Not much point in it
Yeah, that's kind of how I look at: Public figures aren't protected by the flame rules that are supposed to protect Zoners. See my simultaneously-posted comments about a more effective response, too.
Here's a hypothetical to ponder: What if a Zoner is a public figure? One might classify KC as a public figure, but he strenously objected to flaming of his public work here, and demanded the same protection as a Zoner. Or how about this one: What if somebody flames an article by JimO? I don't know the answer, but some such situation will likely come up someday.