Letter to the editor: The power of group dynamics

Groups are powerful forces. Positive ones — churches, sobriety groups, grief counseling circles — remind us that we’re not alone. They nurture connection, honesty and healing, offering spaces where people can share struggles and recover their faith in others. These communities show the joy and courage of humanity: open, compassionate and unmasked.

In contrast, groups that hide behind masks — the Ku Klux Klan, online hate networks, even certain masked agencies accused of overreach — represent secrecy, fear and dehumanization. When identity is concealed, empathy dies. The mask separates the person from conscience.

Businesses know the power of group judgment; they’ll organize focus groups just to decide on something as simple as the scent of a candle. That’s how carefully people weigh opinions when money or image is at stake. Yet when it comes to human dignity, those same principles of care and collaboration often disappear.

A U.S. citizen was arrested during a protest in Portland while playing “Ghostbusters,” a funny, harmless song associated with Halloween, on her clarinet. She was taken out of state to an undisclosed location. The First and Fourth Amendments were written to protect all people in America, especially citizens, from such abuses — from being silenced, seized or humiliated without probable cause. The wrong group, especially one hiding its face, can destroy your confidence, your sense of belonging, even your life. No paycheck or $50,000 settlement can make that right.

Who you gonna call when something strange happens? I want to see the profile of the moral family person that would rationalize and perpetuate the wishes of a king.

Laurie Scheid

New Kensington