Jung’s theory of the shadow of the Unconscious, it seems, posits that the dark side of man is not simply a weak side rife with failure, but a “positively demonic dynamism.” Jung goes on to say that humans are unaware of this…feature (for lack of a better word) as individuals. But “let these harmless creatures form a mass, and there emerges a raging monster; and each individual is only one tiny cell in the monster’s body, so that for better or worse he must accompany it on its bloody rampages and even assist it to the utmost.”[1]
Crikey! Grissom was clearly talking about football or hockey. Is the peloton really nothing more than a violent mob of monsters, mowing over everything on its bloody rampage? Do I behave differently as a tiny cell in the monster’s body? Is my personality more predisposed toward mob mentality than, say, someone who enjoys tennis? I don’t know. There are quite a few temperamental tennis players out there. What about skeet shooting? It involves a gun. What if there were teams of skeet shooters—mobs with guns?
I thought I just liked going fast, making the wheels go round and round, feeling my heart race. I’ve never considered the possibility of the entire peloton taking out everything in its path, a spandex locomotive, fueled by sticky glucose drinks and maniacal screaming. But I guess that’s why it’s called the “dark side.”
Grissom isn’t always so cynical about mankind. I remember another quote of his that put humans in a gentler light: “There are three things in life that people like to stare at. A rippling stream, a fire in a fireplace and a zamboni going round and round.”
That’s nice. I think I still prefer watching wheels go round and round, though. And I definitely need to give that “shadow of Unconsciousness” some more thought.
[1] “On the Psychology of the Unconscious,” in Two Essays on Analytical Psychology, (Collected Works of C.G. Jung, Vol.7), 1912, (Princeton University Press; 2nd edition) p.35
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