if you tell people that certain opinions are not allowed to be expressed, then they will tell you another reason they dont like the show. That is what happens. If you want the actual reason, you have to allow it to appear.
This is interesting. I feel like people are allowed to say "I don't think women should lead". They just don't like the consequences of having that opinion. They want to say something cruel or afactual without anyone uninviting them from parties.
Many fans are seeing this star trek as being a vehicle for removing masculinity from the show,
If that's true, it's another example of conservatives having atrocious media literacy. There's ample masculinity in the show. Perhaps they're upset that it's not exclusively the kind they want to see. Conservatives are not known for enjoying other perspectives and new takes.
Which I guess is your first point again. They have unwelcome beliefs so they'll contort them into something they feel has less consequences. That's easier than admitting maybe they're wrong or their beliefs are bad.
It's always been pretty bad for large chunks of the population. This seems like a low point, but there have been many lows in living memory. Civil rights movement in the 60s. Vietnam war. War on drugs. Countless cruelties done to non-whites and queer folks.
Even the idealized stuff of "buy a house on one income" was more for white people than anything else. Redlining, mortgage discrimination, "and then the white people burned down our house" were all realities.
This country has always been deeply racist. The wealthy ownership class has largely been soulless ghouls. Maybe they build libraries and museums for a while, but they still oversaw tremendous suffering and poverty.