Of Mice and Men

In a recent study it was demonstrated that mice who were exposed to L-Felinine as babies were significantly less likely to flee from cats when they became adults, making them much more likely to end up on the feline dinner table. In simple terms, little mice exposed to cat pee would grow up with a diminished fear of their mortal enemy. 

Now, you’re probably asking yourself how Norm is going to work this tidbit into a communication piece. Well, it’s simple. Mankind is not all that different from mousekind.

All of us experience the magnetism of dangerous things. Many quite normal people report a terrifying temptation as a freight train thunders by, as they stand at the brink of a cliff or at Niagara’s pounding edge. Your brain won't speak it out loud, but the black temptation lurks, whispering, at the edge of consciousness. We share not only with mice but lemmings.

But that's not the really scary part. Those mostly-manageable primal urges are one-on-one between you and nature, but what really gets us into trouble is the magnetism of dangerous people. This is integral to our tribal dynamic. It's hard-wired into our psyches, and is integral to our understanding of human communication.

Who can explain the logic behind S&M relationships? What parent of an adolescent girl does not live in cold fear of the gravitational pull of bad boys? And who can explain why so many intelligent men and women not only persist in abusive relationships but fiercely defend their abusers? 

The magnetism of dangerous people pervades our lives. We all fall victim to the messaging of abusive communicators. The “Big Bad Daddy” syndrome is alive and well in politics, religion, professional offices and sales. We gravitate toward kings and prophets and gang leaders and rock stars. We find meaning when our heart begins to beat as one with theirs. 

Worse, once we fall under the spell of a hero strongman we rarely turn back. The victims of Jonestown were not any different than you or me.

Are we a hopeless race? Certainly not, but our ability to resist the surrender of our will to the strongman begins with an understanding of this fundamental communication dynamic. ​