Normally I would prefer to start off with something a little humorous. Everyone can always use more laughter in their lives, right? However seeing that it is the Monday after the biggest sporting event of the year (World Cup isn’t yearly, so it’s excluded), it seemed fairly obvious that something should be said about how we celebrate victory. No sooner had the Philadelphia Eagles won what was a thrilling offensive display of American football, then the news stories began coming out of rioting in Philadelphia. Why is that when something exciting happens our first thought is to destroy something? When you think about it destruction is our response to just about any situation. We disagree with a court verdict and there’s a riot. Win the Super Bowl then let’s set a car on fire. Massive hurricane hits land and let’s smash windows and take whatever can get. And to be clear, this is not a new phenomenon. We can’t blame polarizing politics or a great divide in society. It’s not even unique to the United States. I’ve been told it’s part of the group think mentality.

I’ve never understood the group thinking. That’s possibly because I’ve never been part of a large group. Generally the larger the group, the more uncomfortable and reclusive I get. The other reason is that I’ve never been very good at following the crowd. It’s not that I think there’s anything wrong with following the crowd. Anyone who knows me will agree that I have a habit of overthinking any topic or idea. If there is a way to complicate it then I will definitely find it. Sometimes that works out well and sometimes, well…let’s just say that it might put me in the category, “not quite right in the head.” It also means that following along is difficult for me. The thought that going along with the group would lead to mayhem in the streets is beyond even my ability to complicate things. It just doesn’t make good sense that I would be willing to smash store windows or set trash cans on fire because that is what the larger group is doing.

I am curious to know what the morning after feels like to someone who has participated in the chaos of the moment. Do they regret their actions? Do they worry about repercussions? Or do they just go about their regular life giving it no thought at all? The why. That’s what interests me more than anything. In the case of civil unrest I wonder if it makes a person feel better after having participated in the destruction of a neighborhood, possibly even their neighborhood. Is the emotion so overwhelming that it just has to spill out somewhere and that’s how it manifests? And maybe that’s why it happens. Overwhelming emotion is definitely a part of the human condition. And maybe it’s as simple and as complicated as that. I don’t have the answers only more questions. During the next major event that causes rioting in the streets, I know I will still be an observer sitting on the sidelines and wondering why again and why haven’t I experienced that same level of overwhelming emotion.