Describe a situation in which you, as a member of a group, strongly disagreed with the actions of the group ?

Question

describe a situation in which you, as a member of a group, strongly disagreed with the actions of the group based on ethical grounds. Did you feel free to voice your opinion, or did you feel pressure to conform to the group? explain whether or not you expressed your thoughts to the group, and what happened after wards. How did the group's culture impact your decision whether or not to speak out and the group's response? if you do not have a personal example, you may describe the experience of someone you know or a situation you witnessed.

Answer 1

WHEN I FIRST JOINED THE BSC AND FOR MY INITIATION I WAS SUPPOSED TO KILL THE LOCAL WHITE LIBRARIAN.

Answer 2

Its called GroupThink.  People are pressured to conform with the decisions within the group because if we dont we create tension, which is socially unacceptable.  It happens all the time, and most of the time keep quiet so we dont make waves.  Its all about social acceptance and associations.  We have an inate need for relationships and we fear the loss of those connections when we oppose the group - which could be on the macro (as big as a cultural norm) or micro level (as small as complying with household/workplace rules).  

Adolescents are prime examples of this.  They are so vulnerable to social acceptance, and are tempted by peer pressures often.  Because they want to remain a part of their social clique they comply, which could be stealing some lipstick with your girlfriends even though you know its wrong, or sneaking a beer because your friend dared you to.  

So, like others, I tend to conform to the group unless its something that I feel strongly about - in which case need to determine within myself if that particular group is a positive experience anymore.  

Answer 3

This group of guys I hang out with alot were basically making fun of special ed kids. They were going to put a bunch of just horrible pics on our hall and were calling them things like "god's clowns" and how the are draining society. As soon as I saw the pics come out, I took them and basically told them to grow up and stop being cruel idiots. They tend to take it hard when someone tells them what to do, but I wasn't about to let them do that. They stopped, but we didn't talk as much after that, but that's fine with me because I know I'm in the right.  

Answer 4

I was working for a manufacturing company and was in the sales/marketing department. Part of my job was to review pricing, item creation, and in general support the sales team as much as possible. I noticed that an item had been sold to a company at a really low rate in comparison to other companies. I looked closer and discovered that it was being sold under cost by mistake. Immediately, the sales manager and CEO were all over it and blaming the salesperson. I however, knew that he wasn't responsible for the pricing. It was the person who was over him...who also happened to be the son of one of the upper management. Even though I clearly kept telling them that the salesperson didn't do this...they ignored me. They fired the sales rep almost immediately. Turns out they do this every year though to trim their budget. Instead of getting rid of dead wood in management, a fleet of tricked out SUVs for management, and pricey celebrations that the CEO had at his country club on a regular basis--they just fired people once a year. Screwy huh? Oh...and I was included in it the following year when they "eliminated" my position.