[i_am_nomad]

Fundamentally, your retort to the parent’s (poorly expressed and now dead) reply is sound, though I believe they might have been circling the concept of negative vs. positive rights. It’s an interesting topic and one worthy of debate, though sadly that debate has become fraught with emotion and passion, to the point that it’s on a level with abortion - it just can’t be discussed in most circles.

[MiroF]

Maybe, although I believe that it's not too hard to have a basic argument about negative v. positive rights. Some people debate and feel passionately about the things they believe. As long as they're making arguments, I am not sure what the problem is.

I oftentimes find that good debates are more often disrupted by the person who insists on this mythic ideal of "unemotional" & civic & rational debate than the person who feels strongly about the issue.