Being Heard is More Important To Some People Than Following Covid-19 Regulations, Psychologist and Activists Say

Fighting institutions of power is as American as it gets.

Throughout the history of this country, many have taken action in the form of demonstration to fight real and/or perceived injustice. However, until 2020, no demonstrator ever had to take to the streets with Covid-19 threatening them.

Covid-19 has changed everything — and despite stay-at-home orders, calls for social distancing and mask-wearing, somepeople have shown time and again over the last year that they just want to be heard.

Gathering in large groups, sometimes mask-free, isn’t as big of a deal to some Americans if it means they will be able to vocalize their beliefs. It’s a scene that’s played out across the US in protests, riots and clashes with police throughout the pandemic.

Psychologically, people identify with the issues they are fighting for and if they feel targeted or victimized, it causes them to want to act on that, according to Jay Van Bavel, an associate professor of psychology and neural science at New York University.

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