I can appreciate your concerns regarding judging people by their votes. As we have discussed the Hive blockchain didn't diminish anyone's holdings, anywhere. The folks (us) that use Hive don't owe free tokens to anyone either.

You keep soft-pedaling the fact that the sockpuppet witnesses were not just members of the community with policy issues. They were agents of a party undertaking a hostile takeover.

The discussion of this takeover was widespread and incessant, so no one that undertook voting for them could reasonably claim they were unaware of this.

The Steem witnesses from the community did not act to disrupt those that voted for those witnesses on Steem. On Hive, they simply didn't give any of the free tokens with which they could have attacked Hive.

I disagree that this is in any way comparable to retaliating against political opponents in an election for representatives, first because the retaliation didn't occur on Steem at all. Second, the retaliation simply consisted of not giving them the free ammunition to recreate their opposition to free speech on a separate platform. Despite their opposition to free speech, these parties were still granted accounts on Hive - where they could speak freely regarding their opposition to free speech.

Your logic seems to be analogous to arguments that someone breaking into your house to steal your food has an equal right to eat it to members of your household. I don't agree.