The media has covered extensively the difficult time Anderson Cooper had while reporting the political uprising in Egypt against President Hosni Mubarak. At the heart of the struggle, there have been mobs of pro- and anti-Mubarak supporters on the streets fighting and rioting.

Unfortunately, as is often the case with mobs, things can quickly escalate beyond the actual issues they congregated for. Some people seem to just like the violence of it. Cooper talked candidly about the experience of being "pummelled" on 'Late Show with David Letterman' (Weeknights, 11:35PM ET on CBS).

While attempting to talk to some of the pro-Mubarak supporters, Cooper, his cameraman and producer went a little too far into the chaos.

"All of a sudden a guy went to grab our camera and from then it just became a free-for-all," he said. "People came from all around, surrounding us, punching us, kicking us, trying to rip the clothes off my female producer."

The actions toward his producer are indicative of how mob mentality can take a hold of people and turn them into something that perhaps they are not in their everyday lives. It's a powerful force that almost never leads to good, and too often can take away from the good intentions the gathering may have started with. It is also, sadly, human nature.

The three turned around and sought safety, but none of them took it as an indication to back down from the work they were trying to do, or the story they were trying to report in Egypt.