Japan. MRI $40. Basic doctor visit $5. Basic antibiotics $5. Almost all hospitals and clinics in the country are in-zone or whatever… There is no annual deductible.

It all depends on your motivation, but what I prefer to do is think about the reader. Imagine there’s some post and someone makes a comment and I know that the comment is wrong or misleading. So I might decide to reply. And my comment is there to help readers not be deceived by the previous comment.

Therefore, I don’t need to deal with any sub comments and I don’t need to keep following that thread. The most important thing was to have a rebuttal to the primary claim that was made and I already wrote that so my work is done. I find this to be an okay use of time, at least some of the time, because a lot of times the commenter that I’m replying to is someone that I just can’t reach. They might have some immovable position on a political issue or they could be religious or they could be argumentative or trolling. And I could go back and forth with them several times, but really nobody else would read our thread, so it would be a waste of time.

Of course that’s only one approach and it really depends on the types of comments and issues that you’re concerned with. But it’s one way to reduce stress and save you time.

As you have noted from the other comments, there are certainly times when it can be rude to ask. And someone told you that you asked rudely. So there’s a reasonable chance they’re right.

Also, if you think about what you actually wrote, it doesn’t make sense. A lot of people were born in Canada, so they did not come from elsewhere. They in fact came from Canada. Their parents may have come from elsewhere. And you might say, “Hey, what’s the difference?” But actually there’s a huge difference to the people you’re talking to.

But still, it’s not like the general topic is necessarily off limits. So why don’t you just kind of wait and see how long it takes for other people to bring it up? And that might give you a sense for what the people around you feel is reasonable.