Yeah, of course, so we must just change our mindset and don't judge others if they give someone 5 merits for some post we don't agree or think that deserves that, or give merits to the same person if this person is doing a pretty decent job (I say that because sometimes I stop myself of giving merits to one user I've recently merited, just in case, you Know).
Yes. Some people have been acting like Merit Police recently. I am quite sure this is not what Satoshi's spirit would have supported.
If people gain Merit, they all have the liberty to decide what to do with it.
Every single member has the right to decide for himself which posts deserve his hard-earned sMerits. Sarcastic remarks, statistics, images or not, Merit or decentralization analysis or whatever... In the end, a quite surprising mix of high-Merited members might come out of that...