I believe evaluating the tone of a comment surely is a highly subjective undertaking; although most people could probably agree when they encounter a very mean

I believe evaluating the tone of a comment surely is a highly subjective undertaking; although most people could probably agree when they encounter a very mean or rude comment. I personally don't think he had any obligation to be charitable in his response, yet he actually has been charitable, in the sense that he provided a different viewpoint; charitable to the group that is. I know most people try to be sensible in their dialogs with other people, but I think we should strike a balance between accommodating everyone's feelings and actually telling it like it is. Now finding that balance is as much art as it is science. And because human communication is so contextual, subjective and imprecise, I'm sure multiple individuals will internalize my comment differently. Given these, sometimes I'm surprised we can all get together. (: