I think part of the controversy is also that there have recently been high-profile cases of scientists with an agenda and a hypothesis that they fundamentally b

I think part of the controversy is also that there have recently been high-profile cases of scientists with an agenda and a hypothesis that they fundamentally believe, and then produce research for the purpose of trying to prove their hypothesis rather than keeping it neutral or attempting to disprove their hypothesis. But the problem goes both ways. There are also social justice warriors who choose to believe their intuition and feelings over cold logic. Basically, it's an emotionally charged topic that makes objective analysis difficult due to the complexity of humans and their motivations.