To be honest with you Renee.... yes I think it was not in jest.
I think it was a case of cultural misunderstanding. It was a sad incident indeed like many others.
But those sad posts don't even make a quarter of the more helpful, funny, light-hearted and informative topics discussed here in QL so my suggestion to you is focus on those and leave those topics you can't stand (just as I do).
I just hope everyone (not only in QL) comes together and get along somehow but that is just a dream, I know.

QL is a melting pot of cultures so like any stew or soup if it gets too salty, we add extenders to suck in the salt or add sugar to deaden the saltiness and we add spice to enhance the flavor. In the end we get a small serving of a taste of every culture that makes up this part of the world.