mob mentality. not the first time, won't be the last. you get a bunch of bored, drunk losers and they start showing off to their buddies... and it feeds on itself. nothing new about it. society has always had decay.
the pieces of garbage wouldn't have had the cojones do do anything without their cohorts cheering them on.
You could be right. I would counter though as a group, longtime friends and acquaintances of mine don't tolerate individual bad behavior of one another, much less cheer it on. Even when we are drinking.
Something has to make these people thinks okay to commit the crime, and the others to stand by and do nothing to stop it. I don't necessarily believe it is alcohol. Obviously they are losers. I think those that watched and did nothing are every bit the losers as well.