[0xBA5ED]

I believe this ignores the component of social cohesion. In rapidly changing and uncertain times, the lure of steadfast resolve and order can be psychologically powerful to many types of people. Fascist ideologies of all types promise this. And if the atrocities of the state are out-of-sight out-of-mind for the majority of folks, sadly, many find them easy to ignore as long as _their_ world is "in order".

[javajosh]

To add to this: it is incredibly difficult to risk yourself and your family to protect strangers, no matter what the numbers are. That's why the act of defying the Nazis in WW2 was particularly heroic: the alternative was to just go along, and be safe and comfortable. Heroism in warfare counts for less, since the alternative is often just a different kind of death.