No. Don't stare at the sun period. The eclipse isn't inherently physically more dangerous to stare at. It's my understanding that the reason it's more dangerous is that it doesn't have the typical brightness which you'd typically react to by squinting or looking at away, so it's more likely you could accidentally not react and damage your eyes.
Meh my eyes are sensitive to reflections on concrete and while driving (though I do try to avoid it). I can’t imagine people willingly looking at the sun
I think the issue is that you can actually look without eye protection during totality. Some people might think "Oh, were at 98% totality, so it should be ok to look," and it isn't. But yeah, it's still pretty damn bright, and you'd think that'd be enough to dissuade everyone, yet here we are.