Please don't be a pedantic nitpicker, it lowers the general level of the discussion (I realize the irony in this very comment doing the same). It's quite obvious that he meant 'compatriot' as 'co-conspirator' or something in that vein, not as in 'everybody who happens to live in the same country'. And even if he did, he'd be such an extremist that you wouldn't be able to reason with him anyway; in which case just ignoring that part would be best.

The specific meaning of "compatriot" as "fellow national or fellow citizen" is not commonly used in the U.S. Speaking generally, "compatriot" is more often equated to meaning "partner in crime" or something similar. It generally has a negative connotation.

hacker news should have ways to collapse/fold sections of the comments when discussions about a word definition, although valid, may not interest everyone in a discussion thread about the alleged death of Osama

What do you have for his compatriots ?