The sight of blood and charred debris, the screams of loss and pain and the rising death toll often leave people speechless, unable to comprehend a thought.

The state of shock swiftly turns into hysteric consensus over any idea that appeals to the crowd or part of it. Probing questions are quieted or dismissed as preposterous.

Declaring the Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist organization, even though a court is still to give a verdict to that effect, caters to this reaction and helps in distracting from the unpopular type of criticism directed at the government.

Blaming Prime Minister Hazem el-Biblawi for being too weak and indecisive, sometimes even of being a secret ally of the Muslim Brotherhood, is common. The inefficiency of the security services is not, despite the explosion that left 16 dead at the premises of the Mansoura security directorate on Dec. 24. Such facilities across the country are heavily guarded and the surrounding streets are often closed to traffic. For a vehicle laden with a sizable amount of explosives to enter a densely populated city and come this close to the police building — 6 meters (20 feet) away from the street leading to the entrance according to preliminary prosecution findings — demonstrates a grave failure to secure a vital facility with all resources available.