This is a very common thing outside the bubble that is the US. In fact, before COVID it was totally normal to see people wearing masks when they were sick in public places. A little strange to see, but still normal and nobody really cared. People didn’t give two shits back then versus now where they stick out like a sore thumb. Before you’d see someone wearing a mask and think “oh, they might be sick” and move on with your life before you even had a chance to put it into your long term memory. It’s not that it’s weird to wear a mask. It’s that everyone forgot that it used to not be weird at all. The fact that they are getting judged in the first place would seem completely ridiculous 5 years ago.
When it comes to protesting like this I don’t really give a shit if someone paints over parts of a building. But the books themselves? That’s just fucked up. I understand they are trying to get people pissed over this but this is entirely the wrong way to do it. All this will do is make everyone pissed off at you instead. I’d say a good rule of thumb for protest graffiti is whether or not it can still be used after it’s been covered in paint. Graffiti on a wall doesn’t make the wall unusable. But if someone put graffiti on the windshield of my car I’d be so pissed off I wouldn’t give two shits about the message.