ABSTRACT
This chapter introduces the concept of Toxic Wild West Syndrome – the combination of performative rugged hyper-individualism, a weaponized display of strength, and nationalism framed as patriotism in the United States, using Goffman’s impression management and Durkheim’s anomie as a framework. Citizen responses to the COVID-19 pandemic have fallen into two general categories: prosocial/flexible and hyper-individualist/inflexible. Most people are prosocial: self-isolated, working “essential jobs,” or sheltering in place. However, a highly visible and audible minority falls into the hyper-individualist category: assembling in public to protest public health directives, which disrupt their cherished norms. Although the prosocial response is a larger group, the hyper-individualist response is louder and more visible. Many protesters arrive armed and wearing military gear more suited to war zones than peaceful protests. This chapter calls for extensive research into methods of penetrating and mitigating this inflexibility, to maximize the safety of the population during this and future crises.
