No I don't think you understand them.
I also don't think it's entirely brainwash or anything. People's attitudes are formed based on information and experiences. You can say brainwashed in terms of information fed to them, but also the encounters and experiences of encounters and interactions with rude mainland individuals, combined with reaffirmation of other people's information, can reinforce these ideas. I'm not to say such attitude is correct, but rather it is not quite the cynic interpretation one may expect.
Furthermore, I feel you should be proud of their recognition of the imbalances and unfairness of privilege. How one goes about to cope with privilege is another story, but to recognize it is very important. Without recognition of privilege or issues in society, there will be no movements to end slavery, apartheid, civil direct actions to hold governments accountable, public accountability that forced Nixon to resign, and even revolutions that overthrow regimes. -isms such as racisms, ableism, etc etc will less likely be seen as a undesirable thinking in our modern society, especially when you consider our human history had only just recently begin to accept these things as unacceptable. (this paragraph isn't advocating for revolution to subvert Chinese sovereignty on HK. It's just to help visualize my idea)
Furthermore, regardless of which democracy is in place, it's important to accept people being different, along with their ideas. I guarantee that one day one of those protestors you meet on the streets could be the next writer, the next volunteer, the next professor in humanities, the next activists, the next politician, the next innovator, or someone you feel you're able to hold a 5 hour talk about politics. Always be happy of a society where people speaks out. When no one does, that's when you should be scared.
