plus ça change

[a7sharp9]

One could see a good example of this in the strange accident that occurred in London in 1942, when a crowd, frightened by a bomb-burst nearby, fled into the mouth of an Underground station, with the result that something over a hundred people were crushed to death. The very same day it was repeated all over London that "the Jews were responsible". Clearly, if people will believe this kind of thing, one will not get much further by arguing with them. The only useful approach is to discover WHY they can swallow absurdities on one particular subject while remaining sane on others.

Написано, между прочим, 70 лет назад. А могло бы и 7, и 170.

(я с ним тут не согласен, кстати, мне совершенно неинтересно, почему люди так себя ведут, и я не считаю, что из подобного интереса можно вынести какую-нибудь пользу; но явление обозначено вполне отчетливо, и вывод о тщетности разговоров тоже верный)