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Pouring beer into the 18-34 demographic and then throwing them into a crowded urban street is an unsurprising  recipe for disaster.  If you look at the videos out there you see people reveling in distinctly anti-social behaviour and of course acting with extreme stupidity.  In this clip, you see a man trying to curb the violent behaviour of the mob.  He held the mob back for awhile, but in the end gets swarmed and beaten for his efforts.  Watch for yourself…

The individual took an ethical stand, and was injured because of it.  I would venture that the people that hurt him do not think of themselves as bad evil people, but somewhere along the way they tucked their moral compass away and stopped listening, letting their lizard brain and the false power of the crowd dynamic take over.  The mob has no feelings other than anger, malevolence and dangerous disconnect with regular social norms.  When the crowd leaves, only then do you see the individual victims.

A picture from the same series that has quickly become an internet meme because of the juxtaposition of the injured woman, the police (not in this picture) and the mob in the background.  What do we see in the picture?  We see the results of violent group behaviour, but now we can relate to the people now because they have left the group dynamic.  We can sympathize.  The fact that we can loose this connection to others so quickly is intriguing and disturbing.

One aspect of the video, and even of the still shots is that amazing amount of apathy on display.  How many amazingly unhelpful people do you see with their apple I-fail recording someone being beaten?  It turns the stomach.   The behaviour of the mob is frustrating but yet remains a provocation showing how quickly the veneer of our civilized values can slip away.

The question is, would you stand against the individuated mass if they were doing wrong?  Would you intervene to stop the destruction of property?  The abuse of another?  Would you be part of the I-fail recording enablers?  Can you even answer this question properly within the safety of your computer room?