💥TRUMP Assassination Attempt: CROWD Behavioral Analysis

The Behavior Panel dissects the public's reaction to the attempted assassination of former President Trump, focusing on behavior and body language. They analyze crowd responses, highlighting how social pressure and the bystander effect influence individual actions. Greg, Scott, Mark, and Chase discuss the importance of situational awareness, the role of past experiences in threat detection, and the varied reactions from immediate ducking to delayed responses and casual observations. They emphasize the need for vigilance and courage to speak up in suspicious situations, despite the fear of social judgment, to potentially save lives.

• People often fail to recognize or respond to threats in public due to social norms and fear of judgment.
• Individuals may downplay potential dangers to avoid being labeled as overly cautious or paranoid.
• There is a tendency to conform to the behavior of others in a crowd, which can delay or prevent appropriate responses to threats.

“People naturally, when they have a blank, they'll fill in the most negative thing possible or fear... but because we have a social contract and what's acceptable in public, most people will not notice the same threat or will not react to that same threat the same way because they'll be called a name.”

• People tend to ignore potential threats in public settings due to social norms and fear of being judged.

“It takes a certain amount of courage to go and say look, that guy up there doesn't belong up there. Why is he up there? Somebody fix it.”

• Calling out suspicious behavior requires courage due to potential social ostracism.

• Security personnel typically do not behave in a secretive manner; they maintain visibility to ensure they can be identified as non-threats.
• Observing body language and behavior can help identify potential threats in public settings.

“This guy's crawling around his belly, he's looking secretive, he doesn't have a uniform, he has no markers. That ain't a good guy.”

• Suspicious behavior, such as crawling to avoid detection, is not typical of legitimate security personnel.

• Social pressure can inhibit individuals from acting or calling out potential threats.
• People may hesitate to act due to fear of being wrong or causing unnecessary alarm.

“There's a term called pluralistic ignorance... where you have a lot of people in the situation and something's going wrong but nobody's really checking with anybody because they feel foolish to say what they think is happening.”

• Pluralistic ignorance occurs when individuals in a group fail to act because they assume others do not perceive the situation as a threat.

• Providing clear instructions can help overcome the hesitation caused by social pressure.
• People need specific guidance on what actions to take in emergency situations.

“Sometimes people need instruction. They want to know, well, okay, there's a fire but what do I do? So eventually you have to say get out, move, move, move or phone the police or call an ambulance.”

• Clear instructions can prompt individuals to take necessary actions during emergencies.

• The bystander effect explains why people are less likely to help in emergencies when others are present.
• Shared responsibility and fear of judgment reduce the likelihood of individual action.

“When there's a lot of people around, we feel less responsible... their activity drops when there's other people around... it reduces the urge to act.”

• The presence of others can diminish the sense of personal responsibility, leading to inaction.

“If I'm the first one to stand out or step out from the crowd, I naturally feel fear... this is the reason public speaking is the number one fear. We fear judgment.”

• Fear of judgment can prevent individuals from taking action in public emergencies.

• Modern culture's focus on social validation can lead to passive behavior, such as filming emergencies instead of taking action.
• The assumption that someone else will intervene contributes to inaction during crises.

“Our culture is so focused on instant gratification and social validation and it's easier and more rewarding to capture and share videos for likes and comments than it is to take action.”

• The desire for social validation can lead to passive responses in emergency situations.

• Definition: The bystander effect is the phenomenon where individuals are less likely to take action in an emergency when others are present. This is technically known as "diffusion of responsibility."
• Impact of Technology: Smartphones and the desire to capture viral moments can exacerbate the bystander effect by creating psychological distance.
• Cognitive Bias: Many people believe they will act decisively in an emergency, but often freeze due to the bystander effect.

"So our smartphones make filming so simple and experiencing life through screens has created a psychological distance and this allure of capturing some viral moment can almost be irresistible."

• Explanation: The ease of recording with smartphones and the desire for viral content can hinder immediate action in emergencies.

"If they asked those people before the event, 'Do you know what to do if shots ring out or would you instantly know how to take action if an emergency happened?' 100% of them are like, 'Yeah, I got it. I've got it figured out.' And then you see the results in real life."

• Explanation: There is a cognitive bias where people overestimate their ability to react in emergencies.

• Misinterpretation: People often mistake gunfire for fireworks due to past experiences and context.
• Conditioned Responses: Combat veterans can quickly identify gunfire due to conditioned responses, experience, and muscle memory.

"Initially, we thought it was fireworks... you never jump first to the conclusion that this was an act of political violence."

• Explanation: People often misinterpret gunfire as fireworks in familiar settings like rallies.

"Combat veterans in the crowd reacted almost immediately to gunfire because their training experience conditioned them to do that."

• Explanation: Veterans' training allows them to recognize gunfire quickly and respond appropriately.

• Contextual Recognition: People recognize sounds based on past experiences and context, which can lead to misinterpretations.
• Hollywood Influence: Many people’s understanding of gunfire sounds comes from movies, which often inaccurately portray them.

"Our brain makes these shortcuts to recognize something from our past or something we've seen on TV."

• Explanation: The brain uses past experiences to quickly interpret unfamiliar sounds, which can lead to errors.

"Most of our ideas around what a gun sounds like is just made up."

• Explanation: Hollywood's portrayal of gunfire influences public perception, leading to misinterpretations in real-life situations.

• Residual Emotion: Witnesses often display residual emotions such as blinking, moving, and swallowing when recounting traumatic events.
• Stress Response: Combat veterans and those with similar experiences have a lower threshold for threat detection and manage stress responses effectively.

"Look at all that blinking, adapting, moving, and swallowing that residual emotion."

• Explanation: Residual emotions manifest physically when people recount stressful or traumatic events.

"Combat veterans have a lower threshold for threat detection and there's a stress response calibration there."

• Explanation: Veterans' training allows them to detect threats quickly and manage stress effectively.

• Witness Reliability: While memories can be fallible, the emotional and physical responses of witnesses add credibility to their accounts.
• Reporter’s Composure: Reporters recounting traumatic events often struggle to maintain composure but provide credible firsthand accounts.

"She is very, very adamant about political violence here. She's emotional about that and she's trying to regain her emotions around this credible report."

• Explanation: The reporter's emotional response and effort to maintain composure add credibility to her account.

"I think she does a great job of keeping it together while she's replaying what happened."

• Explanation: The reporter's ability to recount events accurately despite emotional distress indicates credibility.

• Situational Awareness: Being aware of the bystander effect and understanding the sounds of gunfire can improve responses in emergencies.
• Training and Experience: Training and firsthand experience significantly enhance one's ability to respond effectively in high-stress situations.

"You don't have to wait for that. What you can do is go listen to what gunfire sounds like from a distance."

• Explanation: Proactively learning the sounds of gunfire can help individuals respond more effectively in emergencies.

"The single most important trait that you pick up in the military is situational awareness."

• Explanation: Military training emphasizes situational awareness, which is crucial for effective emergency response.

• Common Fear: Public speaking is a common fear, even for experienced speakers.
• Managing Anxiety: Techniques to manage anxiety before speaking can include preparation and understanding the audience.

"Does anybody here get nervous before you speak? Because I know it's the thing people fear most."

• Explanation: Public speaking anxiety is common, even among experienced speakers.

"I used to for sure... some days I never get that well."

• Explanation: Experience and preparation can reduce but not eliminate public speaking anxiety.

• Initial disbelief about the severity of the situation, thinking it might be fireworks or something harmless.
• The realization and gravity of political violence set in as events unfolded.

"Even as I was taking cover, I was thinking this is just a precaution. We're just doing this to be safe. We're going to come up and realize it was fireworks or something, not what we ultimately realized was the reality of political violence here."

• The speaker initially thought the situation was less severe and was shocked by the reality of political violence.

• The speaker recounts an incident where he misinterpreted the reactions of a group of women at a hotel.
• The story highlights how miscommunications and misunderstandings can occur in everyday interactions.

"Every time I'd walk close to this table these women would start frowning at me and they'd look disgusted. And then I'd walk away and they'd settle down a little bit. When it was over, they said, 'We know about the commode.' I still don't know what happened to the commode."

• The speaker misinterpreted the women's reactions, thinking it was directed at him, but it was related to an unknown incident involving a commode.

• Leonard Veretto shares his experience of the attempted assassination at the Trump rally.
• He describes the chaos, the sounds of popping noises, and the immediate reactions of the crowd.

"It sounded like popping noises that were going off, and what happened was it just happened so fast. People were saying, 'Duck, get down.' Even other people were protecting each other and praying with each other."

• Leonard describes the initial confusion and the rapid response of the crowd to take cover and protect each other.

• The initial sounds were mistaken for firecrackers, but the realization of gunfire led to immediate action.
• The crowd's reaction shifted from confusion to understanding the danger.

"To be honest with you, it sounded like firecrackers really. But then realizing like, 'Oh man, shots were happening,' that's when we actually ducked."

• Leonard explains the moment of realization that the popping sounds were gunshots, prompting the crowd to take cover.

• Discussion on the roles and actions of Secret Service agents during such incidents.
• The emphasis on protecting the principal (in this case, the former president) at all costs, even at the risk of their own lives.

"The guys who are there to protect that guy have one role, and that's to protect that guy from gunfire. You see them do it once he hits the ground, bodies over them. They're not even worried about themselves."

• Explanation of the Secret Service's primary objective to shield the principal from gunfire, showcasing their dedication and training.

• Analysis of different types of reactions within the crowd during the incident.
• Immediate, delayed, and casual observer reactions were identified.

"When the gunshots start, people automatically duck down. The second one is the delayed reaction where people sit there for a minute then slowly get down. Then you have the Casual Observer who just stands there looking around."

• The speaker categorizes the crowd's reactions into immediate ducking, delayed response, and casual observation, highlighting the varied human responses to danger.

• Observation of individual behaviors in the crowd, including those who did not display typical fear responses.
• Mention of a specific individual who remained calm and had their phone ready to record.

"There was only one person that had their phone at the ready, showed zero fear response. The shoulders didn't move, facial muscles didn't move into fear, and there was no crowd checking."

• The speaker notes an anomaly in the crowd, an individual who remained unusually calm and prepared to record the incident, suggesting a different level of awareness or intention.

• Highlighting the actions of individuals who protected others during the incident.
• Specific mention of a fireman who sacrificed himself to protect his family.

"This guy that we were talking about, this fireman, he did what a lot of people in those businesses are going to do. A guy who has made his whole life protecting others protected his family with his own life."

• The speaker honors the bravery of the fireman who prioritized his family's safety over his own, exemplifying self-sacrifice and heroism.

• The speakers reflect on their professional experiences and personal reactions to the incident.
• Discussion on the importance of training, instinctive reactions, and the psychological impact of such events.

"It's in your DNA to do certain things. This guy who has made his whole life protecting others protected his family with his own life. Meanwhile, these other people are trying to protect back to what I told you earlier, they're human."

• The speaker ties professional training and instinctive reactions to the broader human experience, emphasizing the innate drive to protect and survive.

• The primary role is to protect, not to actively engage or look for threats.
• Techniques involve placing oneself between the protected individual and potential threats.
• Training includes using Kevlar blankets and shielding with one's own body.

"When I went through the school, they would tell you put the guy in the back floorboard, put a Kevlar blanket over him and lay on him and don't worry about your back."

• The focus is on creating barriers to protect the individual rather than engaging the threat directly.

• People's reactions to threats vary based on their neurological makeup.
• Some may freeze or become disoriented due to shock, following pre-established neural pathways.

"Some people are so taken by shock that their brain can't register what they're doing or what they're seeing."

• Training and preparedness can influence how one responds to a crisis situation.

• Awareness of surroundings is crucial for identifying and responding to threats.
• Training the brain to recognize and react to potential dangers is essential.

"You need to be aware of your surroundings, you need to pay attention to what's going on, you need to train your brain."

• Developing neural pathways for threat response through training can be life-saving.

• The presence of cameras and the desire for viral videos is a new phenomenon.
• Some individuals prioritize capturing footage over their safety.

"The mere fact that a person is willing to bring out a camera in a situation like this is a brand new thing in American life."

• This behavior reflects a significant shift in societal values and priorities.

• Human behavior in crisis situations can be likened to complex systems like fluid dynamics.
• People interpret events based on their pre-existing beliefs and perceptions.

"They're a bit of a Rorschach test... you'll see something that you'd like to see if there's the opportunity for it."

• Analyzing behavior requires critical thinking and suspending judgment to understand the true nature of events.

• Life's chaotic nature can sometimes produce seemingly perfect or extraordinary moments.
• People often seek explanations for these moments, attributing them to deliberate actions or conspiracies.

"Life is chaotic and sometimes in that chaos something hits just right or just off."

• Recognizing the role of chance and randomness is important in interpreting events.

• Group dynamics in crisis situations can vary widely, from calm and controlled to chaotic and confused.
• Observing and understanding these behaviors can provide valuable insights.

"This is again a great example of how a group reacts when a crisis arises."

• Studying group behavior can inform strategies for managing crowds and ensuring safety.

• Asking questions, even at the risk of looking foolish, is crucial for gaining information and ensuring safety.
• Not asking questions can have serious consequences.

"If you don't know something, ask. You will look like a fool for once, but you'll have the information for the rest of your life."

• Encouraging a culture of inquiry and vigilance is essential for safety in a dangerous world.

• Hesitation in moments of crisis can result in failure to act and save lives.
• Immediate and decisive action is necessary in critical situations.

"If we hesitate at the moment of crisis, we accomplish nothing and we save nothing and no one."

• Emphasizing the importance of preparedness and quick response in crisis situations.

• Humor and light-heartedness can be effective coping mechanisms in stressful situations.
• Sharing personal anecdotes and jokes can help alleviate tension.

"People kept saying on my channel, 'You're losing weight, are you okay?' And I read half of that Dr. Phil book... now I'm just losing weight."

• Using humor to address and cope with personal challenges and societal pressures.