I may well regret piping up here, but... Firstly, I didn't think he was that bad. Sometimes people are cranky online, just like in real life at a work place or whatever. There are always folks who like to push your buttons. Don't give them the satisfaction of a response. I try not to poke the bear. My wife is of Croatian descent, and she tells me of a saying in Croatian which translates as "The shit smells less bad if you don't poke it" or something like that. (And i think I'm probably going against that sentiment!)
But there are ways of handing those who you see as bullies. You can ignore them, you can gently chide, you can say things like "please can we keep it civil", etc. Probably the worst thing to do is (a) assume everyone agrees with you, and (b) spout off in some television style tough guy tirade. Maybe it was justified, especially in your view. But it won't make things better. It never does. It may even lead to people taking your opinions less seriously.
To me - and I can only speak for myself - I thought the response came across as a bit OTT and lacking in dignity and restraint. Maybe an over-response. I'm not saying you're a bad guy, you have done nothing to make me think that, but maybe you over-reacted. It doesn't help that every other program on TV has "tough guys" giving speeches and threatening violence. It seems to be the American way. So you're not alone! I come to this place to get away from this stuff in the news everywhere right now. We have enough tough guys threatening violence. I don't need it here.
And I still don't like Josh Smith's guitar, whether intended as a joke or not. If he likes it that's fine. He's allowed to have bad taste.
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