Also known as the "Abilene Paradox" or "Abilene Principle" which loosely states that individuals in a group tend to go along with the decision of the group, in spite the fact that as individuals they know that that decision is asinine.
In other words, don't rock the boat.
I actually did this experiment right here at USMB. I posted a poll where 90% of people responding said they felt it was important for a child to have both a mother and father:
Poll. Please Vote. Did You Have a Mother & Father in Your Life?
Then I posted another poll where 60% of people responding said of that first poll that it was somehow possible for them to believe it's important for a child to have both a mother and father...AND AT THE SAME TIME...they said they support gay marriage...where a child will NEVER have either a mother or father for life!!
A Poll Businesses Boycotting Laws Protecting Christians Might Want To Look At First..
This thread explains that perfectly. So, according to the herd mentality, all one would have to do is ring a bell for the "I feel it's important for a child to have both a mother and father" more often than they do for their "I support gay marriage' paradoxical stance and the herd could be shifted quite easily.
This is how cults manipulate perception to incorporate bizarre dichotomies overriding one's actual feelings and perceptions. This is how a dude cutting his dick off and putting a dress "actually becomes a woman" in the herd's hypnotized collective mind..
Add in some legal-intimidation (the Kleins in Oregon, Kim Davis etc.) to insure the herd doesn't get any crazy ideas and wake up from their haze (North Carolina) and you've got yourself a coup on reality itself. Very dangerous. And very much how Jim Jones proceeded, Hitler, the Nazis and all the rest through history. We wonder how insanity became normal in those cases. Folks, we are living that process right now as we speak..