I'm a centrist too...
It's crazy that a pendulum swings drastically back and forth isn't it? Not a false equivalency if you have any understanding of historical geopolitics.
If you marginalize and de-platform an entire half of your voter base, and cancel people for taking a centrist stance, they're more likely to band together against your cause, doing more harm long term than if you just toed a rational line.
IE. Because the right were treated the way the left are now being treated for so long, they were polarized and radicalized to the result of who your president is now.
Also, not American, this isn't just an American thing. This is happening globally.
BLM, Pro-Palestine, George Floyd... three big ones that come to mind