First off, you weren't "silenced". You were down-voted. I don't see what that has to do with "the progressives on HN". I'm guessing you were down-voted because

First off, you weren't "silenced". You were down-voted. I don't see what that has to do with "the progressives on HN". I'm guessing you were down-voted because you made a pretty gross and uninformed statement about his mental health. The fact that opinions aren't objective doesn't magically make them all worthy of consideration. HN is basically an online dinner party. If someone makes ugly statements in the middle of a conversation, the rest of the participants aren't obliged to stop and say "now, now, that's something we have to consider." They'd most likely just roll their eyes and move the conversation on to something else. Down-voting is basically the digital equivalent of the conversation participants rolling their eyes and trying to continue on with the conversation.