Reality is a team sport, to some people. They are right and you are wrong because they are above you. If the guy above them says what you’re saying, they will agree, and immediately tell you what the guy above them said, with literally fucking zero recognition that it’s the same goddamn argument you made yesterday.

In this worldview, it is impossible for someone to simply be wrong. You must be challenging them. You are saying they are in an undeserved position, and you belong above them, because that is what’s necessary for you to be more right.