Evidently, based on patents being issued, it is easy to get a patent in the sense that you don't need a novel or nontrivial invention to do so. You don't need to go through the process to observe the results.
Perhaps there is a lot of paperwork, and in that sense it's not "easy". Or perhaps it is not "easy" to convince the patent office to accept trivial patents or patents on nonpatentable subject matter like math, but the volume of these things suggests that it can't be that hard.
If you knew millions of high school students write an OS as a project each year, you could safely conclude it's not that hard, even if you haven't done it.
So the hard part is having enough money to pay a lawyer. And being morally opposed to patents, especially software patents, is a valid position.
Step 1 - Come up with a software idea and give it to a lawyer
Step 2 - ???
Step 3 - Patent
There was nothing hostile in my reply. I just laid out the exact facts that GP put in their post in order to support the opposite conclusion that GP was pushing.
It would be like me saying "designing your own operating system is easy" and having someone respond "how many OSes have you designed?"
And by the way, your own story bears out the same: despite working for IBM (a company where attorneys familiar with the patent process are no doubt legion), participating or being aware of these patent brainstorm sessions, and stating that everyone had one after a couple years, you have zero. So what would you know about the patent prosecution process? Certainly not enough to say that it's easy.