by MN Gordon
Acting Man
Stampeding Animals
The mass impulse of a cattle stampede can be triggered by something as innocuous as a blowing tumbleweed. A sudden startle, or a perceived threat, is all it takes to it set off. Once the herd collectively begins charging in one direction it will eliminate everything in its path.
[…] The only chance a rancher has is to fire off a pistol with the hope that the shot turns the herd onto itself. If the rancher is successful, it will stampede in a giant circle. If the rancher isn’t, it will run off a cliff.
Today’s modern man, a complex species that ranges between homo sapiens and homo neanderthalensis, like bos taurus, is also predisposed to herd behavior. What’s more, the human animal will take just about anything and everything to the extreme.