That is a real shame. The higher level you go, the less likely you will find one of these hacks that get caught up in their feelings. Refs, umps, officials should NEVER get involved with fans unless they are being belligerent with the kids or being profane. I just returned from an event where the refs were high major college or even D League officials. And you can tell.
Yes, they are better in general but the biggest difference is how they "handle" games. They make mistakes just like players and coaches. But they don't go on the defensive as soon as they do. I've seen on multiple occasions a ref come over and say, "I blew that one coach" or something similar. Without fail, the coach replied that he could respect that.
For those officials who aspire to move up or just do their job as well as they can, you know you are doing your job when you aren't becoming a focus of what is occurring on the field/court. No one came to see you do your job and you will have done it well if they barely noticed you were there...