Quiet Quitting Relationships, Chicago Falling Apart, Racist LA Council, + More!

That thing you mentioned about your boss complaining about someone's actions without naming them, in front of the group, is a weird western false kindness. It's especially bad in your case, but it's not meaningfully different if there are 10 people present. Everyone knows who it is based on what they were working on in most cases anyway.

It's that we no longer have a sincere culture. Confronting someone is counterproductive usually, so public shaming takes its place. Rather than talking to the person directly and privately, you bring it up "without identifying them" in front of the group. And there's no walking this back, it's a one-way street. As usual, the only coping mechanism is to establish a no-go zone: create spaces where the mainstream culture is prohibited and harshly punished, and a sincere culture is instituted in its place.