How did “we” tolerate it?
There is always need for real leadership. When the leaders are the thieves, they actively divide and conquer the people, particularly through certain lies, e.g. Mike Pence on 1/4/21; Ireland has had to swallow bigger lies while not realizing they are lies.
“How did “we” tolerate it?”
The same way you tolerate anything. You make excuses for why doing what would need to be done to rid yourself of the thing is too hard, or you’ll do it later, or you can leave it for someone else to do, etc. Eventually you adapt to the new normal and forget about it, at least most of the time.
And no, venting on the internet, or dreaming “we’ll vote em out next time”, or “the military will save us” doesn’t count as “not tolerating it”.