It's because the loudest advocates of free speech, for the most part, have always gotten away with being aggressive. Scientific discussion, as faulty as it is,

It's because the loudest advocates of free speech, for the most part, have always gotten away with being aggressive. Scientific discussion, as faulty as it is, happened just fine behind the scenes. But people who have limited views of how things work think the smart-pants showing up on JRE is the real deal when most serious people know it's mostly hot air. (And of course compounded by multiple frustrations - which is totally understandable)