Herd mentality is a trait which causes people to do things that conform to those around them. An illustration of this was recently witnessed in Brazil when a bunch of diners started escaping one after the other after they mistook a group of runners as thieves.
The incident, which was caught on CCTV, took place Friday night at the Cervejaria Alphaiate bar and restaurant in Brazil. Everything appeared standard until a group of three runners was seen crossing the outdoor dining space of the restaurant. Then within seconds, one of the diners can be seen standing up and looking in the opposite direction as if watching a threat come towards him and escapes the spot. He is immediately followed by all the diners in the restaurant who are joined by a group of runners.
It was later known that the running spree was caused by a misunderstanding. Amyr Kelner, a medic who was at the Cervejaria Alphaiate when the chaos ensued, told Brazilian news portal G1 that the havoc occurred because the diners mistook a bunch of runners with burglars.
Describing the bizarre case, he said: “It was very fast. People were coming slowly, then, when they got close to our table, they started running. I told my friend to call and hold her bag. She got up and, at that moment, someone shouted that it was a robbery. That’s when I got up, shouted that it was also a robber, and ran away. After a few minutes, we saw that nothing was happening. Everyone started laughing and went back to the tables as if nothing had happened.”
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The CCTV footage of the incident, posted online by Twitter user Ruido en la Red (@RuidoEnLaRed) has been viewed over 8 million times.
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