Small shitty people clung to little bits of power they were given by their masters. The mask mandates and "policies" emboldened an entire swath of nasty women and weak men to enforce something on their fellow citizens. It empowered them and exhilarated them to think they could MAKE someone do something.

If you don't think these same people wouldn't jump at the chance to hold a gun on you and load you onto a cattle car, or be a camp guard, or shovel you into an oven, you just aren't a good judge of human nature.