Just wanted to say how awesome this writing was. I’m guessing it was in response to OP, not me, but there are many similarities between OP’s qualms and my own, so I look at it a bit as a response to me.
I thought, until very recently, that this was true, and one could understand why. Many of the people who gank mining vessels directly express dislike of miners and mining in-game. Some of their in-game bios express disdain for “the miner”, and build it into their roleplay. Your point about them having a crusade against those who evade risk seems to get even closer to reality - as it isn’t simply any old corporation that the referenced gankers are targeting, it is specifically players who do not wish to engage with them. Players who have CHOSEN high-sec life - a lower risk life - for less reward - their choice.
But as another reply pointed out, I just don’t think that really applies most of the time. I really do think they just like shooting ships. Sometimes this requires skill and coordination to take down a mack before the fleet warps away…sometimes it takes no effort as they take out a venture and lose a catalyst. But sometimes a campaign is so involved, spanning 3 systems, involving multiboxing with combination of bumping and ganking, so persistent, where lookouts and corporate spies are present 24/7 for weeks on end, so expressly inflammatory - “Our MOONS” “Where are your Permits, Miner”, and unprovoked (because miners did not ask for any conflict - did not threaten the existence of the gankers or their corps), that it is EASY to assume some deep grudge and go diving down that rabbit hole, when perhaps, players who gank just like playing the game their way.
Doesn’t make all actions taken in the name of that campaign respectful or pro-social behavior, or good for the game, or in full compliance with ToS.
And a flaw in my own argument above is that when I try to defend my playstyle and express concerns about the balance between ganking gamplay and highsec mining gameplay, what is the most common “insult?” “Miner.” The people literally systematically preventing players from engaging in their chosen form of play (not occasionally causing a bad loss for someone) respond to concerns of their victims by “insulting” them with “Miner”, the reason they were targeted to be their victims in the first place. So maybe they just love exploding things, but maybe they particularly like exploding things that prefer fewer explosions in their gaming experience.
And as beautiful as your last paragraph is about leaving the game - and man was it beautiful - I think the problems OP and I are talking about regarding our gaming experiences in hisec can be fixed. Not without sacrifices (probably my own and those of players who like ganking miners), but call me optimistic.