But was it an opinion?<p>When members of a group discuss policy for that group, they do so under the implicit assumption that their values are similar enough that what they are doing in the conversation is trying to find a way to achieve their shared values.<p>But the great-great-great-grandparent comment was simply a statement of values, not a suggestion of how parties concerned could achieve theirs.<p>I realize the lines are fuzzy: HN is certainly not a &#x27;murican forum for &#x27;murican issues.  But its composition is such that neither is it a <i>non</i>-American forum.  As such, the greatx3-grandparent could have been more sensitive.