What are they crying about?
Dec. 29th, 2011 02:17 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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They shake, sob, and collapse on the snowy ground, weeping hysterically. The North Koreans have astounded the world with their extreme form of mourning for their "dear leader". Such displays of desolation are not new. The older would remember the time when Stalin died. The pictures were similarly disturbing, but at least the Russians showed more dignity. But, apart from the obvious factor of coercion through fear, what else lurks behind this collective hysteria?
After the death of Kim Jong Il the North Korean state television has shown many images from the streets in Pyongyang almost non-stop, where we can see thousands of people crushed by sadness, some even rolling on the ground and beating the pavement with their fists in despair. Whether the scenes are from a square with a giant statue of the leader, or from factories and schools - still the same sight. The collective grief is pouring out inconsolably, hysterically, and is conveniently exposed on the state television.
It is difficult to determine what part of all this lamentation is staged and what is genuine. Granted, a hermetically sealed regime like North Korea is probably capable of imposing this feeling of grief upon its people very easily, especially considering the level of brain-washing that they have undergone throughout their entire lives. And there is more. Presently the North Korean public is so aggressively confronted with the sense of loss that is pouring from all the media and is soaking their environment, that we shouldn't be surprised if they are beginning to sincerely feel the emotions that they are displaying in front of the cameras.
Psychology is quite familiar with this phenomenon - groups of people begin experiencing similar emotions, fears and hopes, even though the initial trigger event might not have affected them all equally profoundly. You are probably familiar with this feeling. One could be overwhelmed by inexplicable, almost contagious grief when attending or witnessing someone's funeral, even if you never really knew that person too closely.
The question how detestable the dictator had been to his people and how much the North Korean people had suffered under his rule, becomes a secondary issue in such moments. After Stalin died, there was a similar situation of huge grief and mass hysteria, even suicides. The displays of mourning cannot be explained through rational measurements alone. The purpose of these mourning ceremonies is to get sucked into the feeling of a great loss. However despicable and horrendous his dictatorship had been, Kim Jong Il's death is probably raising a sense of insecurity now - people are grieving for the recent stability that they presumably have lost. In this sense, all this wailing could really be genuine.
We shouldn't forget the fact that all people are being closely watched, too. There is a real threat that if someone does not display "satisfactory" amounts of sadness, they could end up in trouble. This cannot be denied.
But we should also keep in mind the contagious influence of the collective. We talk of a social epidemic and a mass hysteria in those cases when a large group of people displays similar feelings - be they fear, sadness or joy. For example there was a case in Tanzania in the 60s thousands of people were suddenly and inexplicably overwhelmed by a fit of hysterical laughter. The dancing plague of 1518 in France is another such example.
When the emotions of the individual get fused with those of the masses, in a way the psychic of the individual returns to the more primitive stages of development, and this allows the individual to find solace in the collective. This is a well-known psychological phenomenon. So we may never learn what those North Koreans are really feeling, but what's for sure - they are far from happy. Who knows, maybe amusement will pop up only later, when the son of the dictator assumes his place and tries to show his true (un)worth?
But I doubt it. The North Koreans have very little reason to smile whatsoever. Ever since the 90s, thousands of people have become victims to starvation. And this nightmare continues today. The children's situation is the most dramatic. The hospitals are short of milk, medicines and even the most basic tools.
In 2005 the regime kicked out all the humanitarian aid organisations, claiming that they would deal with the situation on their own. But things only got worse. A friend of mine who had been there has told me that it's not like the hospitals do not have skilled doctors. The problem is that they have a severe shortage of food and medical products and equipment. This could be seen from a first glimpse. For instance the hospital he had worked at, had its only x-ray imported from China a decade ago. Things are deteriorating very fast, and unless the new/old regime does something about it, North Korea could be at the brink of a humanitarian catastrophe much worse than Haiti.
But the real drama is played out at home, not in the hospitals. Most of the starving children are not hosted in the hospitals because there aren't enough beds and doctors there, and now that the international aid workers have been expelled, there is no one to provide assistance. Indeed, the majority of the most severely affected kids remain home, sometimes not having anything to eat for days. And no one is able to assess that disaster, because of the secrecy of the regime.
But of course then people would be forced to go on the frozen streets and squares, and mourn for their "dear" leader...
They shake, sob, and collapse on the snowy ground, weeping hysterically. The North Koreans have astounded the world with their extreme form of mourning for their "dear leader". Such displays of desolation are not new. The older would remember the time when Stalin died. The pictures were similarly disturbing, but at least the Russians showed more dignity. But, apart from the obvious factor of coercion through fear, what else lurks behind this collective hysteria?
After the death of Kim Jong Il the North Korean state television has shown many images from the streets in Pyongyang almost non-stop, where we can see thousands of people crushed by sadness, some even rolling on the ground and beating the pavement with their fists in despair. Whether the scenes are from a square with a giant statue of the leader, or from factories and schools - still the same sight. The collective grief is pouring out inconsolably, hysterically, and is conveniently exposed on the state television.
It is difficult to determine what part of all this lamentation is staged and what is genuine. Granted, a hermetically sealed regime like North Korea is probably capable of imposing this feeling of grief upon its people very easily, especially considering the level of brain-washing that they have undergone throughout their entire lives. And there is more. Presently the North Korean public is so aggressively confronted with the sense of loss that is pouring from all the media and is soaking their environment, that we shouldn't be surprised if they are beginning to sincerely feel the emotions that they are displaying in front of the cameras.
Psychology is quite familiar with this phenomenon - groups of people begin experiencing similar emotions, fears and hopes, even though the initial trigger event might not have affected them all equally profoundly. You are probably familiar with this feeling. One could be overwhelmed by inexplicable, almost contagious grief when attending or witnessing someone's funeral, even if you never really knew that person too closely.
The question how detestable the dictator had been to his people and how much the North Korean people had suffered under his rule, becomes a secondary issue in such moments. After Stalin died, there was a similar situation of huge grief and mass hysteria, even suicides. The displays of mourning cannot be explained through rational measurements alone. The purpose of these mourning ceremonies is to get sucked into the feeling of a great loss. However despicable and horrendous his dictatorship had been, Kim Jong Il's death is probably raising a sense of insecurity now - people are grieving for the recent stability that they presumably have lost. In this sense, all this wailing could really be genuine.
We shouldn't forget the fact that all people are being closely watched, too. There is a real threat that if someone does not display "satisfactory" amounts of sadness, they could end up in trouble. This cannot be denied.
But we should also keep in mind the contagious influence of the collective. We talk of a social epidemic and a mass hysteria in those cases when a large group of people displays similar feelings - be they fear, sadness or joy. For example there was a case in Tanzania in the 60s thousands of people were suddenly and inexplicably overwhelmed by a fit of hysterical laughter. The dancing plague of 1518 in France is another such example.
When the emotions of the individual get fused with those of the masses, in a way the psychic of the individual returns to the more primitive stages of development, and this allows the individual to find solace in the collective. This is a well-known psychological phenomenon. So we may never learn what those North Koreans are really feeling, but what's for sure - they are far from happy. Who knows, maybe amusement will pop up only later, when the son of the dictator assumes his place and tries to show his true (un)worth?
But I doubt it. The North Koreans have very little reason to smile whatsoever. Ever since the 90s, thousands of people have become victims to starvation. And this nightmare continues today. The children's situation is the most dramatic. The hospitals are short of milk, medicines and even the most basic tools.
In 2005 the regime kicked out all the humanitarian aid organisations, claiming that they would deal with the situation on their own. But things only got worse. A friend of mine who had been there has told me that it's not like the hospitals do not have skilled doctors. The problem is that they have a severe shortage of food and medical products and equipment. This could be seen from a first glimpse. For instance the hospital he had worked at, had its only x-ray imported from China a decade ago. Things are deteriorating very fast, and unless the new/old regime does something about it, North Korea could be at the brink of a humanitarian catastrophe much worse than Haiti.
But the real drama is played out at home, not in the hospitals. Most of the starving children are not hosted in the hospitals because there aren't enough beds and doctors there, and now that the international aid workers have been expelled, there is no one to provide assistance. Indeed, the majority of the most severely affected kids remain home, sometimes not having anything to eat for days. And no one is able to assess that disaster, because of the secrecy of the regime.
But of course then people would be forced to go on the frozen streets and squares, and mourn for their "dear" leader...
