I think you'd get the same reaction from people if Verizon had announced a T-mobile merger.

If it was Sprint probably less so, but there would still be people opposed to it.

I don't think people are picking on AT&T just because they're AT&T. In general a lot of people don't like huge corporate conglomerations and they way they can throw their weight around in the market.

You can be pro-merger or anti-merger, but don't assume that people who are anti-merger are at&t persecutors.