The intelligence of the creature known as a crowd, is the square root of the number of the people in it … Terry Pratchett

Have you ever been in a great mass of people and felt that you are not quite yourself? The combined energy is quite apparent and depending on who that crowd contains it can be extremely dangerous.
Over the last two weeks there have been two scenes in the news that have chilled my bones. The first one was the Rangers football fans rioting in Manchester. Those who could not get tickets (150 000 of them) went berserk when the giant TV screens that were set up outside the stadium malfunctioned 10 min before the kick-off. These football fans attacked the technicians trying to work on the problem and police stepped in. It all kicked off and for the next 8 hours they rioted through the streets of Manchester. There is one scene which is just too scary, as you watch the normal every day idiots turn into maniacs ready to kill. A policeman on the retreat in the face of the mob trips and the hundreds of fans pounced on him like a pack of wolves. Watch the video on this link, it is incredible to see the behaviour of what would have been your basic idiot shouting abuse at the TV if he was at home, turned to killing machine in a mass of bad energy that a crowd like that creates: http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/topstories/2008/05/15/video-policeman-brutally-attacked-in-uefa-cup-final-riots-89520-20418507/

Watching that one has a taste of the potential and just kind of wonders at how quickly and scary it happens. Now take that dark energy to another level, and you will find yourself in some murky places in Johannesburg. Areas near and in Alexandria township where my older bother and I used to ride our BMX's in the early 1980's, or play we were heroes roaming the veld. I won't say there was not a care in the world, but seeing those same fields become battle grounds this weekend was scary stuff. This time the South Africans that lived in Alexandria township seemed to have reached a tipping point and attacked those Zimbabweans that had fled from their own country. The results a far cry from the broken ribs and bruises that the policeman in body armour received in Manchester. This crowd's energy was so dark and what must have been some pent up anger and issues festering under the surface, was let loose in horrific attacks. The Zimbabweans were hacked at, set alight and murdered.
I don't feel it is much different to Armies of soldiers from any country. These pawns of Governments almost always report that they loose sight of the actual reason (that they have been fed) for the war and just keep on at it. Each soldier caught up in the group and acting out the evils that armies can.
Be careful when you get caught in a crowd. It's too easy to become a part of something bad. You'll probably feel it in the mall during Christmas time when there are so many people walking around stressed out and not quite taking part in what is supposed to be a merry time, or a heated meeting at a school or council of some sorts. The great thing it is so easy to pull yourself away. Just a simple decision to not be a part of it and that's it. The problem is that I think you will naturally be a part of it unless you proactively make that decision. Keep your IQ square and not square rooted.