General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: This JFK Jr. thing that happened in Dallas is spooking me. [View all]bucolic_frolic
(47,771 posts)I don't have anything specific in mind, but the Black Death prompted religious paranoia and illogical explanations, Martin Luther divided Europe with 95 Theses, there are also market manias - Tulip, South Sea, even the Age of Exploration produced wanton optimism, greed, outsized dominance and privilege, so Let them eat cake and cut off their heads.
Humanity can be irrational for long periods of time. The idea we're running along logically, sanely is not true. We run along with inconsequential insanities - Beanie Baby prices, sex and drugs and rock 'n roll, a shift in consumer taste from cars to SUVs or coffee to latte. Currently it's a mania, a mass delusion, a thing with no reality behind it. But it's real in their minds. Which might be the place to start - if asked what is real, what would they say? I mean real. Provable, tangible.