Believing what we want to believe

I watched TV tonight and Cold Case had a segment about women during World War II and the news that the Germans had Jews in concentration camps and were killing them. The women didn't want to believe it was true and rationalized that the Germans were acting no differently than we were when we interred the American-Japanese.

While I agree that interrment was an inappropriate response to panic - in no way did it come close to what was happening to the Jews in Germany. Yet,the truth was so horrid, people didn't want to believe it to be true and so rejected the data as it the information was unfolding. Atrocities cause us to put blinders on.

On the other hand, we are so quick to assume guilt any time we hear a rumor about something "bad" someone we know- or a celebrity with whom we are familiar - has allegedly done. Isn't that a strange quirk?