Every person has two brains so to speak – the emotional and the rational. These "two brains" work in tandem. Each side needs the other. The emotional side tells you to run from danger without thinking. Just run! It tells you to love a painting, jump with joy, etc. The rational side tells you to reason and think through long-term, important, decisions.
Hysteria is what happens when there is too much emotion and not enough reason. You can't compete with hysteria. And it gets worse as the number of people involved increases.
You can't compete with a person who brings a gun to a knife fight, someone who plays by a different set of rules. You have to bring something more than a knife. You can't fight hysteria with reason.
Every game has rules, even the game of life. If someone plays by a different set of rules, you have to recognize and adjust.