This doesn't seem to really be about science per se. It seems to be more that people reject claims regardless of their truth when the claims are associated with hostile tribes.
It is almost a truism in business process re-engineering that you should always make people feel comfortable, whatever they do in the current process and explain to them the value that they will be adding in the new setup/process. If people feel insecure, it is very difficult to get their cooperation and your project will tend to fail, badly.
And if you reject science, you conclude that scientists are out to get you. The boot fits; upvoted.
From the NYTimes. The central point: