Panic among people attacked from the air has sometimes caused more casualties that the enemy's bombs. As I mentioned in my first article, 66 people were killed in one panic which occurred in the Paris underground during the Great War.
The crowd stampeded madly, swept into blind terror by the thought of the enemy `planes overhead and the roar and crash of the explosions. Hundreds were trampled under foot, others were crushed against walls and barriers.
What is this emotion which sometimes attacks people who are threatened by a danger? This fear which has more than once turned even brave troops into a frightened, fleeing mass who have thrown away the rifles and the arms upon which their lives depended?
Panic is as real a danger as explosives or gas. It is something against which the wise A.R.P. Officer and his staff are already prepared ? just as officers in the Army are prepared to deal with any panic which could arise among the men under their command.
In the case of the A.R.P. Officer, the task is more difficult because he is dealing with civilians who have not been under fire and who are not disciplined.
The public themselves can help: we ought all to try to understand our own emotions, and feelings of others.
FEAR A NECESSITY
A member of A.R.P. News staff who is also a psychologist, has written the following advice on panic and fear:?
In the first place we must rid our mind of the idea that fear is something to be ashamed of. It is common to us all, and if Nature were ever so far to forget herself as to produce an individual incapable of fear, that unlucky person would probably die an early and violent death.
Just as physical pain is the apprehension that something is wrong with the body, so fear is the apprehension of danger. But fear may attach to both real and imagined dangers: the man unfamiliar with reptiles who encounters a harmless grass snake may be just afraid of it as if it were the deadliest “rattler.”
We are amused by the tale of the bold aborigine who, though his courage had been tested in combat, jumps back in terror from an alarm clock, or, of the menacing lion which turns tail before the missionary's suddenly opened umbrella ? but we should not laugh too loudly.
Presented with a basking lizard or a giant anteater, things the savage would turn aside contemptuously with naked foot, our discomposure might be very evident.
Essentially, we are afraid of the unknown, and very properly so. In war, the reckless man and the timid are alike unduly exposed to danger ? the one because he tends to act without thinking, the other because he tends to think without acting.
It is not in feeling fear the mischief lies, but in what we do, or fail to do, in response to that feeling.
PHYSICAL EFFECTS.
Let us study the physical accompaniment of fear. When an individual apprehends danger, something over which he has little of no control happens: his adrenal gland pours into his blood stream a substance called adrenalin. This has certain immediate physical effects: blood is withdrawn from the extremities and an extra supply is sent to the muscles, reserves of blood sugar (energy) are drawn from the liver, the hair is erected (to preserve the body's warmth), the pupils of the eyes dilate, and, altogether, the body is prepared for action ? for flight or fight.
If instinct is not controlled by the Will, the emotion of fear, if the menace be great enough, will give place to either rage or terror: the maddened bull will impale himself, the terrified rabbit blindly hurl itself into the poacher's net.
PULL YOURSELF TOGETHER.
But if the Will asserts itself, if the individual “pulls himself together,” there is immediately at his disposal the whole of his knowledge and the whole of his experience, together with the vast fund of energy specially furnished by the body for the occasion. Both brain and body are set for function with maximum efficiency.
Fore knowledge and a preconceived plan of action are the best defence against the onset of terror.
Any given individual has in the course of his life triumphed over innumerable dangers, and the odds are overwhelmingly in favour of his coming unscathed through an aerial bombardment. Any insurance company is prepared to wager heavily on the issue!
Here are one or two things to keep in mind during an emergency.
Much help in keeping a grip on oneself can be got from the doing of accustomed things and the handling of familiar objects. Routine action is a great tranquilliser.
The mother and the housewife should decide in advance exactly what they will do when the sirens sound, what little tasks they will perform and how they will seek shelter. The man in the factor or the office should do the same.
The A.F.S. man, the member of a first-aid party, the warden and other A.R.P. personnel should all have some well exercised task to which they can immediately address themselves.
Deep breathing helps greatly towards composure. The deliberation of the act is psychologically helpful, whilst on the physical plane the oxydisation of the blood is speeded up and the metabolic balance readjusted.
HANDLING CROWDS
The handling of groups and crowds is a matter which will be the concern of many defence workers.
Always remember that a crowd has an intellectual level lower than that of the individuals composing it. A reasoned appeal to an ex cited crowd is of little use.
Fear is contagious. One or two terrified individuals can easily panic a hundred. Keep your eye open for these weaker brethren. Quell incipient panic by speaking kind but stern words to them.
In an emergency the crowd tends to be emotionally infantile and to behave purely instinctively.
Whilst this infantile character of the crowd renders it emotionally unstable, it also makes it responsive to authority and leadership. It is highly suggestible, and the knack of handling a crowd is to give it the right suggestions.
Give commands in a loud vigorous voice, but don't shout. Let the pitch be kept fairly low. Always speak affirmatively and impel to action. Say “Stand back!” not, “Don't push.”
If you can, gain an eminence. Height gives prestige and authority.
Should the occasion call for it select lieutenants quickly and give them brief, clear and precise instructions. Humour is a wonderfully soothing thing. Tie up the situation humorously with familiar things ? the pushing for buses, cup-tie crowds, and the like.
These maxims are sound, but it isby personal example that most will be done: when you have control of yourself you are well on the way to controlling others.
