"It is very difficult to disagree with anyone of the caliber such as this man".
Nobody suggested you argue with Hickey to his face.
Even if it was said in the general sense, I still don't get this fetish of catching someone in an adulatory vibe streak. One can't even express genuine respect feelings about anyone in the industry without someone jumping in with "take it back" shit.
I don't get it, why people often act like some fucking kindergarteners, don't they understand that humans are complex creatures - they might have done something genuinely good (for which respect is due) and then years later turned into a jerk. That doesn't erase their prior work. I see that often with figures like RMS. Someone told me once: "Emacs would be great if not for that guy..." So, imagine a person plants a tree and then people come and plant more trees around it, turning the entire area into a beautiful forest of trees, and then that first guy turns out to be a villain. Do we now just destroy the forest that everyone still enjoys, and try to erase that villain's work, or do we still say: "Thank you Mr. Villain for planting that first tree..."?
On Rich Hickey specifically, sure the guy might have been wrong on some things, yet we can't completely ignore his bona fide contributions in the field just because we disagree on some things, that ain't right. You can't just ignore the fact that he did change many people's lives for the better.