The obligation to express hakaras hatov is not necessarily greater (at least according to some) than the obligation to avoid the problems I’m referring to.
I’m not trying to insinuate anything; I’m trying to help you understand that those who don’t express hakaras hatov in the way you think they should are not doing because they think, b’shittah, that it shouldn’t be done.
Let’s say I would explain to you what that shittah is (as has been done before on the CR, with unpleasant results), and you wouldn’t understand or agree. What would you conclude? That I’m lying and that it’s purely from bad middos? I’m simply asking you to accept that it’s not out of lack of hakaras hatov even if you don’t understand or agree with the reasoning.