Banning alcohol is not the solution

 THE imposition of an indefinite alcohol ban in the National Capital District seems like a knee-jerk reaction by the Parkop administration to the unrest in the city last weekend.

The NCD liquor licensing commission believes the ban will prevent more civil disorder and disturbances as the capital city gears up for the Christmas and New Year festivities.

Not surprisingly, Governor Powes Parkop and liquor licensing commission chairman Janet Sape have blamed alcohol abuse for last weekend’s trouble.

However, they should be aware the alcohol ban is only a band aid treatment for a serious illness that is affecting our society.

Prime Minister Peter O’Neill aptly described it as “mob mentality” in his condemnation of the confrontation between the police and army last Saturday and the ensuing civil disorder on the streets of Port Moresby on Monday.

So what is mob mentality? Human beings tend to exhibit very unique behaviours or habits once they’re in a group. 

Some sociologists call it herd behaviour but it is more often described as mob mentality.

Interestingly, it’s not just humans that behave that way. Flocks of birds and herds of animals have all exhibited similar behaviour. 

The word “mob” has many negative connotations. 

One imagines a wild and aggressive crowd, feeding on each other’s panic, hence the other alternative term “crowd hysteria”. 

Certainly, sociologists and psychologists studying mob mentality have often focused on things like violent demonstrations or even the madness that can often ensue in evacuations, stampedes and crisis situations. 

There are famous cases of people growing violent in something as mundane as a shoe sale. 

Thus, mob mentality has often become attached to the idea of human selfishness and competitiveness. 

Sometimes it is linked to desperation, such as people who will fight tooth and nail to access relief supplies, or rioting in the streets because of total terror. 

As the saying goes, “One dog may bark at you but it’s more likely that a pack will attack you”.

Papua New Guineans are not exempt from that behaviour because we are human and not canine. 

As evidenced by dogs operating in a pack environment, human society is based on group dynamics.

As humans, we have instinctual responses that are exacerbated by group influences.What we might not do as individuals we may do as part of a group.  

People may lose control of their usual inhibitions, as their mentality becomes that of the group.

The larger the group, the greater the amplification of that group behaviour.

In this country, ethnic and tribal solidarity plays a key role in people’s behaviour and the way they react to the different situations that confront them.

Ethnic conflicts are prime examples of the mob mentality, which occur regularly in major centres like Lae and Port Moresby.

Last weekend’s confrontation and civil disorder were not ethnic related but were clear examples of mob mentality in action: The police and army were on the brink of battle while the lawless opportunists looted at will. 

Are there any long-term solutions to this social illness? Forget band aid treatments like alcohol bans and state of emergencies. 

These will not change the mindsets of people who continue to think and behave like their ancestors.

A likely long-term solution is good quality education.

Admittedly, it will take generations to change people mindsets but that can be done through the process of a good and meaningful education curriculum.

While the O’Neill Government has given top priority to education through its free tuition fee policy, more emphasis should be placed on good quality education rather than a mass production of poorly educated children.

Well-educated children who have the abilities to achieve higher levels of learning are more likely to think and behave differently to their parents. Ultimately, they will be responsible for our society’s transformation from the traditional to the modern mindset.