I have long wondered why many people use the word "bandwagon" to accuse others of doing something wrong.
Although I think I understand the premise of those who use it in that context, I also think it deserves a little extra thought. I feel it might actually provide some other insight into the one accusing others of jumping on the "bandwagon".
First, let me clarify the definition. The actual dictionary definition is "A particular activity or cause that has suddenly become fashionable or popular." Generally speaking I think it's most often used to accuse someone, clearly implied as a negative, in the area of rooting for sports teams or following some other cause.
This is where it is perplexing to me. Let me elaborate...
If there was some activity with limited capacity for involvement I would entirely understand. Let's say only 1000 individuals were able to participate in this particular activity at any given time. Let's say you've thoroughly enjoyed that activity for the last few years. You often tell your close friends about this and even invite them to participate. The reason you invite them to participate is because you see high value in the activity for many reasons, and you simply want to share that value with those closest to you. Some of them take you up on it and some don't. Somehow, through whatever means in popular culture, the value of this activity suddenly becomes well known. The next moment there is a continual and constant line of thousands of people waiting to participate. THIS IS A SCENARIO that I could entirely understand frustration with. In fact you may even feel that their interest is disengenuous. After all, you had been trying to convince others to participate for quite some time, but to no real success. Now you can't even enjoy the activity yourself! If you were to accuse those newcomers as simply getting on the bandwagon I would understand. There still might be some faulty reasoning, but at the very least I could understand why you would perceive that as a negative and express frustration and use that term with a negative conotation.
BUT.... that is almost NEVER the situation.
In almost all cases the scenario is a situation where there is no limit to the capacity of particpants. For example, is there any limit to how many fans can root for a particular sports team? Is there any limit to how many people can contribute to a particular cause?
To add to this, in almost all cases, there is a somehwat compelling reason to root for that particular team, or join that particular cause. Maybe one of the compelling reasons is simply because so many of their peers found value in it. Is that a wrong reason in an of itself?
For example, if Team A were to suddenly begin playing well and winning, or present some other compelling story line, wouldn't it make sense for that to gain more attention? Sure, there were many people who were fans before the new success and excitement, but wouldn't it make sense for even more people to now be interested? Interestingly enough the person who had always been a fan had probably been making a case to all their friends for a long time that they should also become fans. Now there is an even more compelling case to become fan. Time to join the bandwagon! Is that really a bad thing?
The same rationale would hold true for a cause, such as a human rights issue, or a political campaign. HOWEVER, a cause is much more likely to suddenly arise out of nowwhere. In many cases it's inherent to the issue and unavoidable. Either the issue is a brand new issue altogether, or the issue has just now become popularly known. If the cause is a "good cause" then I would consider it a good thing to have a fully loaded bandwagon, rather than an empty one.
A recent example of this is the "KONY 2012" campaign. Over 40 million views on YouTube in only a handful of days and probably a lot more to come. Posts on Facebook and Twitter are all over the place. I'm not prepared to speak to the specifics of the organization behind the campaign or the details proclaimed throughout the video. I'm not even here to talk about the sociology behind using a viral video to try and drive awareness of an issue (although it is intriguing to see how it is working to say the least). What I do know is true is that there are many human rights issues related to children living in Africa. There is an incredible level of abuse, kidnapping, children forced to kill, rape, and mutilate others. All things that will scar them forever in ways most of us cannot comprehend.
Raising awareness of those issues is a bandwagon I want the whole world to get on. I would suggest if there is any bandwagon at all worth getting on, this would one of them (as well as others like it). Why would anyone ever discourage such a thing by casting the bandwagon in a negative light? I would only imagine that people who have long been aware of those issues would be thrilled to see the awareness going worldwide. Isn't that likely what they've been trying to accomplish for a long time anyway? If you don't agree with the details, specifics, or the organization supporting the message I am fine with that. But could you not at least be happy with the awareness of the human rights issues that are coming about as a result of the campaign?
In that most recent example, as well as other generic examples, maybe those who are accusing others of jumping on the bandwagon are struggling with the issue themselves? Maybe they simply like to be countercultural and avoid going with the crowd? Maybe deep down they would like to support the cause but simply because others are doing it in masses they don't want to participate? I'm not so sure that's a good reason when it comes down to it. Maybe it's these feelings that lead that person to accuse others of joining the bandwagon as if it was a negative thing? I suppose the accusation might be that those joining the bandwagon are not genuine and are ONLY joining because others are doing so. If that is the case, I would encourage the accuser to reshape the accusation and instead position it as a challenge to genuinely support the cause. Just because the person just now started to support the cause doesn't mean they can't be genuine about it. You have to start somewhere and sometime, right?
I'm beginning to think that the real concern is related more to getting OFF the bandwagon. If that's the case, then let's make sure we clearly articulate our thoughts.
I for one do not want to be guilty of shaming someone out of following a worthy cause simply because I try and make them to feel embarassed that they have not always followed the cause (i.e. jumping on the bandwagon). In some cases they may not have been able to follow the cause previously because they weren't aware of it.
Something to think about...
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