English is not, as far as I know, Linus's first language. I presume that any "verbal weaponry" he possesses is adopted and adapted from the "greater developer lexicon" (I just made that up) he absorbed through years of mailing-list / IRC exposure.
Yes, good debaters shouldn't resort to emotionally laden language, but the best debaters just ignore it in the first place.
Children in Finland start learning Engish in primary school, and Torvalds has lived in the US for the last 17 years, so I think you greatly over-emphasize mailing-list/IRC exposure.
What you said about "the best debaters just ignore it in the first place" is incorrect. Debates are meant to convince others, so the debater must take the listeners into account. If the listeners can be swayed by the opponent's emotionally laden language - and we are all human - then the debater must not ignore it.
The obvious responses are to use emotionally laden language in kind, or to call out the opponent for dressing bad logic behind good clothing.
Yes, good debaters shouldn't resort to emotionally laden language, but the best debaters just ignore it in the first place.