I believe that if it's mean-spirited, it's likely perceived as attacking. Again, I'm not trying to defend any of this nonsense, but I'm trying to cut through the noise to the person on the other side of the computer screen.

Your argument is that "these guys" don't want to be though badly of. Of course they don't! Who would want to be attacked for what they believe in? Communication is a really complex thing, I'm sure you could relate to me when I say that I often say things in a way that doesn't capture my full intent. By highlighting comments, rallying them all up together and calling them all nasty names, what do you expect people who sit on that side of the dialogue to feel?

Being attacked makes for great motivation to attack back. It's a little harder to feel vengeful against other people if they speak to you like you're a human being. Just because we don't agree with them, doesn't mean we should assume that write on a website is a full representation of who they are as a person. The most successful civil rights endeavors in the history of the world, have been solved with positivity and inspiration, not public shaming and a demand that they change their ways.