Thanks Ned! Yes, that is a great way to put the fundamental point in words.
Some people seem to want a very specific list of what is and isn’t allowed, perhaps out of fear that they’ll cross a line. That’s the code of conduct which applies to everyone. With additional role expectations for those bearing the CPython Core Developer title laid out in PEP-13 - “Core team members are expected to act as role models for the community” in particular. Nothing in either of those should be surprising to anyone. They are the same kinds of standards any employer would hold you to.
I want to assure everyone that the points we made in the original post were so pointed exactly because of the complaints we received from community members. They do not owe anyone an explanation of how or why they interpret things perhaps different than yourself. The important point is to recognize that people do. The right course of action is to believe them, accept that, and learn. Not try to tell them they are wrong.
The SC argued internally a lot over how specific to be in the original post. We importantly chose not to call anyone out by name in the there because our expectations aren’t about one person. All of us need to be aware of what is and isn’t okay and a lot of people were involved in the problematic threads, even if Tim, as self-identified here, was one big part. We did reach out to Tim privately beforehand.
I recognize that there are some who think that way. It makes me sad. But that attitude as phrased is entirely backwards. If a conduct related enforcement action happens and that “ruins their career”, the responsibility for that lies entirely on them. It was their behavior that got them there in the first place.
There is no cabal conspiring to plot anyone’s demise. Nobody is likely to be forced out for a mere one off “AAA said BBB to CCC” complaint unless they’re actively trying to be an asshole in order to be shown the door. What really tends to do it are repeated patterns of disrespectful behavior not in keeping with our community standards and a demonstrable inability to learn and improve going forward when those behaviors are pointed out. Sometimes demonstrating improvement can be as simple as a sincere apology and not repeating the behavior.
For those who have built a career based on an identity as strongly involved with Python the project or community, that’s great! I expect we’re all inspired by that and welcome it. But part of doing that has always meant that you need to be willing to co-evolve with the professional standards of the project over time. That means accepting that old status-quos on how things once worked may be obsolete.
So no, the “CoC WG”, “PSF”, or “SC” cannot “ruin their career”. That’s entirely on them. Blaming others for the consequences of their own actions would demonstrate a lack of self awareness, which if that is their attitude, was IMNSHO likely part of the problem in the first place.
This is exactly how the rest of us hear about the many people who don’t want to be here because of the behaviors they routinely witness and experience.
Members and would be members are quite literally afraid to bring it up publicly because they get jumped on by people telling them they are wrong. They simply do not want to interact in our spaces at all which means they remain invisible and even when some are brave enough to speak up, as has happened multiple times in these threads, they appear to often be ignored. It is shameful.
The number of people I’ve worked with who would’ve made great open source contributors, here or elsewhere, who’ve effectively turned tail and said “hell no!” to the suggestion because of how they see people get treated by those already in this pool is more than I can count. 
We still have a lot of improving to do.