Menchen quote

I'm sure you know someone who fits this description

The central belief of every moron is that he is the victim of a mysterious conspiracy against his common rights and true deserts. He ascribes all his failure to get on in the world, all of his congenital incapacity and damfoolishness, to the machinations of werewolves assembled in Wall Street, or some other such den of infamy. If these villains could be put down, he holds, he would at once become rich, powerful and eminent. Nine politicians out of every ten, of whatever party, live and have their being by promising to perform this putting down. In brief, they are knaves who maintain themselves by preying on the idiotic vanities and pathetic hopes of half-wits.

– H. L. Mencken, Baltimore Evening Sun, June 15, 1936

Written almost 72 years ago, yet still holds true today. Just substitute "Big Oil" or "predatory lenders" for the "Wall Street werewolves" and you're good to go.

h/t to someone on the blogroll