Is the average person just really thoughtlessly mean?

As I move into adulthood, I feel like people don’t think about others critically. My best example is ableism: at my work (there are quite a few employees) nobody understands that some of our regulars are autistic, and they complain about OBVIOUSLY AUTISTIC things that they do. Or, if someone has obviously suffered a stroke/ dementia, they laugh and seem confused. Am I just overestimating the knowledge of Neuroscience/Mental health that the average person has? (I am a Psychology major so maybe) Or have people just gotten very cruel in recent years?