There is a coarsening in our American culture. Rude, crude, selfish, crass and obnoxious is more and more commonplace today than when my old arse got into the hobby in 1978.
There is also a lack of shame. Acting badly is no longer shamed or ashamed of.
Then there is the polarity of politics. Just the mention of a certain name makes the mentally unstable launch into a hissy fit.
It's not the hobby or the prices IMO- it's the rotten culture we suffer under.