If you mean to suggest that I perpetrated an ad hominem attack,...

If you mean to suggest that I perpetrated an ad hominem attack, I respectfully disagree. I am attacking the ideas, the words, and NOT the person. There's a difference between saying "that's garbage" and "you're garbage". Getting them mixed up is a common mistake. It's not a huge deal, but it is does not contribute to healthy discussion if people take personal offence at one of the core elements of discussion, i.e. debate and disagreement.

Yes, I admit did come on a bit strong, but it's because this is not a trifling issue, it is a matter of war and peace, life and death, mass murder and accountability, tyranny and freedom. I make no apology for having strong views on these issues.

The other thing is that I think the right to free speech and the obligation to respect other people exist side by side, one is not contingent on the other.