Leadership matters a great deal for motivating collective action.
I see a lot of fantastic discussions, papers, threads, and op-eds about the insurrection from experts from various fields.
As a social scientist, I want to add that it's important to understand that collective action like we saw yesterday is due to *many* factors.
Leadership matters a great deal for motivating collective action.
This came to head with the concerted efforts by GOP members of the Senate and House who tried to overturn the election certification.
This was primarily spearheaded on social media, which is why freezing Trump's social media accounts is such a big deal.
From Fox to OAN to Newsmax, these false messages were spread to millions of homes.
The people who stormed the Capitol came from racist and pro-fascist groups (like the Proud Boys) and proudly waived the Confederate flags during their attempted insurrection.
It's impossible to imagine police officers taking selfies with another group as they violently invaded government property.
This is bound up in sectarian politics, where extreme affective polarization leads people to see the election of their political opponent as a mortal (and immoral) threat.
Collective human behavior is complex and there is space for expertise on all of these angles since these (and other) factors likely all matter a great deal.
It's important to think more deeply about how they interact. In the real world, collective human action is never caused by a single factor.
Accept that these people do not all share the same assumptions, identities, backgrounds and goals. This makes it impossible to find a simple, single explanation for all of them.
More from Politics
What does "patriots in control" mean?
What would that "look like" in reality?
So a massive adult film star in all his glory is included in an official FBI government filing
Hunter Biden's book is categorized as "Chinese
TIME admits to "conspiracy" to "not rig, rather
A "pillow guy" has military-grade intercepts detailing the IP addresses and device MAC IDs of EVERY incursion into every county in the
What would that "look like" in reality?
So a massive adult film star in all his glory is included in an official FBI government filing
Perhaps the explanation is that Patriots are in control.
— David Burney (@jdburney1) February 6, 2021
\U0001f923\U0001f923\U0001f923\U0001f923 https://t.co/W3S8TgeY74
Hunter Biden's book is categorized as "Chinese
Patriots in control?
— David Burney (@jdburney1) February 6, 2021
\U0001f923\U0001f923\U0001f923\U0001f923 https://t.co/p0rEyfd2DW
TIME admits to "conspiracy" to "not rig, rather
TIME admits stolen election, with spin!
— David Burney (@jdburney1) February 6, 2021
"They weren't rigging the election, they were fortifying it."
Recognize the Ministry of Truth? How many things in the last few years have been redefined to be the opposite of reality?
Google the definition of "bigot" if you doubt me. https://t.co/CNU888fxr4 pic.twitter.com/UEhRBOtUB6
A "pillow guy" has military-grade intercepts detailing the IP addresses and device MAC IDs of EVERY incursion into every county in the
God bless the pillow manufacturer.
— David Burney (@jdburney1) February 6, 2021
The last 30 minutes details where every single incursion is recorded including IP and MAC addresses. 100% proof. pic.twitter.com/P5MVb1xGNC