The only way I can ever make much sense of behaviour like this is if I consider that the “trigger” for such an overblown reaction is something other than it appears. A little like the way a small child having a massive meltdown over the “wrong colour cup” or having to wear a hat isn’t really about the cup or hat, it’s about a loss of autonomy, a sense of being unsafe, unheard, unseen, or just overwhelm that the child doesn’t have the resources to deal with. This pandemic and the responses to it have certainly been polarising and divisive. People appearing to break “rules” can trigger massive indignation, however unrighteous or unjustified. And as you say, this behaviour is not becoming less common these days. Conflict for the sake of conflict seems to be becoming an ever more comfortable place for some people to hang out.
The only way I can ever make much sense of behaviour like this is if I consider that the “trigger” for such an overblown reaction is something other than it appears. A little like the way a small child having a massive meltdown over the “wrong colour cup” or having to wear a hat isn’t really about the cup or hat, it’s about a loss of autonomy, a sense of being unsafe, unheard, unseen, or just overwhelm that the child doesn’t have the resources to deal with. This pandemic and the responses to it have certainly been polarising and divisive. People appearing to break “rules” can trigger massive indignation, however unrighteous or unjustified. And as you say, this behaviour is not becoming less common these days. Conflict for the sake of conflict seems to be becoming an ever more comfortable place for some people to hang out.