Locking Down Posts

Lately it seems like many threads have been locked down for no reason at all. We had a TOM* thread with three pages of friendly banter and reminiscing, about the days of Tom*, we then had a bit of a heated arguement about cruelty to animals specifically the natural merits of birds of prey, several of us (including yours truly) were publicly flogged and ordered to not post anymore on that subject.
I guess my concern is that it seems like we are unable to have any good arguements at all. The "Soap Opera" flavor of this particular forum is being taken away. Are we supposed to talk about our kids braces, and the local Fire Department fund raiser. No controversial topics allowed, don't talk about Tom* or Jrocks crabs, or the fact that Don Taylor is a lunatic. I feel that there is an abuse of power sometimes with Moderators having the ability to just lock down a thread. It reminds me of grade school with the hall safety patrol. Don't run in the hall, don't pull the girls pony tails, and don't skip steps on the stairs.
No offense Mods, I just think that certain things should be let go, that's what makes this sight fun to come to.