the only "close to elbow" I could find (that wasn't about headstands) was about "being very close next to someone"
http://www.usingenglish.com/forum/threads/151533-stand-at-on...That would then mean that it's a question "too close to home for comfort" a very uncomfortable question that you can't simply ignore, as it's not happening somewhere far away, it's there just next to you and it could be affecting you personally.
That seems to me far more plausible than any interpretation that it's about some kind of "moral outrage" attitude. But even this is still just a guess, albeit less unlikely.