The power of ‘they’.

For many years I’ve been referring to the power of the herd instinct. Nobody believes me of course – because I am a NOBODY! That’s fine cuz I don’t need people (the herd) to validate what I might say or think. History proves me right.

In essence when people take a position or attitude about something they often refer to ‘they say’ or ‘someone said’. Whenever I’ve asked ‘Who is they?‘ or ‘Who is the someone?‘, they simply don’t know! Well that’s not been surprising to me, because ‘the herd’ is a diffuse social concept.

I’m tempted to give a long list of examples of the above. But no – I don’t have to prove this. I have the evidence over the years. I don’t need to show it so as to say, “I know what I’m talking about.”

Instead I just link to this article from The Daily Mail – which is optional reading. The power of they is conspicuous in what a young nurse ‘believed’ and how she came to refuse the COVID-19 vaccine.

But the article hides another aspect of ‘they’ – the power of ‘they’ – that will be missed by most. What’s that? It is the word ‘medic’. >>I was surprised. I expect this kind of misinformation from patients, not from a fellow medic, who had heard it from her mother.<< Medic? Nurses are now medics? To many reading this, it would appear strange to ask this. And I couldn’t give a monkey’s what anyone else thinks – honestly! The herd doesn’t rule my mind! Nurses, paramedics, opticians, pharmacists and almost any health professional these days are captured in the word ‘medic’.  I know this wasn’t the situation 30 years ago. ‘Medic’ used to mean ‘medical doctor’ and ‘medic’ was an abbreviation for doctor. But the herd groomed by BigLamestreamMedia and social media idiots, blurred the abbreviation to include any health professional. Then, everybody influenced by the ‘power of they’ just followed along.

Deviating slightly last week I was at an assessment and it wasn’t obvious to me who was the health professional in attendance. So I asked, “What professional discipline do you represent?” – quite dispassionately. The response was, “Lead clinician.” Yes – and I’m thinking ‘lead clinician, what?‘ So I then had to ask, “Is that a doctor, nurse, social worker or other?” Then I get “Nurse in charge“. No problem. Few people will probably spot the relevance of the ‘power of they’, in the latter. Well, simply – health service workers have been told that they’re ‘team leaders’ or ‘lead clinicians’ by ‘they’. The ‘they’ is health service high management. These days, it almost appears taboo to call one’s self a nurse or a pharmacist or a psychologist. Stating one’s qualifications such as RMN is long gone. But psychologists occasionally list their qualifications after their names. ‘They’ have shaped the culture – which in turn shapes minds, behaviours and values. One must not appear to be ‘arrogant’ or ‘condescending’ by stating one’s qualifications – that’s the overall drift. Not surprising therefore, is that when I come across clients of health services outside of the health services, and ask ‘Was it a nurse or doctor who saw you?’, they simply do not know! They have also programmed health service users not to ask! And when I asked clients ‘Why did you not ask?‘ They invariably go, “I did not want to speak out of turn or appear rude.” Like seriously?!!

So ‘they’ can be the nebulous influence of the herd or it can be anybody who is part of a herd and influenced by a herd.

Supplemental reading: Post-truth

Disclaimer & Guidance