I experienced about the same when trying to open the eyes of my peers to the dark reality of things ... people are deeply attached to their pink sunglasses it seems. Once they're off there is no turning back...most just put up a wall and dismiss all the information as "not possible", some break apart as you mentioned but these are the ones getting involved afterwards.
It took me a e few years to a decade for some but I succeeded in waking them up or at least having them be aware something doesn't fit.