Comment by epistasis

In extreme cases: "I’m not licking the boot. It’s my boot. I voted for it. I’m the one stomping…" [0]

People imagine that they are part of the in-group, and not the out-group that gets the boot for exercising basic rights that the in-group gets. And perhaps they are, if they have enough money and power. But ultimately most of these people know that they are not in power but that as long as they see the boot stomping on others, and they can imagine a boundary that keeps them in the in-group (skin color, political ideology, gender, etc.), they approve as long as that group boundary is clear.

Now, when that boundary begins to blur, and people understand that the person getting the boot could be themselves, then attitudes start to change.

[0] https://bsky.app/profile/joshuaeakle.com/post/3mdfsnpy57k26