It's been gradually snowballing over time.
Initially, people were scared of being seen as a bad person, so they relented and let the loony-left get their way. After a while, they could see how bad their policies were and how much harm they caused, and gradually woke up to the fact that they didn't care about anyone other than themselves and their own ideological ends.
It's like the old Orwellian notion that the do-gooders don't actually support the oppressed, they simply want to wrestle power from those in control. Completely self-interested and out for themselves. Straight from the Stalinist playbook.
It didn't take long to see how many people were being made to suffer or being put in danger.
Thank goodness things have gotten better. And hopefully they will continue to improve.