, gender, technology and race as the culture wars play out in our workplaces, universities, schools and homes in the names of social justice, identity politics and ‘intersectionality’. But the madness has spread …like (ahem) a virus. DR ROBERT MALONE calls it ‘mass formation psychosis’.
The Epoch Times, January 2, 2022: Key mRNA contributor Dr. Robert Malone, a prominent skeptic of mandatory COVID-19 vaccinations, gave an interview to popular podcaster Joe Rogan—days after Malone was suspended from Twitter—during which he suggested the United States is in the midst of a “mass formation psychosis.”
“Our government is out of control on this,” Malone said about vaccine mandates in the interview, which was published over the weekend. “And they are lawless. They completely disregard bioethics. They completely disregard the federal common-rule. They have broken all the rules that I know of, that I’ve been trained [in] for years and years and years.”
Malone, an expert in mRNA vaccine technologies who received training at UC Davis, UC San Diego, and the Salk Institute, was banned by Twitter last week. Malone told The Epoch Times last week that Twitter offered no explanation for why his account, which had amassed 500,000 followers, was suspended.
A spokesperson for Twitter told the left-wing Daily Dot outlet that Malone’s account “was permanently suspended for repeated violations of our COVID-19 misinformation policy … per the strike system outlined here, we will permanently suspend accounts for repeated violations of this policy.” Twitter has not responded to an Epoch Times’ request for comment on Malone’s suspension.
“These mandates … are explicitly illegal” and “are explicitly inconsistent with the Nuremberg Code,” Malone said during his Rogan interview, referring to the set of research ethics principles against human experimentation. “They are explicitly inconsistent with the Belmont report,” Malone added, referring to the 1978 report published in the Federal Register regarding ethical principles and guidelines for research involving human subjects.
“They are flat out illegal,” Malone added, “and they don’t care.”
Toward the end of his interview, Malone suggested that people are in the midst of what he called “mass formation psychosis,” drawing parallels to the mentality that developed among the German population in the 1920s and 1930s.
In those years, Germans “had a highly intelligent, highly educated population, and they went barking mad,” Malone said.
“When you have a society that has become decoupled from each other and has free-floating anxiety in a sense that things don’t make sense, we can’t understand it,” he continued. “And then their attention gets focused by a leader or series of events on one small point just like hypnosis. They literally become hypnotized and can be led anywhere.”
“They will follow that person. It doesn’t matter if they lie to them or whatever.”
Several years ago, he said, people were “complaining, the world doesn’t make sense” and that we weren’t “connected socially anymore, except through social media.”
“Then this thing happened,” Malone said, referring to the COVID-19 pandemic. “That is how mass formation psychosis happens and that is what has happened here.”
BREAKING NEWS REPORTER
Hello Andrew,
I wrote the following comment some time ago, but did not post it … not wanting to be gratuitous, contrary, or things along such lines. But I know that you are dedicated to individual democratic rights. Of course I come back to your blog now and then, to see where you are headed and here I am, now wanting to see what you make of Putin’s orders relevant to the Ukraine…
Anyway, here’s the text of a comment that I’d prepared some time ago, but didn’t post, on this thread:
“I’m not sure about that concept of ‘herd immunity’. With Covid 19, it seems that immunity can wane over time and that reinfection can happen. [e.g. https://health.clevelandclinic.org/can-you-get-covid-19-more-than-once/%5D
“As to the major point of Andrew’s article – the ‘madness of crowds’ – I accept that it happens, in varying degrees. I recall attending the 2nd Moratorium in Melbourne (1970) – purely [I thought] to see what a mass demonstration was like – and somehow becoming part of it as the huge crowd moved from the Gardens into Bourke St. I went with them … to observe. In Bourke St, of necessity we formed a long street wide column (not on the footpaths). We sat down in the street when we reached the hill past the post office. Looking back eastwards along Bourke St, the line stretched a long way. People were chanting different things, like ‘Ho, Ho, Ho Chi Min!’ I began to join in. There was a sense of fun or excitement in doing so. It was like challenging authority – something I hadn’t done before, basically. I called out something like ‘Stop the war!’ and felt pleased with myself.
“When I got home that night, I thought about what I’d done, how I’d (while intending to just observe) been swept up into the group dynamic and had become an active participant – without actually realising it at the time. I didn’t/don’t remember an actual moment during that day when the thought came to me ‘Shall I now cease to be an observer and become a participant?’
“Some few years later I read Ionesco’s Rhinocéros which portrayed the spread (of Nazism?) as an infectious madness. I liked the play a lot. I can’t resolve in my own mind the dichotomy between us as individuals and us as members of a social group (society).
“However, in finishing this comment, I’ll close by questioning whether it’s fair to use ‘the left’ as a punching bag, as if it is responsible for such claimed ‘mass psychosis, e.g. Pversi’s comment that “the left has gone stark raving mad.” Would he blame the so-called left for the 2020 rush on toilet paper at the supermarkets?”
You were curious to see what I make of Putin’s orders relevant to the Ukraine…here’s my take:
I don’t mean to be flippant ! In the past I had actually accepted that govt. had the best of intentions when it came to any policy which protected the population . Vaccines included. ! I still have the scars on my left arm from receiving small pox vaccination in 1956 prior to coming to Australia. Later I received Sabin for measles I think , and the flu shots as I got older. Never questioned any of it. As this new Cynic which I now am , I would have resisted everything. Drinking chlorinated water only as a way to dental health , begs the question “ what else does chlorine do in the body of a young person ? Chlorine is a strong chemical which kills bugs in the water . Did it also kill good bacteria ? Did it change the functions of my internal organs ? Do food additives ultimately destroy us rather than protect us. ?? When I apply deodorant to my armpits day after day and year after year , does it actually leech into my organs and cause cancers and goodness knows what else. ? Are perfumes we apply to our faces as aftershave or to our bodies as ladies eau de toilette , change our organs and their functions ? The short answer is “we wouldn’t have a clue “ . Is cancer the mutation of a virus ? We currently have mass hysteria against mandated vaccines and we have equal hysteria in favor of vaccinations. What is evident is that neither side really knows what’s best . There is vested interest in selling vaccines instead of finding treatments for disease which could reduce symptom but through herd immunity , see the end of this crazy world wide response to all things COVID. The positioning of people is generally driven by lack of knowledge or lack of credibility of the people pushing their agenda. I’ve heard Fauci contradict himself so many times one wonders if the changes he makes in his views are commensurate with the levels of personal gain he makes in taking a particular stance. The corruption is everywhere. None greater than the whole Biden family’s involvement with China. It must be very hard to be honest when the rewards offered for dishonesty are so high. It’s time to change the world , but not the way it’s being done now . It’s time to get rid of all self interest politicians and public servants and find only , leaders who will only represent their people. The voters who put them there in the first place. No voter has ever said , I’ll vote for Biden but if he’s really incompetent it’s ok as he’s a Democrat. Or I’ll vote for Biden but if he goes against all the things he promised , it’s ok , he knows best. !!!?? No , we vote for people because we expect them to represent the people in their electorates . If not ….. demand a new election and right away ! They work for us ,yet they do not listen to us. In your business , would you allow an employee to do things contrary to your instructions ? No you would not. ! The left has gone stark raving mad. I the voter demand what I voted for . Not some crazy new agenda which will destroy already threatened democracies. The US seems to forget their own history …the govt is supposed to be Of the people , By the people and For the people. Think of what that actually means. Pv
What’s the difference between a banker and a wanker . ? Answer… A wanker knows what he’s doing. Based on where we are today ..I can see “the mouse that roared” remake . If we want to come out of these times intact , we should declare war on Anyone bigger than us , then immediately surrender and claim war reparations to survive. The banks are maintaining book profits by irresponsible lending thereby supporting their share values so that bank executives can get share options in their package which will make them rich just before it all goes South . Cynical you say ? Oh yes ! I’ve seen first hand manipulation by institutions , local, state, and federal governments. And the country which is supposed to keep us all safe The US is run by a man who could not run a 711 store. I’m so Cynical in fact , that I’m going to buy a double decker bus , drive around without purpose , and tell the paying customers “ look on both sides of the bus because we’re stuffed no matter what you do !” I’m going to call the business PV’s Cynic Tours ! Catchy yes but frighteningly true. Pv CEO Australian Cynic tours inc !! 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣