Lukas' karma for the comment I responded to was quite negative when mine was neutral, as well (down to -5 at one point, if my memory serves me well, which is an iffy prospect). By turning Lukas into the underdog in this conversation (by identifying myself as a bully), I've changed people's perceptions of his comment, as well.

That part wasn't intentional, but in retrospect, it should have been an obvious side effect.

I actually inserted the "it may get me downvoted" as a signal, although I don't recall what the purpose of the signal was, and it's not obvious to me now. Pity.