The way I see it, Debian is a "do-ocracy" in the sense that if you want some sort of functionality of the software Debian offers, then you can write the code and change things. I think what the OP intends by this thread is that the everyday users of Debian should have been given more of a say in the Systemd decision. There are lots of ways this could have been done in a more open and transparent (meaning accessible to all) manner. Afterall, what is the harm in opening a general vote on the Systemd move on perhaps the Forums? And allow all registered users to vote. Perhaps even requiring everyone to re-register in a more controlled manner before being allowed to vote so that we can have some way of ensuring these people at least use Debian and have some skin in the game? Just a thought, and it would definitely provide fuel to silence the critics when the results are posted.
In terms of the heated discussions over Systemd. I think it boils down to what some (a lot, actually) of people feel that moving towards a monolithic init system which seems to be gobbling up critical infrastructure functions at an alarming rate runs counter to Linux fundamentals that have served this Distro extremely well up until now, apparently.