It's not worth worrying about. I know I have a tendency to violate HN guidelines about civility when I think the other side's not being civil; downvotes are part of it.

I'm not a fan of downvotes on web sites because they let one or two people make it look like there's been some kind of mandate. Downvotes are people, and they matter exactly as much as upvotes do, which is to say not at all.