Leather - A Community of Respect or Ego?

I've been fiddling with this post in my head all weekend; albeit only in my head as I was elbow deep in polish, wax, oil, boots, chaps, pants, shirts and gloves all weekend and had no time to sit down and write. Still, though, the topic of leather is never far from my mind and when working on leather, my passion really gets all fired up.

Recently I was criticized for saying that "leather is much more than just a material" and chastised that leather is not, in fact, a material. I'm not going to name names, but if you're reading this and you told me that, I'm calling you out because you are wrong about that.
Leather is a material as a material is any product or item that can be used to build/make anything. Leather is a material like wood, rubber or cotton is a material. Leather is not a fabric.

Meriam-Webster's dictionary defines leather, material and fabric as follows.
Leather (noun) 1. animal skin dressed for use; 2. animal skin that is chemically treated to preserve it and that is used in making clothes, shoes, furniture, etc.
Material (noun) 1. The matter from which a thing is or can be made. 2. (adj) Denoting or consisting of physical objects rather than the mind or spirit. Synonym: (noun) matter - fabric - substance - cloth
Fabric (noun) 1. cloth; 1. a material that resembles cloth.

I am honestly not sure why some people seem to be so freaking butt-hurt over this sort of thing; quite honestly everyone's going to identify and define leather (and pretty much everything else) as it applies to them and telling a person they are wrong really only works to piss them off and get posts like this one out there in the world wherein we point out that we're not wrong, you just see it differently than I do. This is neither wrong nor right, it is life and humanity at work. So remember, firstly, to be nice and respectful to those around you so you don't get ranted at by folks.

But this just leads into the bigger issue: respect vs ego.
Our community is blessed to still have folks with us today who remember when the community was so deep underground that it wasn't even a community yet but rather a very cautious network of men and a few women living out lifestyles that weren't just unsafe but in almost all areas illegal. Today, we live in a world where persecution, prosecution and social repercussions are much lessened (though they still exist) for our lifestyle and life-choices. Instead of embracing this difference, rejoicing in it, all too often we are tragically guilty of judging our brothers and sisters and considering ourselves better prepared or educated or skilled.

So my question then is : are we a community of respect - treating each other as human beings first and foremost and equals in that regard above all else, or are we a community of ego - serving our own interests regardless of the needs of the community around us or at large?