How a revolution erupts from a commonplace event — tidal wave from a ripple — is cause for endless astonishment ...
First, a piece of news about something said or done travels quickly, more so than usual, because it is uniquely apt; it fits a half-conscious mood or caps a situation ... The fact and the challenger’s name generate rumour, exaggeration, misunderstanding, falsehood. People ask each other what is true and what it means. The atmosphere becomes electric, the sense of time changes, grows rapid; a vague future seems nearer ...
As further news spreads, various types of people become aroused for or against the thing now upsetting everybody’s daily life ... ardent youths full of hope as they catch the drift of the idea, rowdies looking for fun, and characters with a grudge. Cranks and tolerated lunatics come out of houses, criminals out of hideouts, and all assert themselves.
Jacques Barzun, From Dawn to Decadence