I have a fridge magnet with the legend 'Beware of the power of stupid people in large groups'.

I don't know what the solution is, or whether there is one, but can only hope that sanity will win out before we reach the point of no return.

Maybe we have always been this way. In the past 100 years the media has made it possible for these events to be seen worldwide at the time they happen and to allow us all to join in the hysteria that affects those in direct contact, because we can see it on screen. It's also been made easier for those with an agenda to reach a larger audience. The message doesn't get watered down in the telling and retelling that used to be the way in which news was passed on.