Cheerleading

I was thinking more about my earlier comments on cheerleading. I have no issue with cheerleading. I just find it amusing. It's the same old thing. Centuries ago you tried to get your young warriors to raid the neighbor's cattle. Now you try to get them to defeat the opposing sports team. What is their motivation you ask? Well you have various degrees of money and/or fame but ultimately it all comes back to the cheerleaders. If you distinguished yourself in battle you might catch the eye of a 'cheerleader' and get a roll in the haystack; now it's the backseat of a car. Some things never change. If you doubt my logic go to a pep rally at the local highschool. Ever seen a really unattractive cheerleader? Of course not, you must be popular and attractive to be a cheerleader because they are held as the ultimate example of what one's battle renown might gain. Look at the outfits. If shouting alone were enough to inspire the troops then they could wear a lot more clothing. I do not envy my friends with daughters.

If you are observant you might get a glimpse of what I call group emotion. The generation and directing of group emotion is the second function of cheerleading. This is one of the more recent innovations. Now we take an audience to battle and if they are not stirred up enough by the sight of their warriors we have the cheerleaders to inspire them. The cheerleaders shout. The audience responds. The warriors hear and are inspired to greatness. Of course there is an ugly side to group emotion. Ever been in a crowd where they were shouting for blood? Where they wanted actual harm done to the opposing team? Of course you have. This is where the primitive aspects really show. Maybe we are not so evolved as we think.


-The Feral Man