Well, you are entirely wrong, IMO. First, in your words, not mine, certain people are ALWAYS going to be nasty and unpleasant assholes, although I really do not see @whatevs in that way at all, especially in what he posted in this Thread, yesterday. We encounter people like that in this world every day. So, in your "eye for an eye" philosophy, exactly where would it end? Someone says something you don't like, so you respond, and then that someone responds, and then you respond again, and so on, and so forth. The only thing that your philosophy ensures is that disagreements go on in perpetuity. The much better way to handle a situation in which someone says something that is contrary to your beliefs (at least in a social forum) is to just ignore the (perceived) offender and go on about your own business making your own points. It is incumbent upon someone to take the high ground, to end the disagreement, to keep from further escalation of the situation. After something (contrary) is posted by someone, they are unable to take the high ground any more. It immediately falls to others to flex their "moral superiority", and that is done by just ignoring the offending post (in this case). In many cases these kinds of people, who post inflammatory words, often do so just to get a rise out of others. Responding to these posts in a defensive manner only reinforces the original poster's intention. It is FAR better to just ignore the offensive posts and deprive the poster of the gratification they seek. If everyone did just that, then the offensive poster loses their entire reason for even making those types of posts since they won't be getting anything out of it, anymore. It all has to end somewhere.
I see nothing wrong in what he said by expressing his opinions, even if they are contrary to mine and others. He has a right to his opinions as much as anyone else. I don't see him as any less intolerant of others' opinions as anyone else on this site. It is sometimes better to ignore comments in order to cease escalating a situation. To take the high road. Someone has to. @whateves was not able to do that anymore, since he was the one who posted the "inflammatory" post first. It then falls on others to take a higher ground, ignore the offending words, which, in turn, automatically brings an end to the entire situation, just like that, in an instant. You can then flex your moral superiority in the mirror if you like. By doing so, you, also, deprive him of the gratification of getting a rise out of you, which everyone who responded to his post handed him on a giant gold plate I might add.
I'm sorry you are unable to see.
And now I'm going to take the higher road and bring this conversation, at least on my end, to a finality. I've said all I'm going to say, but all ya'all feel free to go on, and on, and on if that's what you like. Learning about how to tolerate others with differing opinions, and the proper techniques of dealing with one's own Ego, should be made into a required course in both high school and higher education, IMO.