I agree with you more than you might think, Nils. The issue I have is when things get personal, which is different. There are lots and lots of comments that I will put on- as one reader pointed out a while back- and wear it for a while to see whether or not it fits. That's different from assuming that a) just because I wrote it I'm right, which is patently wrong, it's just my take, and b) if you disagree you're stupid, which is just as bad. Some of the best connections I've forged on Medium have come out of initial disagreements. HOW those were handled is everything.

In this particular piece I went to some pains to explain that there were multiple factors at work. That seems to be lost on the readers who find offense on the one thing that bothers them most: the political piece. I continue to hold friendships with people whose political views aren't mine. That isn't the issue per se. It's where there is mal intent to cause a writer harm for having a different point of view. That's very different. I've worked at the highest levels of government with people on both sides of the aisle, happily years before things became so partisan. That taught me a lot about holding different view points in the same space nad considering them for their merit. My friend in the article and I had different views, widely so, for decades . It was when those views began to diverge so much that I was uncomfortable, and it was clear that they weren't discussable without hurt feelings that it made sense to me to let go.

I can't speak for you nor do I have the audacity to try to interpret what you say, but it seems that you may have missed the much larger point. That's fine. It's not my job, nor is it yours, to force understanding. We all have a right to our take, sometimes our take is difficult. I read most critical comments with both respect and interest as I did yours. The ones I no longer have patience with are those which clearly insult or intend to do harm. If that is not your understanding of my meaning, it is what it is. Thanks for your comments. I read through them several times over, and my response to you is out of respect for you took a good chunk of time to write me your comments. For that I am grateful. We don't have to agree for me to appreciate comments. That is the whole damned point. We simply do not have to do damage in order to lay out a different way of seeing. And that is the point.