People are probably getting angry at you because you are explicitly invoking a politicized definition of the word merit which basically boils down to "best at maintaining the political status quo." In other contexts the definition is different. (For example Elon Musk's business merits seem to be his track record of making a lot of money, or at least that's what they are on twitter anyway)

If you want other examples of people who are pissed off at the concept of merit for other reasons, talk to some PhDs (or other holders of high academic merit) that are struggling to find work.