Reading this thread has felt to me somewhat like watching fragments of a variety of chess matches being played simultaneously.

I'd say it's more like a bunch of people simultaneously playing in matches of chess, bare-knuckle fighting, poker and tennis. Against opponents who are playing Blind Man's Buff, tag and uphill skiiing. It gets confusing.

But essentially I think autolycus has it right. And most especially in saying "I would appreciate it if every question gets a direct answer."

I wish more people could treat threads about issues that carry an emotional weight as discussions rather than as games or fights, or an occasioin to throw insults around. I don't think the point should be to win an argument, it should be to get a better understanding of issues that divide people, and of where it is the disagreements actually lie.