It's not intended to be flame bait. If someone were writing new material today which contained similar messages it would easily run afoul of current hate speech regulations. It would be interesting to investigate further inconsistencies in enforcement of the laws.
Intention also isn't enough when it comes to avoiding flamewars on the internet. What matters is the effect a post has on the thread, and in the case of a provocative one-liner like the GP, the effect is pretty predictable.
