Explaining the Human Microphone used by the Occupy Movement.

The Occupy Movement's "human microphone" has a secret brilliance to it that I have not seen mentioned yet. 

The naysayers who don't believe in the Occupy Movement can point to the human microphone as proof that the Occupy group does not have a mind of its own, that the group simply repeats what the speaker says.

Others can also point out that the group's repetition of the original speakers voice can lead to a form of social brainwashing as the group speak can be labeled a form of catatonia. This is an ironic yet inaccurate interpretation of a social cause that is diametrically opposed to the elite political and financial collusion that certainly does exist nowadays.

The human microphone replaces amplified sound in the event that amplified sound is not allowed. The human microphone also gives the audience a forewarning that something was just said, and if they continue to pay attention they will hear it the second time around.

But there is another, extremely deft reason for the human microphone. The human microphone prevents small group chatter that can drown out the very purpose for meeting as a group in public. I can unequivocally state from all of my experiences as both a headphone wearing camera person and as an attendee to various public events that crowd chatter can render the purpose of any meeting relatively pointless.

I've experienced groups as small as 12 to 15 people become multiple chatter islands that prevent the group as a whole from listening to the head speaker. 


So the next time you view a youtube video of an occupy movement and you hear a group repeat what the speaker just said, you can be pretty sure that the audience is actually listening.


(Update, Nov. 25, 2011, 10:23am)  About a week after I first wrote the above, I found this very fascinating topic about the human microphone on Occupy Los Angeles. Please note that virtually everything I discussed above is mentioned in the article, with the exception of the crowd chatter.