Right or wrong, everyone is pissed at something and looking to lay blame on others for their woes.
Sometimes however, it's hard to find a scape goat. Two popular fallbacks are blaming ideologies and the rise of full-blown tribalism.
Still, it seems the pandemic is a player in any conversation.
Example:
This article Why More Kids are Getting Eating Disorders talks about eating disorders related to the pandemic lockdowns.
There's really no doubt the pandemic has led to prolonged stress which leads to significant psychological and social effects.
There's also no doubt our prolonged pandemic is affecting healthcare workers trying to combat it.
Business pundits are stressed out by the pandemic's toll on the economy. Supply chain problems still plague most cities.
Worse yet, the pandemic could be ongoing for years because a large population of Americans are refusing to get vaccinated. The idea of no hope in sight even discourages those with positive attitudes.
In a long succession throughout history, pandemic outbreaks have decimated societies, determined outcomes of wars, and wiped-out entire populations. See History.com Editors (2020)
Paradoxically pandemics have cleared the way for innovation and advances in society (including medicine and public health), economy, and political systems.
It's becoming increasingly common to blame the pandemic for ANY PROBLEM we have.
In the search for normality and restoration of our society to pre-pandemic times, many disgruntled American's patience has worn thin.
These disgruntled Americans are searching for cures in all the wrong places. Experts in healthcare are reviled. Scientists haven't been this unpopular since the Catholic Church declared they were heretics in medieval times.
People often need a boogieman to blame for all their miseries. There's no better candidate today than the damn pandemic.