I did not interpret the open question by /u/wombatmobile the way you and the other poster did. It is not clear from the text that one should do so.
It is not conductive to a discussion to err on the side of malice when in doubt. It is better to clarify and/or to assume the other poster wants to foster discussion.
Well, it’s a fraught question because there is so little evidence to go on. So yes, it’s just an opportunity to speculate - something best done with good faith and an open mind.
But what if there was more evidence? Well there could be if we were willing to instantiate a Neanderthal genome in vivo…
It is not conductive to a discussion to err on the side of malice when in doubt. It is better to clarify and/or to assume the other poster wants to foster discussion.