My family and I have this discussion often. It comes down to this, there are only 2 possible emotions allowed: 1) Outrage
2) Smug satisfaction There are no degrees of anything anymore. It is a zero-sum game and you are with me, or are my mortal enemy. Quit trying to be offended, there is enough to get excited about. Realize that there are indeed items worth getting exorcized about. Then shut up because I don't want to hear it from a twerp like you. OK, so maybe the previous sentence just reinforced my point.
I think you nailed it with the "us versus them" mentality. Humans seem adept at identifying "the other" and then villainizing it to death. I'm young, but I feel like life so far has been trying to tell me "hey, everybody's different, and everybody's doing the best they can, and that's ok". Makes me sad to think how much we polarize ourselves.