It baffles me how some scientists who spend their lives trying to interpret the world, physical and social, show disdain and fail to handle politics, i.e. a defining aspect of human society. Some whine excessively about the effects, but miss the causes entirely. Many won't even try.
Long lasting effects of McCarthyism? Fear of being called "socialist, communist, anarchist" by fascists? Life long indoctrination, social conditioning and propaganda at play?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_conditioning#Methods_of_social_conditioning_%E2%80%93_media