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The Mob Owns Nothing, But Claims Everything

by Ram ben Ze’ev


The Mob Owns Nothing, But Claims Everything
The Mob Owns Nothing, But Claims Everything

We live in an age where every person with a smartphone believes they are entitled not only to an opinion but to an audience for that opinion. The public square has become a digital mob arena where nothing is too small, too distant, or too irrelevant for self-appointed critics to inject themselves into.


This sickness is not harmless. It corrodes management decisions, weakens institutions, and erodes our cultural fabric. When every design choice, corporate strategy, or artistic expression is instantly judged by a mob desperate for clicks, “likes,” and fleeting attention, then nothing can stand on its own merit. Everything is at the mercy of noise.



The recent debacle over Cracker Barrel’s attempt to streamline its logo is a case study. Here was a company making the correct branding choice — moving towards a cleaner, more timeless, wordmark logo, following the proven path of nearly every successful global brand.


Apple, Ford, Shell, Starbucks — all shed clutter and embraced simplicity. Cracker Barrel rightly attempted the same.


But the mob did not care. Social media trolls and “culture warriors” descended, feigning outrage over a new logo that in truth harmed no one, cost no one, and affected no one beyond the brand itself. This wasn’t critique born of love for the company. It was theatre — a chance to grab clicks and public relevance at the expense of progress.


And the tragedy is not the mob. The tragedy is management. Instead of standing firm and trusting their judgment, Cracker Barrel caved. They reversed course, signalling to the world that a few loud voices on social media have more power than reason, strategy, or long-term vision.


This is not just about Cracker Barrel. It is about a society infected with the delusion that all voices must matter equally on all things. In reality, most of these voices have no stake, no expertise, and no responsibility for the outcomes they demand. Yet we allow them to dictate direction. This is mob rule in digital form — and it is making us slaves to fear.



If we continue down this path, leaders in every field will govern not by foresight or principle but by flinching — reacting nervously every time the mob stirs. That is no way to build a company, no way to govern a society, no way to live a life.


We must rediscover courage — the courage to ignore noise, to distinguish between critique that matters and theatre that doesn’t. Otherwise, the mob will own nothing, contribute nothing, and yet control everything.



>>>> BUY ME A COFFEE <<<<


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