People in a crisis tend not to challenge people who present themselves as authorities who know what they're doing.
This is a good point. I have actually done this, and it's really true. (The times I've done it, the crisis was medical. I'm not a doctor or EMT, but I've had basic CPR and first aid training so mostly what I have done is send someone to get help while I stay with the injured person and reassure them. People are very relieved when someone who acts like they know what they're doing gives them some sort of clear and sensible instructions.)
(If you've read James McDonalds' series on emergency management, a lot of this relies on this phenomenon: if you act like you know what you're doing and start ordering people around, odds are good that people will obey you. And if you DO know what you're doing, better you than some idiot, right? When the authorities show up to take over they will let you know.)
It's certainly true that individuals are harder to track than groups. If a group recruits, you can infiltrate and monitor.
I am just aghast at the amount of damage this particular individual was able to cause. My husband was wondering today if this would be the worst single-shooter mass murder ever. (I just wandered around Wikipedia and concluded that the answer is probably yes.)
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branchandroot
no subject
Date: 2011-07-23 07:55 pm (UTC)This is a good point. I have actually done this, and it's really true. (The times I've done it, the crisis was medical. I'm not a doctor or EMT, but I've had basic CPR and first aid training so mostly what I have done is send someone to get help while I stay with the injured person and reassure them. People are very relieved when someone who acts like they know what they're doing gives them some sort of clear and sensible instructions.)
(If you've read James McDonalds' series on emergency management, a lot of this relies on this phenomenon: if you act like you know what you're doing and start ordering people around, odds are good that people will obey you. And if you DO know what you're doing, better you than some idiot, right? When the authorities show up to take over they will let you know.)
It's certainly true that individuals are harder to track than groups. If a group recruits, you can infiltrate and monitor.
I am just aghast at the amount of damage this particular individual was able to cause. My husband was wondering today if this would be the worst single-shooter mass murder ever. (I just wandered around Wikipedia and concluded that the answer is probably yes.)