Did people let you get away with being angry in public?

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I'm wondering, because I think one reason I have anger issues is that people barely did anything about my screaming tantrums even when I was pushing 13 and the only response of my pediatrician was to move me to a small school assuming people would be nicer to me than they would be in a bigger school. BTW, in a good school, what exactly would they do if an otherwise high-functioning kid who could still be explained to, threw screaming tantrums like a younger child who was way lower-functioning? How exactly would
they explain that it's not something to get away with?

Nope—people usually make it clear, with their actions if not with their words, that they can be legitimately angry, but I can’t.

I have never been one to act up in public, but if I had, it would not be tolerated, and I would probably be punished. When I was 3-4 I was obsessed with books, and I got them all taken away as a punishment. That wasn’t nice at all .

I don’t think it is entirely your problem that you acted up in public and have anger issues. I think it is the parents’ job to raise their kids so they learn correct behavior and how to be respectful.

God, if you are gonna make someone feel normal as a kid, without actually making them normal, you're probably better off murdering them before they get too old and realize otherwise.

Your only 21 and you know that you want to change, that's the start. Don't judge yourself too harshly, you're not going to change overnight so when you let yourself down, don't punish yourself for it. pick yourself up again and keep going. You'll get there.
Edit: To answer your question, no, I would have been smacked. I didn't have meltdowns till I was 26 anyway, then I had them every day for years. I used to meltdown in private. Eventually I had to bring my anger under control.

Whatever the case it's down to you now. Good news that it's improving.

To be fair, I was already relatively old when I started said screaming tantrums, I was already roughly 10 then. In my single digits, said urge to throw tantrums only manifested itself in crying more than average, but it all eventually came to this.

It does make me wonder: what would have been the right thing to do?

I too was smacked for having meltdowns in public. I also distinctly remember my mom one time making me go apologize to the priest for having a meltdown during church one time. I'm not really sure what the right thing to do to teach a child not to do this... maybe trying to determine the difference between a meltdown and a temper tantrum and punishing for the latter? A meltdown was going to happen whether I was slapped/spanked or not. Nowadays, I'm more prone to shutdowns than meltdowns, but when I feel that I'm going to have one, I do my best to get away from people - I'll step outside to calm down, or if I'm at home, I'll go to my bedroom. Granted, my parents don't even like me to do that - my dad has yelled after me to "quit running away every time you don't like something" But I figure it's a lot better than having a full-on meltdown in the middle of a crowded restaurant or store or something.

The right thing to do? As pointed out here several times, to give you something to cry about. And if you keep crying, to escalate till you learn you’d damn better stop for the sake of the integrity of your bones. That’ll teach you! And if it doesn’t teach you, it’s solely your problem.