Your focus on the danger of open shows how you fundamentally misunderstand why some people play the game - just as there is more than one game mode, there's more than one way to enjoy the game.
If someone doesn't enjoy PvP - indeed, has no interest in it whatsoever - why should they play open? I far prefer BF3/4 for PvP. It's less random and more skill-based than PvP combat in the main game. I've never been griefed, although I've had to remove myself from some situations that were becoming too dangerous for my ship to handle, and I've shot up a fair few other CMDRs in conflict zones. Just because I want to do that doesn't mean I get to dictate how other people play.
With regard to the assertion that another game mode would further split the community, that's debatable - how many players of solo/private group (e.g. Mobius) move over to openPvE? I suspect a great many would. Those who just want to be left alone would stick to solo, but the Mobius players?
In short, there's more to the game than PvP and the possibility of hostile encounters. The recent events in Mobius and FD's mealy-mouthed response to deliberate griefing by a player group they had recently given free publicity to is, IMO, sufficient cause for FD to seriously consider an openPVE mode. I won't play it, but then again I don't think it's my place to judge how other people want to play their games. Watching my kids mess around in Star Wars: Battlefront can be frustrating at times, as it seems they're often more interested in trying to snipe the bots in the balls than complete the missions, but whatever - at least they're enjoying themselves. Right?
And before you start, I play open.
