[declan]

I suspect that nearly all of the people on HN would be happy if Ms. Ortiz simply resigned.

The worst-case for Ms. Ortiz, post-resignation, is that she gives up short-term gubernatorial aspirations and quits to take a $1,500,000-$2,000,000 a year gig as a partner at a large Boston law firm advising on white collar criminal defense.

This is not exactly a horrible fate. In fact, most people would consider trying to bring that about the opposite of "wish[ing] harm on Carmen Ortiz."

[ytadesse]

The problem is, some people here on HN have been very aggressive in their attacks over the past few weeks - far worse than simply saying "she should resign".

In addition to that, I've seen people sulk and get visibly agitated for long periods of time after poor performance reviews at work. Now, compound that by thousands in the public doing that - and then some. Think about the effect that has on someone's mental well-being.

[declan]

Threats of violence or physical harm, if any were posted, are wrong and beyond the pale.

But some of the comments you criticized above are far tamer than much of what passes for discourse in American politics nowadays: "Someone needs to be held accountable. Ortiz is someone." "Carmen Ortiz needs to go. She's a publicity hound" "Someone needs to be held accountable. Ortiz is someone."

Nothing wrong with saying any of those things. If you have a high-profile position in the U.S. government (Ortiz was confirmed by the Senate), you should expect scrutiny if you screw up. If Ortiz wants to restore her "mental well-being," one option would be to resign and take that lucrative law firm gig. That she has not done so suggests she assumes she can weather this storm and criticism of her will eventually die down. HN readers have the right to challenge that assumption.

[officemonkey]

Oh horrors, what if she got depressed and killed herself.