Exaggerating the trans issue to totally ignore all science history and the like is more like it. But you have to remember a lot of this was very online and a lot of the American left is very much not "online" in the same sense we are. It's mostly boomers and older people who maybe know or know in passing like one trans person who is halfway normal or otherwise not a troublemaker and so default to the "general tolerance" mindset. With a defent amount of blind faith in authority tossed in.

I think that's one of the reasons why there is so much effort but into shut down any discussions of the issue because it's one of those "the more you know about it, the less you can support it" sorts of things imho.

I think it's important though to differentiate between the "left" and the "woke left" or radical left or whatever you want to call it in American politics same as you have to differentiate between the right and the "evangelical right" as while they often find themselves on the same side of certain issues, the degree of how far they will take it differs considerably.

Most Americans trend more towards the center of most issues but the extremes tend to set the terms if debate as it were.

At this point the trans issue has gone from fringe online discussion to a mainstream culture war issue, so the numbers of how many trans people there actually are is irrelevant (just as with the black lives matter movements the number of black people killed by police was just assumed to be much higher than it actually was)

The issue becomes more emotional than anything and about the morality of the issue rather than the numbers or actual effect on society. The left is just completely broadsided by it as they assumed they were part of the working class and the voice of the common people and they are quickly finding out that they are not and are clueless to address what the common people actually think.

It is common in American politics for the political parties that are not in power to rally the common folk. Once they gain power they tend to focus more on partisan interests over time and lose that focus which gives the other party a chance to address them and flip the balance again.

The purging is a consequence of increased partisanism. As of course one of the best ways to get ahead is to eliminate your competition. And if you aren't able to win in a straight debate it's far easier and more expedient to discredit your opponent in some way to avoid the debate entirely. It's much easier to paint someone as a Nazi keep them defensive than to discuss economics. It's much better in elections as well as we assume the average voter responds more strongly to Nazis than a tariffs or tax rates. Assuming the Americans know what any of those are of course. The Nazis at least are one of Hollywoods most represented groups so Americans recognize them.