Mod 80 –
If SZ is correct, why don’t I find him on this page? I only see The Rov, who is incidentally now blocked.
Yes, like many other Mamarei Chazal, it must not be taken too far — which it never has been. There are different Dinim: the individual is judged personally and the public is judged in another way. Certain things come about because the world deserved it or the country or the group. The Tzaddik’s suffering doesn’t take away anyone’s Chet, just the punishment that was to happen to the Tzibur.