You didn't ask for an explanation. You complained. This is wrong. "I find it incredible that, judging by the downovtes, people seriously think I am obligated

You didn't ask for an explanation. You complained. This is wrong. "I find it incredible that, judging by the downovtes, people seriously think I am obligated to respond to someone who has shown so little respect to me." This is not seeking clarification. You didn't even assume people were mistaken. You made a judgement call. You were complaining about down votes. Don't do it.