I personally blame human nature. Jacques is a known/respected name around HN, so since the OP was downvoted at least once (enough to make the text harder to read), and a HN personality posted a "are you crazy" response, the typical action taken is a quick "downvote OP, upvote personality".

The problem with downvotes in HN is the side effects. An early downvote can mean nothing more significant than "I disagree with you", but it has the effect of making a post significantly harder to read. When a post is hard to read, fewer people will read the post, yet they are willing to accept and re-enforce the judgement of their peers (especially HN personalities) without critically reviewing it for themselves.

I wouldn't personally blame Jacques for this, but his dismissal (and possibly the early downvote as well) has had a net negative effect on the OP, regardless of the OP's correctness.

EDIT: And our sin appears to be getting too meta. Cardinal sin, that.