you are being negative, weepy, nitpicky, and very sensitive.
How's that? If that act of not conceding is any or all of those things, then sure. I know I'm being negative. In one of my comments, I admitted that it's a pessimistic perspective and I have no actual evidence to support it. There's not much I can say except "I believe this" and I've tried to explain why, but I know that my reasons for believing it aren't conclusive evidence that I am correct. I know it's a matter of opinion and you're welcome to believe the more optimistic side of the story. Each comment in reply to mine has called for some sort of reply; if it hadn't then I wouldn't reply.
I'm not on a soapbox. If I said "I like peanut butter and banana sandwiches" and you asked me why, I could reply and by your logic it would be me on a soapbox merely because I spent a few minutes explaining. I understand I'm long-winded but that's more of a communication issue that I'm working on rather than a sign of fervent belief in something that drives me every day. I couldn't care less in the end; one of my favorite singers, Garth Brooks, played Cactus League ball several years ago and AFAIK it wasn't even for a cause.
My whole frustration with this thread of comments can be summed up in this comment from another user who aptly describes the reddit culture. Indeed, it is in other places as well. Once I'm pegged as "the bad guy" in a thread, there's no saving grace. No matter how reasonable I can be, I'll be ignored and/or downvoted. No matter how peaceful, I'll be treated like I'm wildly insane and grumpy. Try to read my comments with the tone of voice of someone who has an opinion, but isn't building a soapbox. Do I like key lime pie? Sure. Doesn't mean I'm taking international flights to preach about it. Keyboard activism, if my comments can even be amounted to that much effort, is pretty low on the scale of meaningful work for a cause. I'm not trying to persuade people that Will Ferrell is a nefarious liar who only acts with selfish greed. I'm not even trying to persuade people that my opinion is correct. I've already stated that there's no evidence, and you can believe it or not. Doesn't matter. The only reason I'm investing as much time to comment ITT at all is because of the culture in which I'm automatically the bad guy and my mere presence is a negative thing because I'm not wearing the same rose-colored glasses as the rest of you.