FEBRUARY 24 ― We are still talking about goat in the fifth day of the Year of the Goat.
Speaking of goat, it reminds me of the late Tan Sri Kuek Ho Yao. I can still remember that when Kuek talked about the disputes within Chinese community, he let out a long sigh and said, "When the leading goat jumps into the river, the others follow and eventually, all are drowned...."
Kuek has passed away for years and I have actually forgotten which issue he was referring to, but I remember the "herding behaviour" he mentioned at that time.
The so-called "herding behaviour" is referring to some people who blindly follow the words and deeds of others.
Some studied the habits of goats and found that in the animal world, goats are not a united flock. They always stay together but they have no direction nor goal. As long a goat moves, others will just follow. It is quite similar to the Chinese community of Malaysia.
It was said that to prove the herding behaviour, some people once conducted an experiment by putting a stick in front of a flock of goats and guided the first four goats to jump over it, and the rest followed, jumping over the stick one-by-one.
It was interesting as when someone removed the stick, the following goat still jumped over it even after the stick was removed.
I do not know if that really the case, but in the human society, similar behaviour of following suit is indeed not surprising. However, such an irrational herding behaviour is not limited to the Malaysian Chinese community, but can actually be found everywhere, including workplaces and political arenas.
The herding behaviour has always brought laughter in daily life. For instance, in a bustling street, if a man suddenly stops walking and looks up at the sky for a long time, others will follow and if someone ask what they are looking at, no one can actually answer.
In the political arena, herding behaviour has been a common means being used to fight for votes and support. We can always see that when a politician accuses his or her opponent of betraying the clan, the accusation eventually seems to be true after more and more people follow suit and spread the accusation.
Reich Minister of Propaganda in Nazi Germany Joseph Goebbels' famous quotation saying "if you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it" is another typical example for herding behaviour.
Sadly, in many cases, people choose to accept only a simple and narrow answer. They rather follow the crowd, and believe that the majority means the truth. Meanwhile, those who are rational, sensible, insist on their own judgement and refuse to follow the leading goat to jump over the stick, will become dissenters who should be boycotted, isolated and even suppressed!
* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of Malay Mail Online.
