Maybe a loud minority, sure, but it still seems to me that he'd be talking about those people, not the people it seems he clearly wasn't talking about (at least to me).

Idk, we had a mandated meeting at work on thursday that was very much not optional, in direct opposition to the occasional meeting that we have that is optional (those are still mandatory for management, but that means they do not have the option to "not go," while those for whom it is optional, not mandatory, can "not go.") Anyway I've already conceded that mandatory, while not meaning optional by any stretch of the imagination, does also apply to situations as you've described, this is a moot point. Mandatory doesn't mean "hold you the fuck down and stab you," it literally means "required by a law or rule."

The point I've conceded is that technically you're right, "rule" can mean work rules not government rules, the point I have not conceded is "he meant those using it to refer to 'law' not 'rule.'"

And no, I'm just saying what I think he meant due to clear context clues, frankly I was just going to leave the one comment but then you misunderstood that and now we're here. I'm hoping this will be the last time I have to comment about it quite frankly.