Malcolm Gladwell’s book ‘Tipping Point’ speaks of single events that then trigger other unrelated people to do similar things. I have been wondering if the Hawkes Bay Police siege might be a Tipping Point.
There have been a couple weird shootings that Police have been involved since the siege in Hawkes Bay with Jan Molenaar.
Last month, Shayne Sime, a paraplegic man was shot, and a connection made to the Hawkes Bay shooting and it was referred to in the media as "suicide by cop".
This week actor Rob Mokaraka was shot when he 'engineered' a confrontation with Police. He has a distant connection to the Jan Molenaar shootings.
Gladwell talks of a high profile person committing suicide in a car crash, and then the number of car crashes increasing, as people almost have permission to do the same.
I hope that Jan Mollenaar’s actions in Hawkes Bay aren’t a tipping point for people wanting to go out in a ‘blaze of glory’. I hope the media coverage doesn’t put more police personnel in harms way.
So now to the implication of this post…
It seems many Tipping Points are negative ones. I wonder what it would take to create a truly positive Tipping Point.
One that really makes a positive difference in the world.
One that the media would follow with as much interest as police shootings.
I am not sure it is possible?