There was a time when the day after “mass meeting” events would be spent combing the papers comparing snapshot to snapshot of the human flood that would have filled the appointed spot at the appointed time. Pre-election polls in Malta were conducted with an expert off the cuff...
J’accuse: Plebiscites in the age of clicktivism
posted by Jacques René Zammit
The mass is a weird being. I am not referring to the Eucharistic celebration in Catholic rites but to the “mass” as a collective of human beings that can be formed either randomly or purposely within a particular context or aim. At worst a “mass” is a loose connection of humans, each going about their independent lives that happen to have a common element at one particular moment − the best example are commuters on public transport. Think, for example, of the mass of commuters at peak hour in a metropolitan city. At its most effective the mass is a flock, a herd or a gaggle of humans who assemble with a particular intention −...