There was a very interesting programme on BBC2 last night called 'The Brain - A Secret History'.
BBC iPlayer - The Brain: A Secret History: Mind Control
It examined how and why inteligent and rational people would do very irrational or evil things, such as Germans becoming Death Camp guards or US PoWs during the Korean War denouncing America.
In the programme they showed an experiment from the 1960s where members of the general public had to help someone to learn by giving them a larger and larger electric shock every time the learner got a question wrong. This went upto and including a lethal voltage. Prior to the show the members of the public thought only psychopaths would administer the lethal voltage but in the end 3/4 of them did. (The learner was played by an actor pretending to be electrocuted).
The conclusion was that people would do things totally alien to them if persuaded by people, that they deem to be in authority, that it was the right thing to do.
My point is that to some, the BASSA leadership, is seen to be a proper authority and that they will therefore do whatever they are told, by DH and co, no matter how bizaar. Telling the group enmass that they are wrong has no effect. The only way to break the 'group think' is to talk to people individually with all the facts but as we have seen even this doesn't always work.
Regards