{"id":5411,"date":"2019-06-20T09:00:10","date_gmt":"2019-06-20T13:00:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lawcomic.net\/guide\/?p=5411"},"modified":"2023-11-01T16:41:01","modified_gmt":"2023-11-01T20:41:01","slug":"57-natural-regulation-peer-pressure-gossip-accountability","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lawcomic.net\/guide\/?p=5411","title":{"rendered":"57. Natural Regulation: Peer Pressure, Gossip, Accountability"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"Peer<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Gossip<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n

Chapter 2: What Were They Thinking?<\/p>\n

Digression: Government from the Paleolithic to Philadelphia<\/p>\n

Page 57: External self-regulation<\/p>\n

Sis at last getting to say it, arms wide with triumph<\/em><\/p>\n

SIS<\/em><\/p>\n

PEER PRESSURE!<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

AVERAGE JOE<\/em><\/p>\n

Yeah, so you keep saying.<\/p>\n

Sis gives him a dirty look for a silent frame. He reacts.<\/em><\/p>\n

Kids jumping off a cliff, a mom holding one kid back.<\/em><\/p>\n

SIS (narrating)<\/em><\/p>\n

*Ahem.*<\/p>\n

Okay…\u00a0So I don\u2019t<\/strong> mean kids going along with the questionable judgment of fellow kids…<\/p>\n

Campsite scene. Kids, adults. A woman is chiding her child, who\u2019s holding several fruits in her arms. Group of teen girls is walking away from basket woman, each with a new basket.<\/em><\/p>\n

SIS (Narrating)<\/em><\/p>\n

I mean living the way your whole community<\/strong> expects you to live.<\/p>\n

SOME DUDE<\/em><\/p>\n

It\u2019s not hard.<\/p>\n

HUNTER<\/em><\/p>\n

You don\u2019t even have to try.<\/strong><\/p>\n

FAMILY<\/em><\/p>\n

You\u2019re immersed<\/strong> in societal expectations from birth. You can\u2019t help but know<\/strong> how to behave.<\/p>\n

BASKET LADY<\/em><\/p>\n

Still, no worries. If you do step out of line, one of us will nudge<\/strong> you in the right direction.<\/p>\n

MOM<\/em><\/p>\n

No!<\/strong><\/p>\n

Don\u2019t be greedy. You go put some of those back.<\/p>\n

TEEN GIRL 1 (looking at basket)<\/em><\/p>\n

Wow, that\u2019s a nice one.<\/p>\n

TEEN GIRL 2\u00a0(leaning in to whisper)<\/em><\/p>\n

Psst!<\/p>\n

Did you forget to say \u201cthank you\u201d?<\/p>\n

Teen with the nice basket reaction shot<\/em><\/p>\n

TEEN GIRL 3<\/em><\/p>\n

EEP!<\/p>\n

Teen with basket running back to the basket lady.<\/em><\/p>\n

TEEN GIRL 3<\/em><\/p>\n

I forgot! <\/strong><\/p>\n

Thank you very much for the lovely basket!<\/strong><\/p>\n

BASKET LADY<\/em><\/p>\n

Oh, don\u2019t mention it.<\/p>\n

It was my pleasure!<\/p>\n

A group is reacting to the reader.<\/em><\/p>\n

NARRATING GIRL IN THE DISTANCE<\/em><\/p>\n

If it\u2019s only a little slip-up, a nudge is all you need…<\/p>\n

…but sometimes a stronger<\/strong> signal is called for.<\/p>\n

VARIOUS JUDGY PEOPLE\u00a0(looking at the camera)<\/em><\/p>\n

Awk-<\/strong>warrrd…<\/p>\n

What is wrong<\/strong> with you?<\/p>\n

Hey, everyone! Guess what they did this<\/strong> time!<\/p>\n

For shame!<\/strong><\/p>\n

Man about to throw a punch at the reader \/ The band excluding a couple from the campfire.<\/em><\/p>\n

SIS (narrating)<\/em><\/p>\n

And yes, major<\/strong> transgressions call for major corrections.<\/strong><\/p>\n

MAN<\/em><\/p>\n

Don\u2019t! Do! That! AGAIN!<\/p>\n

GROUP<\/em><\/p>\n

Get lost!<\/strong><\/p>\n

You two fucked us over, big time!<\/p>\n

Unless you can make it right,<\/strong> you\u2019d better stay out of our sight.<\/p>\n

Sis explaining<\/em><\/p>\n

SIS<\/em><\/p>\n

The most important tool of social regulation has to be<\/p>\n

GOSSIP<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

JOE<\/em><\/p>\n

You covered this already. Gossip enabled us to keep up<\/strong> on everyone-<\/p>\n

SIS<\/em><\/p>\n

Oh, there\u2019s much<\/strong> more to it than that.<\/p>\n

Gossip isn\u2019t just how we keep up<\/strong> on the Joneses…<\/p>\n

It\u2019s how we keep them in line!<\/strong><\/p>\n

Group talking about one of them behind her back.<\/em><\/p>\n

SIS (narrating)<\/em><\/p>\n

Gossip is how we keep each other accountable.<\/strong><\/p>\n

CHATTERER #1<\/em><\/p>\n

Did you hear? Francine tried to blame Raoul, but she\u2019s<\/strong> the one who left the apples where the animals could get them.<\/p>\n

CHATTERER #2<\/em><\/p>\n

That\u2019s not the half of it! She took credit for finding that stand of plum trees? Well, Gina<\/strong> is the one who told her where they were.<\/p>\n

CHATTERER #3<\/em><\/p>\n

That\u2019s what I\u2019ve been telling you: That Francine? You just can\u2019t count<\/strong> on her these days!<\/p>\n

Francine looking worried<\/em><\/p>\n

SIS (narrating)<\/em><\/p>\n

In a tight community, you\u2019re<\/strong> gonna know<\/strong> what people say about you.<\/p>\n

FRANCINE<\/em><\/p>\n

Egad!<\/p>\n

SIS (narrating)<\/em><\/p>\n

More to the point, your Worth-O-Meter<\/strong> will get the message. And you\u2019re gonna take corrective action!<\/p>\n

FRANCINE<\/em><\/p>\n

I have to stop saying<\/strong> stupid shit like that!<\/p>\n

Joe and Sis<\/em><\/p>\n

SIS<\/em><\/p>\n

Even a hint<\/strong> of negative reputation is a powerful motivation to fix<\/strong> bad behavior, and regain the approval<\/strong> of your peers — consciously or not!<\/p>\n

JOE (looking askance)<\/em><\/p>\n

I dunno. Gossip seems so nasty<\/strong> to me. Mean-spirited, you know?<\/p>\n

SIS<\/em><\/p>\n

It\u2019s not nasty — it\u2019s natural!<\/strong><\/p>\n

Gossip is what speech is for.<\/strong><\/p>\n

How we use our superpower of narrative <\/strong>to know<\/strong> what to think of everyone else..<\/p>\n

…and<\/strong> what everyone else thinks of us.<\/strong><\/p>\n

While also ensuring that we all know what we all expect<\/strong> of each other.<\/p>\n

Band members looking on with disfavor as someone spreads a rumor.<\/em><\/p>\n

VARIOUS<\/em><\/p>\n

Malicious<\/strong> gossip, now… that\u2019s another matter.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s about as anti-<\/strong>social as it gets.<\/p>\n

A damaged reputation is hard<\/strong> to repair. It can even be ruined<\/strong> forever!<\/p>\n

Using gossip as a weapon<\/strong> like that undermines<\/strong> our community and corrupts<\/strong> it from within.<\/p>\n

You\u2019d better believe we\u2019ll nip that<\/strong> in the bud, too — if our band is to survive.<\/p>\n

Globe<\/em><\/p>\n

SIS (narrating)<\/em><\/p>\n

Okay, yes, but what\u2019s important<\/strong> is that peer pressure and gossip work.<\/strong> These and our social hormones are the tools we evolved<\/strong> that govern ourselves naturally — purely informal, yet amazingly successful.<\/p>\n

VOICES<\/em><\/p>\n

Yup!<\/p>\n

No kings, no laws, no gods.<\/p>\n

Self-government was all<\/strong> the government we modern humans needed…<\/p>\n

…for at least sixty thousand<\/strong> years!<\/p>\n

How many thousands of years has your<\/strong> system of government worked?<\/p>\n

Timeline with a few highlights in 2,000 year intervals:<\/em><\/p>\n

70,000 Modern humans<\/p>\n

60,000 Bands reach Europe and southeast Asia.<\/p>\n

50,000 Sewing needles<\/p>\n

44,000 Bands fill Europe, reach Australia<\/p>\n

42,000 Musical instruments<\/p>\n

36,000 Brain-size gene now dominant<\/p>\n

34,000 Artistic explosion<\/p>\n

32,000 Dogs domesticated<\/p>\n

30,000 Light-skin genes in Europe and east Asia<\/p>\n

28,000 Rope, harpoons, saws<\/p>\n

24,000 Francine lies about Raoul and the apples<\/p>\n

FRANCINE<\/em><\/p>\n

Let it go!<\/p>\n

20,000 Pottery (if not earlier)<\/p>\n

12,000 First agriculture<\/p>\n

10,000 First large settlements<\/p>\n

6,000 First civilizations (almost)<\/p>\n

4,000 First empires<\/p>\n

2,000 Roman Empire, Jesus<\/p>\n

0 Today<\/p>\n

<\/div><\/div>Transcript<\/a>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_sitemap_exclude":false,"_sitemap_priority":"","_sitemap_frequency":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[48,35,58,1,46],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5411","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-a-brief-history-of-government","category-constitutional-law","category-the-cognitive-revolution","category-uncategorized","category-what-were-they-thinking"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lawcomic.net\/guide\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5411","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lawcomic.net\/guide\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lawcomic.net\/guide\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lawcomic.net\/guide\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lawcomic.net\/guide\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5411"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lawcomic.net\/guide\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5411\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lawcomic.net\/guide\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5411"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lawcomic.net\/guide\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5411"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lawcomic.net\/guide\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5411"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}