Like A Flock of Sheep
I can’t count the number of times I’ve heard an analogy made comparing ordinary people to sheep from someone who purports to be interested in changing the world. Were it not for understanding why leftists, too, do inhumanistic things, it’d be a source of continual frustration.
Still worse, I’ve always found the statement pretty offensive to sheep. Sheep flock for a reason. For safety, for community, for reproduction, in short: for survival and prosperity. They flock both from the marvels provided to them in terms of instinct, as well as from their individual experiences: if dogs and a rancher has successfully protected the flock so far, why expect otherwise in the future?
Is it really that hard for progressives to see how ridiculous this comparison is? What is meant by the comparison of ordinary people to sheep is that sheep – and, correspondingly, people – are dumb for engaging in a collective struggle for survival. That this type of hogswallop permeates progressive movements so much shows the lack of faith that so many progressives have in ordinary people AND the distance that progressives still must travel to liberate themselves from the oppressive socialisation and mythology embedded in their soul. Why is community and solidarity funny?
Now I understand that if we were to arrive at a definition of what’s meant by the comparison it’d be that people should be critical thinkers. But why do you have to be an individualist to be a critical thinker? Shouldn’t we, as progressives be the ones promoting solidaristic, communalist, and dialogical education? “You can flock” and still think clearly! If the Left flocked more like sheep, the enemy would fear for its life.
The next time you hear someone compare people to a flock of sheep, raise before them the specter of community solidarity and the hegemonic reasons why people fall in line. For the Left to succeed, though, it has to start by overcoming its own internal elitism (and the class, gender, sexual, and national privileges which they stem from).
I completely agree, not only for all the reasons you stated but it also blames individuals for problems which are systemic and institutional, I hope we can collectively overcome blaming individuals and recognize the way systems of oppression shape social behaviours.
yup! totally!
i know a few comrades who are forever referring to folks who don’t share their views as “sheeple”, & it’s meant to be funny, but, for the reasons you stated, isn’t. to me it’s kind of a “we” are intellectually superior to “them” view, which is polarizing & counterproductive.
“If the Left flocked more like sheep, the enemy would fear for its life.”
I know what you’re saying, and I understand your frustration with a fractured Left. But be careful. You’re only a few steps removed from ‘everyone who doesn’t follow This Ideal is an individualist and doesn’t know what is good for them and not a true progressive.’