Yeah, baffling how many people think the “AW ban” actually did so. The only thing banned was ugly cosmetics. If they understood this, they’d be terrified of the response to a real ban.
The thing is, most people don't understand, because (at least until very recently) most people get their news from and have their opinions formed by the talking heads on the boob tube, and those heads spew disinformation and are happy to do their best to make sure that most people don't understand all the facts.
Part of the cultural war that is going on right now is because this paradigm is indeed shifting, and the mass media, and the government, no longer have absolute control over what news and what spin is being put out. More and more people are waking up to the fact that they have been manipulated, and they don't like it.
Most of us here have figured this out long ago, and we constantly see that we are often days ahead of most of the news cycle (or that we know things that aren't widely reported), and I am frequently reminded of this when I talk to others in my family. I do my best to get them to dig deeper, to become more aware, but the motivation has to come from inside.
And you're right, of course. They would be terrified of the real response. Many folks, including the ones calling for bans and crying about the peaceful lawful exercise of Constitutional rights, have not though through the consequences of their position being forced on those of us that want no part of it. They have no idea what they are about to unleash.