POSTURE AND MOVEMENT

by C. Leslie Thomson

Human beings are not unlike the living cells that make up every individual’s body. Each has its own personality, but the behaviour of the group may be strikingly different from that of its components. We are probably all familiar with at least some aspects of this in real life, having seen peaceable and rational individuals become collectively menacing. Those responsible for public order know all about the effect, and recognise its dangers in certain situations. Where people congregate with nothing to do, but having a sense of grievance, a kind of bitter fermentation is liable to occur.

“Keep them moving” is the first rule to avoid aggravation of a disturbance; our public guardians see its enforcement as their primary duty, and to attain it they will use any means from good-­‐natured cajolery to downright force. So, too, within the individual system; areas of congestion and lack of movement are commonly responsible for serious disorders, and they should be dealt with effectively and as intelligently as possible.