The clusterfluckle with cryptozoo has had me in a manic state for about a week now, but I finally figured out the answer that allows me to finally let it go and be done with it.

It was the apology. The apology was the wrong thing to do.
The apology was based on my notion that if I had reacted differently, more empathetically and more vulnerable, I might have gotten a different outcome. The idea was that crypto was lashing out emotionally and thus didn't have control, while I distinctly remember taking the time to evaluate my choices, and my emotions strongly pointed out that my original path of action wouldn't be a good idea (being vulnerable and open, which is basically like taking off your bulletproof vest and hoping the other guy feels like talking instead of shooting).
This is actually very disrespectful, I realized, because I was not acknowledging crypto's free will. Crypto chose to behave the way he did. He chose to be a troll; nobody else who responded were inflammatory. So, if I am to respect crypto's free will, I owe him insult instead of apology. And that is the respectful thing to do.

I swear, this would probably make for a hilarious joke.