So some friends of mine went to an anti-Islamophobia rally this weekend, and then they walked out.

Now, these are lovely, lefty, arty, older people. With lovely, lefty, arty kids who have left home. And their lovely, lefty, arty hearts were heartbroken by recent events and they’ve always stood up for human rights. But they walked out of an anti-Islamophobia rally.

So why?  Well, the word they used was hectored. They felt hectored by the speakers, of which by the time they walked out had numbered 10. Each one was more hectoring and shrill and intense than the last. And slowly but surely, Islamophobia was pushed aside for the complaints of other groups,  and concerns with Māori and Rainbow rights being the most common. My friends got left with the feeling that instead of being supportive of the cause, they were being blamed for the darkness at the edge of town and in the hearts of some New Zealanders.

And what struck my wouldn’t hurt a fly, lovely, lefty arty friends, was that the manner of discourse stood in marked opposition to the way the Muslim community handled themselves last week and so my mild-mannered friends walked out.

A week before March, 15, I was talking about the age of hysteria. It’s still here. On all sides. From the offended left, to the offended right. From the activist shouting at us that we’re all racist and all to blame, to the conservatives who are sure that communism is upon us, our country is Venezuela and all our kids are going to be sent to re-education centres.

We do need to learn from Muslims. Keep it simple, think, keep calm and don’t fall for the voices of the bogeymen inside our vivid imaginations.

Speaking of the age of hysteria, the Mueller investigation is out and there appears to have been no collusion between the Russians and Trump’s people. No kidding Sherlock. For all Kushner and Trump Junior’s failings, they’re not so stupid to actively plot with another nation to corrupt their own country’s democratic processes. And even if they were, then they’re not nearly smart enough to do it properly.  But they were dumb enough to talk to Russians in the wrong place at the wrong time.

So was it all a waste of time?  No, I don’t think so. It shook the tree and 34 indictments fell out and from the actual concrete results, we know that the Trump camp favour people who get things done even if they’re not completely right or lawful and that’s not a good look.

It also reminds us that there are nations who shake our hands but hold a knife behind their backs and having a casual coffee with the wrong guys at the wrong time is also a bad look.

But it’s also a reminder that exaggerated and extreme accusations are worse than no accusation at all. The Democrats have always looked hysterical as they hoped to remove their nemesis through impeachment rather than at the ballot box, and in the hearts and minds of the voters.  Just like the Republicans looked as they thought Obama was the start of the apocalypse

The age of hysteria is upon us, but let’s never forget that it is the cool, calm and wise minds that will find the future paths.