Column: Why do people follow tyrannical leaders?

Recently I have been viewing a discussion on the titled topic and have decided to add my two cents.

People follow so called tyrannical leaders for the same reason they follow noble ones. Sometimes they just don't know the difference.

In addition, it is sometimes easier to follow the tyrants because to do otherwise is to face being ostracised by the community and even death. Society is based on group identity.

People align themselves to groups that they believe will protect them and assist them, whether these groups are based in religion/spirituality, economics, academics, ethnicity, geographic location, secret societies (usually economic), political (usually economic and security) or overlapping subsets of each.

These groups are usually headed by people who understand the human psyche and whose sole aim is self advancement, they manipulate the followers accordingly for their (the leader's) own benefit.

They appear strong and firm in their beliefs and can usually communicate their message effectively, essentially manipulating the minds of their followers who cling to whatever ideology brought them together in the first place.

The group dynamic then takes over and any dissent is portrayed as an attack on the group. When the group system is firmly established, the leader has the momentum to take the group in any direction he then chooses, many times without the group realizing until it is too late.

People who challenge the status quo (real leaders) that is established by the group leaders are attacked by the sycophants who surround the leaders and who feel that by standing up for the leader he will in turn show gratitude.

They point to the fact that the challenger is standing alone and therefore cannot be right, after all the group cannot be wrong, even if heading towards a precipice in a maxi taxi.

History has however shown that the world has only been changed by those who have stood up alone against all odds and criticism and have challenged the status quo when it was not working for the people.

Unfortunately, these people have usually paid with their lives for doing so. Ironically, their lives are usually snuffed out by the very people for whom they were fighting.

Garvin Nicholas | Port of Spain, Trinidad