It's amazing how easily manipulated these people are.

Seriously. Who doesn't notice the pattern?

I suspect most do, but choose to ignore it. The instinct to conform is overwhelming. People will put it ahead of even their own self-preservation. That's why these brainwashing tactics are so insidious. They only have to convince the critical mass of people, and then everyone's hooked for fear of being the outlying dissenter. It's easier to just conform and go along with it than it is to be called a heretic.