I’ve been assuming it’s because they truly have no idea how this tech works

I’ve found it effective to follow this with, “yes, now you’re starting to understand the problem”

Yeah it’s already a problem, but if we start ramming satellites against each other I could imagine the problem getting to a point where we have trouble launching things into space. The real issue is the relative velocity that orbiting objects have. If you’re curious, the Wikipedia article has a really cool infographic and the section on hazards is pretty interesting if you like space stuff.

At some point we will have enough shit orbiting the planet that we won’t be able to launch anything into space for decades. That will be a good time.