So on my college campus there was this nutty (by the standards of the time unfortunately might be considered normal now) guy who would preach. The students found it funny and many would gather around and ask him to tell them about the homosexuals or the communists because he would go off on these crazy stories and tirades which again the students found funny. One day the crowd grew mean and eventually one guy stole his sweater. I confronted him and had him give back the sweater and the mob mentality feeling subsided.