I think that's probably true for some. It's a kind of perverse power fantasy. Fills the void of knowing deep down that you've never done anything worthwhile, and never will.
You may have a good point there. Life has been so peaceful over the last 50 years or so (at least in the grand scheme of things; by comparison the earlier part of the 20th century was all kinds of exciting). So we need things to complain about.