Paraphrasing: It doesn't matter how much shit gets piled on you, how little support you get, how stupid the deadlines are, or how bad the communication is, if you get visibly upset you lose.
I have nothing but personal anecdotes and observations to base my thoughts on here but it seems to me that this has become true of life in general. And as the OP has now learned, it's of no consolation how right you are or how justified you may be to get angry in the first place, either. You still lost.
Sometimes you just need to stop scurrying about and stand up for yourself.
I agree completely but I've observed that you will often walk away from those situations looking like you're wrong / you're the asshole.
No - it's not true of life. Justified anger always serves a purpose. I can't stand this attitude of helplessness. OP should have gone full balls-to-the-walls from day one, over the head of the team leader and said exactly what happened. If you're going to get fired, at least get fired for being a loud asshole, so they have to think about what they did wrong, i.e. did we not hire a meek enough whipping boy? Should we maybe change our HR staff?
It's not helplessness it's communication.
..except you're suggesting there's no recourse beyond "getting visibly upset". There are plenty of wisdoms out there, from non-violent communication, to mindfulness, to "professionalism" that suggests "getting visibly upset" isn't the most effective means of disrupting or altering negative conditions.