History
Welcome to History!
This community is dedicated to sharing and discussing fascinating historical facts from all periods and regions.
Rules:
NOTE WELL: Personal attacks and insults will not be tolerated. Stick to talking about the historical topic at hand in your comments. Insults and personal attacks will get you an immediate ban for a period of time determined by the moderator who bans you.
-
Post about history. Ask a question about the past, share a link to an article about something historical, or talk about something related to history that interests you. Please encourage discussion whenever possible.
-
No memes. No ads. No promos. No spam.
-
No porn.
-
We like facts and reliable sources here. Don't spread misinformation or try to change the historical record.
view the rest of the comments
I wonder if it's a result of feelings of powerlessness and just a general impression that government is ineffective. It's almost on par with a foreign invasion, but it just seems like anything we do is just to try to mitigate or contain the effects. We can't actually "fight" these diseases as a society, it's this incredibly individual battle that each of us goes through, some of us make it, some of us don't, and that's it. You can wear a mask or reduce your exposure, or the government can give out tests, monetary aid, provide information updates, or whatever, but none of that tackles it head on, it's natural disaster that washes across the entire country. So people just get frustrated with it and realize that government can't really help them that much.
I think it is more about the fear of receiving harm from "others" outside their local group and placing the blame on those outsiders. Like blaming Gypsies/Travelers and other nomadic groups for things when they are around, or the antisemetic hatred based on myths of being society manipulated by Jews.
Pandemics remind people that there is a world out there that could affect them negatively and they want a group to be a part of and people outside that group to blame.
Obviously not universally true for all people, but a significant portion.
And the fascist side of it appeals most to the uneducated people.
Eh, Eco described it as appealing to the " frustrated middle class", and honestly I can see it.