It is pretty clear that as a species, our group dynamics have both pro- and contra- modes that can be applied by the group towards the individual.  Its a sliding scale .. we eat our martyrs and pamper our sinners, alike.<p>Its cases such as this one that remind me personally that you cannot trust a mob, a crowd can be as banal and base as any wild animal, and groups need guidance to be of benefit to the individual cells which form the whole.  There are no guarantees with the mob - strength, unity, enterprise - these must all be applied towards the effort to prevent the mob from consuming itself.  Humans are cannibalistic - if not digestively, at least figuratively - and we form whatever cultures we can select from the infinite void in order to undo this cannibalistic urge.  But yet, still it persists.