Let me side with your youthful incarnation from five years ago:

You and I know that claims about human behavior are almost never meant to hold absolutely, but this is not true for everyone who will eventually encounter such a claim.

Beyond just clarifying, you did seem to have taken the initial comment at face value, even though you probably suspected the intended meaning.

I agree with you regarding making the intended meaning as plain as possible as best practice; however, sidetracking the discussion in such a way often leads to "gotcha" continuations of minor details (minor because most people will side with you interpreting claims about human behavior as non-absolute by default, and follow the discussion correctly without such clarifications/rebuttals), which tend to replace other, more substantive discussions.