I think that's a part that people greatly misunderstand about revolutions and big reforms. It's not like you go on the street in masses and the government or the bosses of big enterprises ultimately react to you. This is not a relationship like Mom to child, where a Mom reacts to nearly everything the child does, or like a personal relationship to anyone at all.
When on the personal - emotional! - level, this is natural behavior and comes automatically because humans are made and educated to be this way.
But when some glass wall is in between that so both fractions can't feel each other personally - which being in a big position is -, then people can act distanced, rational, like a computer without remorse, mercy or regret.
Then all the reaction patterns from the personal level don't work anymore.

People seem to want to address this personal level, but they fail to recognize by the constellation of the situation a turning back onto that level is not possible. It simply is not possible. So trying to address it is futile. You need a different strategy. Some that works with this abstract constellation of things. But that only comes from science, from thinking like a computer yourself, without mercy, without remorse and regret - from locking emotions out of the game.
But many people which good-heartedly want to change something find that incredibly cold and cruel. They fail to get this cruelty is nessecary because they overly think emotionally and don't want to let go of it. They fear for "if I give that up, I stop being a human" - "pitiful creatures" I must say in connection with that.