I have a teacher friend like your acquaintance who could not understand that we, the tax payers had to pay her salary. We practically had to beat it into her so she could see it. And if she wanted the government to do more, her taxes would go up as well. Anyway, people are starting to see. The black vote was generally Democrat but those and the hispanic votes are starting to turn, Thanks to people like Ben Carson, Candace Owens, Thomas Sowell, Officer Tatum... I could kiss this woman!
The trouble is, that most people have a sheep mentality and are quite happy to go with the flow. It takes courage to stand up and speak out. However, it does work. Look at the u-turn on 'trans people' in women's sports. If enough people refuse to accept this corrupted thinking, it will not succeed.