What happened this week?
I think in Chinatown most people have come decades ago. So they're even more old school than people in modern Chinese cities. And they probably don't speak English and never assimilated to American culture and only read and watch Chinese-American media, which gives them wrong info or very subcultural info so they're like that.
I'm more shocked you had the "gut" to visit SF. It used to be such a lovely city and I loved it but I can't imagine going there now.