Absolutely frightening, this sort of rhetoric. All the more, as you say, because these people are probably not stupid (that would be bad too), but have no insight into basic historical and political facts. I'm sure, however, that this sort of reactions would emerge from any public in any country. But the communications media have now given unlimited power to anyone who can buy a computer and use a keyboard. Clint Eastwood once said: "opinions are like assholes, everyone has one". It's not about having an opinion, it's about having an informed opinion. And with mass-media being more and more about opinions (more and more 'columns' in newspapers for instance) and less and less information and knowledge, this is only getting worse.