well it might be because you have heard someone such as donadams say that it is a greeting used only for royalty. That is simply wrong. The word in question is Chairo and:
Chairo was used in greetings (welcome, good day, hail to you, I am glad to see you) in the imperative mood implying a wish for well being or happiness to the recipient (Mt 26:49). Chairo is used in the introduction to a letter (Ac 15:23; 23:26; James 1:1). Chairo is translated "Hail!" several times in the Gospels (Mt 26:49, 27:29, Mk 15:18, Lk 1:27)…
….See HAIL = "to rejoice," is used in the imperative mood, (a) as a salutation, only in the Gospels; in this respect it is rendered simply "hail," in mockery of Christ, Matthew 26:49 ; 27:29 ; Mark 15:18 ; John 19:3 ; (b) as a greeting, by the angel Gabriel to Mary, Luke 1:28 , and, in the plural, by the Lord to the disciples after His resurrection, Matthew 28:9 .
From:
https://www.sermonindex.net/modules/articles/index.php?view=article&aid=34765
no, it indicates that she was favored…”full of grace” was a translation error introduced by Jerome (which error was then built upon by the Catholic Church)
agreed
Matt 28:9 (in the plural because more than one person was being greeted by Jesus)….and of course it was used in a negative fashion to mock Jesus as the King of the Jews. Note: it definitely doesn’t need to be seen as giving a special status to whomever it is directed to.
I don’t know of any Protestant who downplays Mary's role. Because it is specifically stated in scripture, every Protestant I know recognizes that Mary was specifically chosen to conceive and birth Jesus, to raise Jesus (with Joseph) and to occasionally appear in the gospels to interact with Jesus. Nobody else had the honor of being chosen by God to do all those things. I don't know of any Protestant who would suggest that he or she is as righteous as Mary was. On the other hand, let me stress that denying Mary’s perpetual virginity, her sinlessness, her over-the-top non-scriptural titles, her bodily assumption or any other Catholic claim (that elevates her beyond the status that she is granted in scripture) is not downplaying Mary's role… it is being true to God's revelation.
With respect to the things that she did do, I think it would be good to have open and honest discussions about those things. For example, with respect to conceiving and giving birth to Jesus, that is an incredible and unique honor, but it should be also noted that conceiving and giving birth is something that most women do and in fact something that Mary repeatedly did for Joseph (if one takes the plain and ordinary meaning of scripture). Conceiving and giving birth is a very common achievement…. the conception and birth is only seen as an extraordinary event because the Son of God was the one conceived and born. So then, should we rate Mary’s obedience (in conception and birth) as greater than Stephen’s obedience (in his martyrdom)? Since there is no unit of measurement for obedience, I am not inclined to rate one higher than the other…both were extraordinary and should be followed as an example.