This does seem to be the case, yes.
Also seems to be the case IMHO.
And again, I agree with your perception here.
I don't blame you. It is very easy to abuse the good faith of folks at a site like this, with the kind of behavior we are seeing in this thread. The control in a discussion like this (at least, the way this one has been shaping up) is not in the arguments someone puts forth - instead, it's in the ability to keep the discussion going and draw people in, so the OP can feel as though they took on a whole group of people and came away with their initial beliefs intact. In that kind of situation, the reasonable thing is probably just to cut off the oxygen and withdraw - advice that's hard for all of us to take though, since we enjoy the discussing, analysis and arguments!