"... nobody seems to want to tackle it!"

In your opinion, is this merely a natural result of a " robust debating tradition"? I am not competent to give an 'absolutist' opinion.

I have been watching reruns of "Last of the Summer Wine" and although some of the repartee is quite clever & amusing, it includes what seems to me to be amazing amounts of personal insults (supposedly 'friendly') and character critiques. This show was hugely popular for 30 years. Is there cause & effect... in either direction... involved?

(this probably ought to be a separate thread instead of taking this one off point)