Twinking, HC, SC...my thoughts

[Brista]

How has a single character "earned" one item more than another *just* because it happened to drop for them

Precisely that, it dropped for them

Let's put it in the context of a different game for a moment

Say, Dungeons & Dragons. Suppose you find a +3 Shield. Would you then ask for a +3 Sword and a +3 Armour from your GM since your character is at the point now where such things drop?

You wouldn't because it breaks the role-playing, the game's story

Twinking is breaking the character's story, if you like, to power him or her up

Just my opinion though ;)