The "Blue Lives Matter" flags came in handy while they were beating cops.
The surprising thing for me wasn't really one thing, but the gradual revealing of character that was hidden by the relative ease of life prior to 2020. Church and faith is deeply important to me. Much of my social circle would be considered Christian Right. Prior to 2020, I generally considered the church a morally stabilizing force in this country, at least in the abstract. Many church people might do terrible things, but the faith itself was intertwined with the moral arc towards justice. It's one thing to have a somewhat abstract discussion about gay wedding cakes when there are perfectly good bakers just around the corner raking in the money from the gay wedding market; it's another thing to encourage the spread of death and suffering, and try to talk down to those who would rather not hurt others. If I heard one more comment about fearing God and not death...
2020 saw such spiritualizing of cruelty, selfishness, and indifference to spreading death and suffering by white evangelicals. It's unfathomable to think about any large group acting like this. It totally shocked and shook me. Honestly, I don't know what Christian community looks like for me and my family post-COVID. Spending Sundays at the park feeding the ducks has been far more spiritually fulfilling and done more good for the world than some of the sociopathic Sunday sermons I've heard from people close to me. I don't know how to reconcile these things. This transformation in me has been surprising and it stems from the white church's steadfast association with Trump.
As far as specific events, the terrorist attack was nuts, but honestly not too surprising, since they were pretty openly stating their plan for months. I mean the coup started before the election pretty openly and was plainly articulated by Trump sometime after midnight on election night.
The massive break from reality that occurred over the past 4 years or so was pretty shocking. People who always seemed kind and thinking just departed into an insane alternate reality. It was a lot to take in.