This isn’t unique to FR. This is something that has come about from our now core fundamentals of treating everyone as a “User” and not a person.
It’s vitriol. The internet has made younger people utter a-holes when it comes to speaking their fellow man.
There is something about the anonymity of the web that gives people a boldness and obnoxious tenor that they would never exhibit in a personal setting. I also sense a tendency of many to need to prove a superiority in intelligence, or knowledge than everyone else.
My wife an I use Facebook quite a bit in order to communicate with specific groups such as property rights organizations, pet rescue and our rural county in the Idaho panhandle. I also follow several groups specific to hot rodding and classic cars.
In browsing around on various links that po up I've noticed that for every thoughtful and helpful comment there are just as many that immediately have a need to prove someone wrong or lacking in experience. There is a lot of "my idea is better", "try my recipe", or "do it this way" - all of which I think is just human nature.
But when it comes to politics which is the foundation of this website community, people are more rigid and quick to attack. That seems to be because we are by far more conservative and largely sick and tired of being picked on in all other venues including around the clock in the media.