"Pete is not at all like a "contrary pupil."
I should know.
He has listened, considered and engaged.

It is just that your combined assaults and weeks of goading and haranguing have failed to shake his simple faith and belief."

and now children, I'll tell you all about the brave little hen who alerted the world to the falling sky...

He has listened- looking for cue words he can twist the meaning of

considered - looked for the pre-programmed response from his propaganda material

and

engaged.... yeah, came on the site to deliberately disparage anyone who does not agree with his blind faith.

you make excuses for pete, but he is displaying passive- agressive behavior and we are his targets...

Most chronically passive-aggressive individuals have four common characteristics:

    They're unreasonable to deal with.
    They're uncomfortable to experience.
    They rarely express their hostility directly.
    They repeat their subterfuge behavior over time.

Passive aggressiveness may be directed towards a person or a group. The root causes are complex and deep-seated. Whatever the reasons that may drive an individual to be passive-aggressive, it's not easy to be on the receiving end of such veiled hostilities.