who knows...I recall people used to break up fights when they happened, although there is definitely a mentality to let people figt it out to see what happens.
sort of reminds me of that scene in the film "dazed and confused" where the puny intellectual guy is mad because this tough greaser type of dude embarrassed him at the keg party...the puny dude gives this extremely long intellectual analysis of how people have a herd mentality and nobody wants to upset the herd, so consequently, all fights are broken up immediately, so as to avoid upsetting "the herd".
as he says, he just has "to get in one good shot, play defense, and wait for the cavalry to arrive"
so he goes over to the dude from behind, pours a beer ove the guy's head...the stunned tough guy turns around, and the puny guy socks him in the face. the tough guy says "you're fecking dead" and gets back up, tackles the puny dude puts him on the ground and starts beating the shit out of him...everyone at the party forms a big circle and starts screaming and hooting and yelling...and nobody breaks it up for about a minute while the dude gets pummelled.