Tackling Tragedy Through Group Effort

Common sense seems to dictate that only one individual person will have the best answer possible. In Suroweicki’s book, The Wisdom of Crowds, he believes that “under the right circumstances, groups are remarkably intelligent and often smarter than the smartest people in them” (XIII). Suroweicki’s way of thinking is extremely useful because it explains why groups of people are collectively smarter when working towards a common goal. More importantly, the events following the tragedy that happened to the Saddle Tramps Motorcycle Club confirm it. Unfortunately, it happens that this tragedy was the group’s motivator to decide on several potential solutions to the problem. In particular, fundraisers that motorcycle clubs have organized is where I have witnessed several people behave in a common way, because everyone is there for the same reason. When it comes to organizing a fundraiser event there is a substantial amount of planning and collaboration amongst a motorcycle clubs members who are hosting the event. More importantly, a mutual consensus amongst the group is necessary to determine the purpose of any fundraiser. Furthermore, its purpose is the deciding factor on whether or not people will attend. Along the same lines, numerous characteristics play an essential role for success that any fundraiser might have.

On November 19, 2010, the Saddle Tramps Motorcycle club were involved in a fatal accident along State Route 98, which led to several of the its members being injured or killed. In the days that passed the accident, the Saddle Tramps had to deal with their emotions while planning for memorials and services for their friends. Moving forward, the club began to collaborate with one another on ways to raise money for their f...

... middle of paper ...

...ts. More importantly, the club donated all the proceeds from every single event to the families of the injured Saddle Tramps members.

The upshot of all this is that the Saddle Tramps were able to achieve significant results through each member providing a mutual amount of group effort. Looking back, Surowiecki discusses in order to be successful; groups must maintain their diversity and independence (10). It is this fact that led to choosing to write about the tragedy that happened to the Saddle Tramps Motorcycle club. As well as the fact when tragedies occur, I was able to witness the significant outcome of all of these events. Overall, the actions presented by everyone who played a key role in the Saddle Tramp tragedy confirms what Surowiecki thinks about groups.

Works Cited

Surowiecki, James. The Wisdom of Crowds. New York: Random House, 2004. Print