You said "Unfortunately, this comment will probably get filtered to the bottom but this has to be said:" and then when it actually happened you flip out? I wasn't one of the ones to downvote you, but after seeing your reaction, I would have to say you most definitely deserved it. Also, allow me to point you to the HN guidelines that specifically frown on these particular behaviors:

Resist complaining about being downmodded. It never does any good, and it makes boring reading.

Please don't bait other users by inviting them to downmod you.

http://ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html

Getting filtered down to the bottom is not actually just a result of getting down-voted. Having a lack of activity (from people essentially ignoring your message) is actually the other reason why comments slowly trickle down to the bottom - and the one I suspected would happen as often does when people write-off your opinion.

As for your point about the "don't complain about being downmodded" - fair enough, and I'm sure I'll earn a few more downvotes thanks to your due-diligence :)

At the same time, once in a while, you have to stand for something in your life. I made a serious point about a serious topic and some coward came along and decided to "down-vote" instead of having some dialog about it. I may lose digital karma but at least my conscience is clear for defending something I believe in.

I down voted you, because I don't believe that folks want anything more than for Ortiz to resign. And you started the post talking about down voting, then you got upset when you got down voted.

"At the same time, once in a while, you have to stand for something in your life."

I agree with you there. A posting on a newsboard might not be the best way to show your principles, though.

I agree with you there :) To be fair though, after seeing 2 weeks of posts on HN focused on demonizing an individual, I felt I needed to say something.

You really can't take downvotes on Hacker News so seriously. Heck, sometimes a downvote is just someone trying to scroll on their touchscreen and accidentally triggering the oversized hitbox for the downvote button (touchscreen browsers sometimes seem to expand the touchable area that will activate a link beyond the physical pixels occupied by that link).

As for your opinion, consider the possibility that you're overreacting to a few overreactions by emphasizing those comments that went too far and ignoring the ones that showed moderation.