I feel like an important often missed variable is what part of the population is actually not having enough food & shelter or not able to support their family.
Also work and leisure. Covid hit both of those. Bored, unemployed people are more likely to protest, and protesters are more likely to riot.
I think you meant - covid mitigations hit both of those.
I agree that is wrong, but it is not new. Standard of living are much higher than say the 50's. There is something else going on. A mix of nihilism, vast inequality and a societal sensory apparatus that is profiting immensely from churning hate.